A new dissertation, funded in part by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, shows solid genetic diversity in West Virginia’s newborn elk population.
To better understand the study, it is important to know the state’s recent history. In 2016, RMEF worked with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to restore elk to their historic West Virginia range by moving elk from Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) in Kentucky. Two years later, RMEF worked with WVDNR and the Arizona Game and Fish Department to capture and transport more elk from Arizona. Additional releases from LBL were completed in 2024, bringing the total population to around 140 to 150 elk.
Scientists tracked which elk were the parents of 43 out of 59 calves born in West Virginia and determined just over half of the calves had one parent from Arizona and one from Kentucky, showing that the two groups are successfully mixing.
“Management action is not needed to encourage mixing between the groups. It shows that the social structure of the two groups does not prevent breeding between them, indicating if additional elk are brought into the population, they will likely also be assimilated into the mating structure,” according to the study.
The most common cause of mortality for West Virginia elk is brain worm, a parasitic infection that often proves fatal. Study findings show the Arizona elk had a higher susceptibility to brain worm compared to LBL elk. Greater genetic mixing between the two elk populations, as noted above, improves long-term viability and health of the population.
“Elk reintroduction isn’t just about moving animals; in part, it’s also about understanding their genetic strengths and weaknesses, mixing them wisely, factoring in health threats and other mortality risks within the reintroduction zone as well as monitoring herd health and ecology for years to ensure the herd thrives,” said Heather Abernathy, RMEF research lead.
Other study funding sources were the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and dollars generated by hunters and anglers who pay excise taxes on guns, ammunition, archery and fishing equipment via the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts.
Dating back to 1997, RMEF worked alongside various partners to complete 60 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in West Virginia with a combined value of more than $10 million. These projects conserved or enhanced 33,792 acres of wildlife habitat and opened or improved public access to 32,371 acres.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)