BENEZETTE - For the 86 lucky hunters whose applications were drawn Friday by the Pennsylvania Game Commission for this year's elk hunt, anticipation will begin to build upon notification for what many hunters consider the ultimate lottery prize in the state.
Meanwhile, thousands - including the fortunate 86 - can experience a series of events that will be held in Elk County to celebrate the 100th anniversary year of elk restoration in Pennsylvania. It is estimated that each year 75,000-100,000 visitors invade the state's elk range between Labor Day Weekend and Halloween, but this year those numbers could very well increase because of the special events taking place.
For example, a series of events is planned for this coming weekend, highlighted by a special elk-viewing hike Saturday, Sept. 21. This is in addition to vehicle and biking tours of State Game Lands that almost always result in seeing and - during the fall - hearing bugling elk.
Another special attraction of the upcoming weekend is performances by guitarist Van Wagner. A Danville native, he is an award-winning educator and musician who will present folk songs that tell the story of the elk's comeback in Pennsylvania and celebrate the state's rural heritage.
The fact that Pennsylvania has a limited-draw elk hunt, which was expanded this year to award 26 bull and 60 cow tags, is testimony to the success of the restoration program. At one time elk were more plentiful in Pennsylvania and the Northeast than deer, which is portrayed in the hunting scene in the film "The Last of the Mohicans" that shows Hawkeye downing an elk with his flintlock rifle.
That hunt in the film took place in the mid- 1700s, but by the late 1800s Pennsylvania's elk were eliminated from their last range in Elk County and nearby areas. When the PGC undertook its project to reintroduce elk to the state, they had been gone for approximately 50 years.
In the years between 1913-26, the PGC released 177 elk into Pennsylvania's wilds, and some of today's elk are ancestors of those animals. Then, in 1998, the agency began a three-year, trap-and-transfer program and expanded the elk range from 350 to 800 square miles.
By creating this additional habitat, the population of the herd began to increase, and the expansion was aided by aggressive management of habitat for elk. Creating this habitat also helped keep the elk away from areas where they were likely to have conflicts with people.
Today, Pennsylvania's elk herd is estimated to have between 850-900 animals that populate areas of Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Potter and Clearfield counties. This restoration is considered one of the great successes in the history of wildlife conservation.
"There's really nothing like the display of a bull elk moving in at close range and piercing the brisk morning air with a cloud of vapor and an ear-splitting bugle," PGC executive director Carl Roe said. "It's a remarkable contrast to the era of more than a century ago, when elk found themselves eliminated from their natural range in Pennsylvania and the rest of the Northeast.
"One hundred years later, there's no arguing that elk restoration here in Pennsylvania has been about as successful as could possibly be expected. It's something every Pennsylvanian can be proud of and a reason for celebration."
For a complete schedule of events at the Elk Country Visitor Center near Benezette, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission website at www.pgc.state.pa.us and click on the link labeled "100th Anniversary PA Elk Restoration."