$40M coming to elk range
Announcement made during Legislative Elk Tour

Tens of millions of dollars will be spent on environmental projects in and around the Pennsylvania elk range to clean up the environment and improve wildlife habitat. Announcement was made during the 11th annual Pennsylvania Legislative Elk Tour, near Medix Run in Elk County.

An acid mine reclamation project on state game lands near Winslow Hill is a major component of the plan. Coal mining in the region has caused significant water pollution over the years.

Pa. Game Commission (PGC) Land Manager John Dzemyan discussed the partnership between the PGC, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection.

Over the next five years, approximately $40 million will be spent to reclaim land and clean up natural water habitats.

Work on about 300 acres of State Game Lands 311 will improve wildlife habitat, particularly benefiting the region's elk herd. Soil will be treated with lime, calcium and magnesium to neutralize acidity. Limestone from an active surface mine will also be used. Domtar paper mill in Johnsonburg is contributing a lime compound left over from the paper-making process.

Dzemyan said the elk population has more than quadrupled over the past quarter-century. The herd was once at around 150 animals, with many elk/human conflicts. Now, with expanded habitat, there are at least 700 elk in Pennsylvania with fewer conflicts, Dzemyan noted.

Elk studies continue by the Game Commission, Indiana University of Pa. and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to learn more about habitat uses, food preferences and calf survival and behavior.

The tour also covered a wetland mitigation project and a fenced habitat demonstration area, both off Ardell Road near the Quehanna Highway. The latter is an effort to keep deer away from certain species of plants and trees so they can reach the point where browsing will not destroy them.