Elk negotiations continue
Dick Hamilton, director of the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Biologists with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park want to increase the elk herd in Cataloochee by bringing in a new batch of elk from Kentucky.
Park considers more elk
The North Carolina Wildlife Commission is still weighing whether to allow the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to bring more elk into the Cataloochee Valley area of the park.
To elk or not to elk
By the time this column hits the streets (11/2), the results from two public meetings regarding the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s experimental elk release will be known. The park is proposing extending the experiment for two years and bringing in additional elk. The first meeting was Tuesday, Oct. 25, in Cherokee and the second was Thursday, Oct. 27, in Fletcher.
Every effort should be taken to help elk project succeed
The experimental elk reintroduction into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park should be given every chance to succeed. If that means an additional release of more elk, then park biologists and state wildlife officials need to work cooperatively to help that happen.