The last elk in Pennsylvania was killed in Elk County in 1867. With the creation of the Pennsylvania Game Commission in 1895 they began talking about re-introducing elk in Pennsylvania. The PA Game Commission brought 177 animals from Yellowstone to the state from 1913 to 1926. The state's elk population slowly increased and the first bull elk season was held in 1923. By 1931, only one bull was taken in what would become Pennsylvania's last elk hunting season. From the early 1930s to the early 1970s, the Game Commission did very little with the state's remnant elk herd. The herd started to decline in 1973. Brain worm was suspected as the cause. Then the herd rebounded. It increased by an annual average of 20 percent until it hit 135 in 1981. During the ‘90s, the elk herd experienced significant annual growth. The Game Commission in 1998 launched a three-year trap-and transfer project to remove elk from areas in their primary range in Elk and Cameron Counties where they were in conflict with other land uses. During the project, they trapped and transferred 63 elk from Elk County and relocated them in Clinton County, mostly on the Sproul State Forest. In 2000, the herd was an estimated 566. The Board of PA Game Commissioners, in April 2001, adopted a proposal to hold an elk hunt later that year. More than 50,000 individuals submitted applications to be part of Pennsylvania’s first elk hunt in more than 70 years; 30 were selected for licenses; 27 shot elk. Pennsylvania’s elk hunt has continued every year since 2001. Today the elk herd is believed to be over 900.
WHAT CAUSED THE ELK HERD TO DECLINE IN 1973 ?????
BRAIN WORM = N 40 49.726 W 078 55.555
LACK OF FEED = N 40 49.011 W 078 55.924
CONGRATULATIONS TO theslipperyweasels..schmuck&puttz..and TheBOZ FOR A SHARED FTF