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Elk take flight for Bell County relocation Story and photos by Kevin Kelly
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t is almost daybreak on a reclaimed coal mine in Leslie County. As the rising sun nears the horizon, the clouds glow like tufts of cotton candy. Biologists and wildlife technicians with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources have caravanned from Hazard to get to a barren field atop the mountain before the sun’s arrival. Their final approach, along a one-lane haul road slickened by rain the previous day, requires thoughtful driving. They have just enough time to arrange their equipment and get their flatbed and cattle trailers in place before the rapid chuff-chuff-chuff of a Robinson R44 helicopter pierces the morning quiet. The helicopter, carrying a three-man crew, zigzags into view from the west and lands about a football field away. Piloting the chopper is David Rivers. Picture a nononsense New Zealander, less one front tooth, who can maneuver a helicopter in incomprehensible ways to capture wildlife in remote areas. That’s him. He’s done it all in this line of work. Led by Rivers, the flight crew and ground support staff from Nevada-based Native Range Capture Services traveled to Kentucky from Maine – where they’ve been capturing moose – to assist Kentucky Fish and Wildlife with the
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relocation of elk to Bell County. Managing elk sometimes requires shuffling small numbers of animals within the 16 counties of southeastern Kentucky’s elk zone. Because of concerns about importing chronic wasting disease (CWD) into Kentucky’s CWD-free elk and deer herd, moving elk to Kentucky from other states is no longer an option. Instead, moving existing elk within the state is the best way to spread out Kentucky’s herd. This is how biologists established herds on Fishtrap Lake and Corrigan wildlife management areas. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is collaborating with the Appalachian Wildlife Foundation to bolster the herd in the southern extreme of the elk zone, where fewer animals are present. Elk captured by helicopter in January rode in cattle trailers to the site of the foundation’s proposed Appalachian Wildlife Center near Pineville, where biologists and technicians released them back into the wild. There tourists will be able to see the elk, and the animals can serve as a source herd for future relocation efforts. While wildlife helicopter captures are common in remote areas of the western United States, the technique is new to the rugged mountains of southeastern Kentucky. The Appalachian Wildlife Foundation, which hopes to create an elk viewing destination in Bell County, contracted with the helicopter capture service for the first
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use of the technique in the state. Here’s how it works: The crew locates a herd then maneuvers the chopper to isolate an elk. The net gunner uses a Thompson/Center .308-caliber pistol loaded with a blank charge to fire a net over the animal. As the helicopter descends to within a few feet of the ground, a crew member known as a “mugger” jumps out. He secures and blindfolds the netted elk to help keep it calm before placing it into a sling bag. The helicopter hoists the bagged elk into the air then flies it a short distance to a staging area. The pilot carefully places the elk onto a flatbed trailer before releasing the bag and returning to pick up the mugger. It’s the same technique used to capture some of the elk relocated to Kentucky from Utah, Arizona and New Mexico during Kentucky’s elk restoration effort in 19972002. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife biologists are careful to take only a few animals from a herd when they capture elk for in-state relocation. For the Bell County project, department employees visited nine counties and captured 130 elk using a helicopter and other methods through late January. Captured animals included mostly cow elk along with some young bulls. Several elk received GPS collars that send location notifications every few hours. Others received less costly VHF radio collars that allow biologists to track the animals with a hand-held antenna. The collars will help Kentucky Fish and Wildlife gauge mortality and monitor elk movements in the coming years. But first, biologists need some more elk to collar.
