ELK vs. LOCALS

[BunnyBuster]

I'm not from the elk zones and I was wondering how the locals accepted all of the elk in the area. I have a friend that was raised in the Corbin area and he says some family of his that have elk on their farm put up with fences being tore down and different problems. I was just wondering what the oveall outlook is from some of the locals down there.

[trust me]

Some folks are getting fed up with them. The novelty of an elk in the backyard garden has worn off after 6-8 years of damage. There have been a bunch of car collisions in Knott with injuries, so I'm sure there are some hard feelings there too.

[4onaside]

Since I don't have elk in my subdivision in Jackson or on our hunting place along the Tennessee River, perhaps it's not fair for me to speak on the subject(but hey, that's never stopped me before!). Some will probably say that I have quit preaching and gone to meddling, but while I was in Floyd and Knott county a month ago on the hunt of a lifetime, I believe that I came up with a solution of the elk/car collision problem. SLOW DOWN! It appeared to me that almost everyone drove much faster than the roads warranted, as I was not on a secondary road that was not one curve right after another. It also seemed to me, that there was an unusually high number of crosses beside those roads, indicating fatal car crashes. That ought to tell you something. The presense of 500 lb animals just exagerates a problem that was already there. I also believe that increasing hunting pressure as per the plans of the KG&FD will move these critters away from civilization.

[naturalelite]

This isn't Colorado where we have hundreds of square miles of land with little or no population. I don't live there so therefor I won't voice my opinion about them being there. But there isn't enough area over there for them to be out of sight and out of mind.

[BunnyBuster]

I never realized there were a car collision problem. It reminded me of a bumper sticker I once seen on a car in Qubec, Canada, it read "Avoid hitting a moose...It could save your life". I thought it was a joke but I guess it was not. Real issue and yes I have drove on 23 into Pikeville, the driving is wide open no doubt.

[treedog]

i do live in the elk zone and a lot of people are getting tired of them,i do not put in for the elk draw because i don't see that there is any sport in hunting them you can drive around and see them feeding in a field and walk as close as 50 yards of them and they just walk around like cattle i am sure that elk in other places are not that easy to hunt.another thing a lot of people don't like is now people will not let anyone hunt on thier land just because of elk on thier place and they hope that one of the lucky people that get picked to hunt elk will come and pay big bucks to hunt thier land,there is nothing wrong with a land owner doing what ever he wants to do with his land but now it has turned into a money thing.i know that the people that get drawn for the elk hunt that live out of the zone may not know where to hunt but if they could spend a litte time they should not have any trouble finding elk and not have to pay someone $500 to show them where one is.

[naturalelite]

If I were lucky enough to get a tag I would gladly pay a tresspass fee to get on someones land that had some elk. For no other reason than get to hunt the place by myself or with a limited # of people. From what I heard about some of the public areas they were crowded. I can tell ya from experince. Hunting in colorado on public land IS NOT EASY.

[kybowhunter64]

If I were lucky enough to get a tag I would gladly pay a tresspass fee to get on someones land that had some elk. For no other reason than get to hunt the place by myself or with a limited # of people. From what I heard about some of the public areas they were crowded. I can tell ya from experince. Hunting in colorado on public land IS NOT EASY.



A tresspass fee?????? whats that???? and I didnt think the elk where that bad

[raven_over_easy]

If I were lucky enough to get a tag I would gladly pay a trespass fee to get on someones land that had some elk. For no other reason than get to hunt the place by myself or with a limited # of people. From what I heard about some of the public areas they were crowded. I can tell ya from experience. Hunting in Colorado on public land IS NOT EASY.

You hit the nail on the head! It probably wont be long until the Department creates a Unit system similar to how the western states do.

The Zone wide permit may go to the wayside and be replaced by a specific Unit or Unit(s) permit. But this is pure speculation on my part. But it makes sense based on the number of permits to be issued (approximately 400 for 2007) and the localized concentration of Elk on and around reclaimed surface mining operations.

[naturalelite]

A tresspass fee?????? whats that???? and I didnt think the elk where that bad
Tresspass fee is kind of like a lease. In Colorado they do it alot to allow people access to national forest land that is extemely difficult or impossible to get to because there aren't many roads in certain areas. They let you go through their land to get to prime public land. You don't actually hunt on their land. And elk can be very troublesome. I have heard many people in CO talk about elk destroying land and areas around their homes during hard winters when they come down from the mountains.

[Highbow]

I noticed a huge change along the HAL ROGERS Parkway last week, the properties that use to be open for about anyone to hunt , now are posted and most have realtor signs on them, HUNTING LAND FOR SALE. It has made some of the abandoned strip strip mines sell for prices unheard of or leased for ridiculous amounts. Car insurance rates are higher here than in Lexington or Louisville, the elk -vehicle wrecks won't help that any. Johnson Co was suppose to be one of elk counties but you wouldn't think if you had to find one here.

[lances]

I hope I get lucky and get a tag

[rick243]

[quote=Highbow;363131]I noticed a huge change along the HAL ROGERS Parkway last week

Please Highbow, don't call it that. I know Hal and respect him for all he has done for this area, but the road name should have never been changed from the "Daniel Boone Parkway". There is no way that Hal
Rodgers could ever surpass Daniel Boone for his contributions to this State. If Hal needed to stroke his ego he could have just built a new road in his name.

Car insurance rates are higher here than in Lexington or Louisville.

Could the number of automobile skeletons we see on these old strip pits be the reason? I guess there is no convenient place around Lex or Lou to take your car out, strip and burn it, and report it stolen. That could be part of the reason for the high insurance rates here. Lets just be honest and not blame our social problems on the Elk. The Elk herd is just what this area needs. The poster who said "slow down" was right. People need to learn to live alongside the Elk.

[Multidigits]

I noticed a huge change along the HAL ROGERS Parkway last week, the properties that use to be open for about anyone to hunt , now are posted and most have realtor signs on them, HUNTING LAND FOR SALE. It has made some of the abandoned strip strip mines sell for prices unheard of or leased for ridiculous amounts. .


Welcome to the neighborhood. Highbow has been wanting to be like Central and Western Ky. for years now and it's finally come to be.

[treedog]

i don't have a problem with the elk being here in fact i enjoy seeing them,the problem i have is people trying to trun elk hunting into a money thing.i think that we all should be able to go out and enjoy the outdoors and not have to pay big bucks to do it.i hunt deer,coon and turkey and rabbit and it used to be all you had to do was ask the land owner they would let you hunt but not anymore.

[hollow_rat]

I like seeing the elk also but they are a problem some places know of a graveyard the knocked over stones and such.knocked a fellows out building about off it foundation.why dont the cities that have a high murder rate have a high life insurance rate if its beacause of the wrecks and such in eastern ky.
when someone ask me to hunt on property that i control i ask them if they have a lease or no hunting signs up and if they tell me they do its bye bye to them.

[Highbow]

I'll agree Daniel Boone should still be the name on the Parkway, as for making it like Central or Western Ky, by the deer herd number only. The elk program was about money from the day one, hunting and tourism is more about money than anything next to coal in Kentucky.
It is something that could be great for those counties that will have huntable herds and those who only wanted it to make money on the deal from the start.

[jrfrmn]

Who controls the reclaimed mine area's?

[B.M. Barrelcooker]

Dang boys, I never knew that the Elk introduction was what spoiled our appalachian eutopia. That must be why the good folks wiped them out in the first place.

[hollow_rat]

the reclaimed mine areas is controled by the land owner if still not under permit.some will let you hunt some wont