Witnessing conservation history

This was the first elk we saw while in Kentucky near the elk trapping site. (MDC photo by Candice Davis)

Conservation history is in the making for Missouri, and I had the chance to take a front row seat.

If you haven't heard yet that elk are being brought back to a limited restoration zone in the Missouri Ozarks, pick up a Missouri newspaper or turn on your local evening news and chances are you'll find out the details pretty quick. On the Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) web site you can sign up for elk updates to be delivered to your email with complete details as they happen.

Missouri's elk restoration is happening and someday, I promise, you'll want to tell your grandchildren you watched it happen. I know I will.

An important part of the MDC's mission is to restore native species to Missouri's landscape. Because we're tasked to accommodate that mission (and also because I couldn't resist the chance to witness such a historic event), I was dispatched to Kentucky with a team to document a portion of the MDC's trapping activities in the Appalachian Mountains. With me was MDC videographer, Kevin Muenks and MDC photographer, David Stonner.

The trapping and holding facility is located on private land near Pineville, Ky. It was an exciting week for our team, despite the cold and snowy weather. We collected footage of elk in the wild, trapping team activities, and we also interviewed locals who told us a little bit of what we might experience when this native species becomes a part of our landscape again after an absence of over 100 years. These many stories will be shared as the elk restoration progresses.

When Dave, Kevin and I arrived in Kentucky, we felt the suspense of waiting for our first glimpse of an elk. But it didn't happen right away. Not being locals, we didn't know where to find them. Elk don't practice sporadic movement like White-tailed deer. They're much more predictable, if you know where to look. But if you don't have a clue where they prefer to be, you can search and search to no avail.

The first day, as we followed directions to the trapping site, we took a few wrong turns along the way. We kept thinking we would see elk and were keeping a close watch out for them. We were told elk were in the area where we were driving, but all we saw for quite a while were horses.

Then suddenly, as we rounded a bend near the trapping site, we saw a lone elk directly in front of us up high on a ridge. It was late afternoon and the bull's coat took on a bright glow in the golden sunlight.

Kevin slowed the vehicle to a stop and we sat and watched the elk in silence as he stood majestically at the top of the ridge.

"Well," Dave said finally. "Shall we get to it then?"

The three of us sprang to life as we collected camera gear and readied to gather some "elk in the wild" material. The bull never gave notice that he cared we were there. I enjoyed watching Dave and Kevin take their world class photographs and video footage, and I took a few amateur photos of my own for keepsakes.

We saw many other elk during the trip and we were even at the trapping site to witness the first elk in the holding facility that week, destined for the Missouri Ozarks. It was a long, hard work week. But when I look at the excitement factor and the memories that we share in the midst of this historic species restoration in Missouri, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

For more information on the ongoing elk restoration, check out the MDC's elk restoration update webpage. You'll find videos from our trip to the Kentucky elk trapping site and detailed information on the restoration process.