N.C. to continue to protect elk

"After receiving overwhelming public support for keeping elk on the state's list of Special Concern species, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission this week voted down a proposal to delist the animals," says the Citizen-Times.

... The proposal to delist the elk was one of more than 60 proposed hunting and fishing rule changes the commission brought before nine public hearings across the state in January.

The hearing in Sylva for Western North Carolina public comment drew more than 100 people who overwhelmingly spoke out in favor of keeping the elk a protected species in the state.

Elk, a species native to North Carolina, were reintroduced to the Cataloochee area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2001 with an experimental herd of 52 animals.

The herd now numbers 110 animals, which have been popular with tourists. In 2008 visitation to Cataloochee was 148,000 people, more than double from when the elk first arrived.

The idea behind the delisting proposal was to better manage the elk when they roam outside the protected boundaries of the national park and onto private property, said District 9 Commissioner Martin Lewis.

“We need a way to manage the elk who come off the park looking for food,” said Lewis, who lives in Asheville. “We need to ensure the safety of elk. We all agree we need to do something. We need to have a management plan.”

Quick hits: Nice rest stops and more on elk in W.N.C.

Carry me out of old Virginia
"Say what you will about North Carolina's underfunded and deteriorating highway system, we still have great rest stops," writes an editorial in the Wilmington Star-News.

"A trip to the Shenandoah Valley will remind you of the difference between North Carolina's and those of the beautiful commonwealth to the north.

"Along I-64, a sign for an upcoming rest stop warns of 'temporary toilets.' Along I-95, a quaintly colonial rest stop looks as if hasn't been freshened up since it was used by the Army of North Virginia. ..."

Program that moves bears temporarily helps elk herd in Smokies
"An elk herd in western North Carolina has grown since the first animals were released into the wild in 2001 and 2002," writes the Associated Press.

"Now there are 75 elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and wildlife experts say there needs to be 100 before the herd can be self-sustaining.

"The herd has grown recently because more elk newborns survive due to a program that moves bears out of the nursery areas. By the time the bears return the elk calves have grown enough so they can stay with the safety of the herd. ..."

Quick hits: Elk return to Western N.C., last call for Ghost Town

Elk return to Cataloochee
"Down in this valley, nestled among 6,000-foot mountain peaks along the eastern end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, wildlife lovers are witnessing sights unseen for 150 years," writes the Hendersonville Times-News. ...

"Once nothing more than an entry in the history books, elk have returned to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They're not the eastern elk, driven into extinction by overhunting and habitat loss in the 1800s, leaving behind no trace other than namesakes -- Banner Elk, Elk Park. ..."

Ghost Town's last leg
"Today is the last day of auditions for Ghost Town in the Sky, the mountaintop Western theme park scheduled to reopen this summer," wrote the Asheville Citizen-Times on April 1.

"Park officials are auditioning country, gospel and blues musicians today beginning at 1 p.m. in the Welcome Center on Soco Road (the A-frame building in the parking lot). ..."