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t’s now dawn on the fifth day of the helicopter capture effort. Gabe Jenkins, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife biologist who heads the deer and elk programs, is standing on a flat hilltop discussing strategy with Rivers, the pilot. Talk quickly turns into action as they spot the silhouette of what appears to be an elk on top of a distant ridge. Rivers hustles to the helicopter as his crew climbs aboard. Moments later, they’re airborne. Manipulating the aircraft like a cattle dog, Rivers descends to treetop level and hovers close enough for the down wash of the helicopter’s blades to reach the ground. He rocks the chopper forward, backward, and side-to-side until the elk move off the ridge. Rivers pursues. The helicopter disappears below the horizon. At the drop-off site, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife crew is ready to respond. When the helicopter appears above a nearby hill with a sling bag dangling several feet below by a rope, someone on the ground shouts, “Elk!” “It’s go time,” another yells. Moments later, the helicopter is hovering over the drop-off site. Rivers pokes his head outside the cockpit as he gently lowers a bagged yearling bull elk to the ground. He releases the rope from the helicopter, rapidly ascends and returns to the capture location. The response by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife staff is immediate and carried out in sequence. Department employees set about removing the antlers for the animal’s
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well being and staff safety. They will regrow the following spring. It receives ear tags before four people lift it into a cattle trailer for a quick health assessment and check for injuries. Wildlife biologist Dan Crank shaves a narrow strip of hair with cordless clippers then draws a blood sample for testing. A digital thermometer records the animal’s temperature. Biologists examine the teeth to determine its age. All of this information goes into a three-ring binder. When the work-up is completed, handlers free the bull’s legs and remove its blindfold. One by one, people scurry out of the trailer. A department employee stands by the door to shut the trailer quickly once the last person is out. It’s a tense time: A disoriented elk trying to get to its feet could seriously injure a person who slips and falls on the way out. The mood turns to relief once the door clangs shut with everybody safely out. The animal is in good shape and ready for its move to Bell County. The helicopter crew captures and transports four elk – two female, two male – and the first load of the day heads to the release site. Spring 2018 Kentucky Afield 25
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enkins and Rivers agree to move locations. The helicopter takes off and the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife crew quickly retraces its way from the mine site out to the main road. The route to a different mine site, across from Pine Mountain in Harlan County, cuts through the Daniel Boone National Forest along Greasy Creek. Hemlocks line the road in spots. Coordinating ground and air operations in this part of Kentucky presents a logistical challenge. Cell service is spotty and many assisting the effort aren’t familiar with the roads and access points. Blue Diamond was one of the original release sites for Kentucky’s elk restoration project, but the haul road at one of the entrances is too treacherous to navigate safely. Jenkins and elk program biologist Joe McDermott scout a second entrance. It’s suitable. Half the caravan follows Jenkins. The rest head in another direction to avoid blocking traffic on the narrow two-lane road. Jenkins’ group presses on, racing the clock and the helicopter. The trucks snake up a coal haul road and negotiate a muddy switchback before reaching a small horseshoe-shaped plateau. A thick mat of grass conceals the flat’s ankle-twisting rocks. The
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helicopter’s ground support crew approves the area for a landing spot. The skeleton crew led by Jenkins scrambles to prepare for the next elk delivery, but there is one problem: the other group has the supplies needed for the health check. Fortunately, Jenkins’ group includes Kentucky bear program coordinator John Hast. Because of his own research, Hast happens to have the needed equipment in his truck. The helicopter arrives minutes later with an adult cow elk in a sling bag. The rest of the crew reunites with Jenkins’ group soon after and assists the effort. Once the helicopter delivers its fourth elk, it is checked and the group begins its trip to the release site. All together, the helicopter crew and Kentucky Fish and Wildlife staff capture 13 elk from three counties on this day. “It’s been 20 years since we started returning elk to Kentucky,” Jenkins said. “The number of elk transferred to this location in Bell County is small compared to the total number of elk estimated to be on the ground in the elk zone. It speaks to how far we’ve come that we’re now able to establish a research and source herd while providing the public with a prime location to see these magnificent animals in the wild.” Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s elk management plan serves as a road map for the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife biologists posed with a bull elk blindfolded to help keep it calm. Pictured from left are Joe McDermott, Gabe Jenkins, Dan Crank, David Yancy, Kyle Sams and John Hast.
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state’s herd through 2030. Doing what is necessary to provide the public with quality viewing opportunities has been a goal since restoration efforts started in 1997. The proposed Appalachian Wildlife Center site spans 19 square miles on a reclaimed coal strip mine off U.S. 119. It offers stunning views of Cumberland Moun-
tain. Slated to open in 2020, the center will include a museum, a theater and a hall highlighting the natural history of elk and the species’ restoration in Kentucky, bird natural history and watching. Plans call for a 15-mile, self-guided scenic loop road for wildlife viewing, plus hiking trails and picnic areas. n
Chad Miles photo
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