Associated Press Published

DNR Receives Grant for Elk Restoration


The Division of Natural Resources has received a $50,000 grant to support its effort to restore elk in West Virginia.

The Charleston Daily Mail reports that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation presented the grant to the DNR on Sunday at the Natural Resources Commission’s quarterly meeting.

The DNR hopes to bring elk from neighboring Kentucky to restore the state’s herd. West Virginia’s last native elk was killed around 1875.

A draft management plan says elk would be released in McDowell, Wyoming, Logan, Mingo, Boone, Lincoln and Wayne counties.

Wildlife Resources Section chief Curtis Taylor says more than 90 percent of the public comments submitted to the agency support restoring elk in the state.