Game Department set to vote on elk restoration

RICHMOND

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is expected to vote Tuesday on elk restoration in southwestern Virginia.

The board meets at 9 a.m. on Tuesday at 4010 W. Broad St. The elk management issue is expected to come up in the morning hours, said regional wildlife manager Allen Boynton.

The issue has been studied for months. It involves re-inducing an elk population in the "coalfield counties" of southwestern Virginia, the counties of Russell, Wise, Dickenson, Buchanan and Lee. Five public hearings have been held in the area over the past two months.

Mostly, hunters are for the move; farmers oppose it, said Boynton. The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation has also spoken out against restoration, Boynton said. Historically, elk roamed wild in most of the state.

A mature male elk can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and makes a bugle call that many love to hear, Boynton said. The females are also vocal.

The elk committee studying the issue is recommending active restoration in three of the five counties that would involve restoring 1,200 elk over a period of 12 years. Of that number, about 480 elk could potentially be havested within that period of time.

The meeting is open to the public.