Kentucky Biologists Reintroduce Appalachian Elk
Elk (Cervus elaphus) were exterminated from Kentucky before the Civil War, along with bison and large predators. They were among the first of a wave of local extinctions from overharvesting and habitat degradation that continues to this day. Now Earthwatch volunteers are participating in the an historic elk reintroduction program on the Cumberland Plateau of southeastern Kentucky, the largest of its kind in North America.
Since 1997, The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has released nearly 1,100 elk in this rugged Appalachian landscape, with a goal of 1,800 over five years and a target population of 7,500. John Cox and Jeff Larkin, doctoral students at the University of Kentucky and coleaders of Earthwatch's Kentucky Mountain Elk project, reported on the first three years of the elk reintroduction at the August meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology in Hawai'i.
"Elk are important here because they can serve as a charismatic flagship species for furthering regional conservation through public outreach, education, and recreation," said Cox. "In addition, intact ecosystems set aside to protect elk and its habitat could serve as an umbrella for protecting lesser known species."
Cox and Larkin reported at the SCB meeting on the site fidelity of released elk and on critical environmental factors that affected elk colonization, based on the movements of 415 radio-collared elk released at three sites. The release site with the least disturbance, greatest number of available habitat patches, and the highest open-to-edge ratio, had the highest release site fidelity at 83 percent. Release sites characterized by high degrees of public access and disturbance, including both an actively mined site and a national forest site, had lower site fidelity. Highways and urban areas were found to act as colonization barriers, which may decrease individual exchange between release sites and slow early population growth.
Cox, Larkin, and their Kentucky Mountain Elk coleader, Dr. David Maehr (also of University of Kentucky), hope to further elucidate factors that contribute to the success or failure of establishing free-roaming elk. By monitoring the activities of more than 500 radio-collared elk, their Earthwatch volunteers will help determine their mortality factors, movements, and habitat use of reintroduced elk. Since previous, insufficiently monitored attempts to reintroduce elk in other states and Canadian provinces have failed, the work of Earthwatch teams is critical in determining what works and what doesn't.
Cox's research also involves investigating the impact of the reintroduced elk on their major competitors, white tailed deer, as well as potential predators, namely coyote.
"Elk, like white-tailed deer, are generalist herbivores that can utilize a wide range of landscapes and forage," said Cox. "Because of their large size and tendency to form large groups, elk can cause substantial modification to landscapes through grazing, browsing, trampling, seed dispersal, and other physical processes."
The project has received wide public support, reflecting the local interest in the elk population for viewing and hunting. But for the reintroduction to be truly successful, it must foster the development of a new land ethic in the Appalachian region, which has suffered from a century of land degradation from extractive industries like mining and logging. The work of Earthwatch teams will help encourage the maintenance of diversity that drives ecosystem processes and sustains all life in Appalachia.
Earthwatch Institute is an international nonprofit organization which supports scientific field research worldwide by offering members of the public unique opportunities to work alongside leading field scientists and researchers. The Institute's mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment.