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And you thought the last West Virginia elk died in the 1870s.

Technically, it’s a different subspecies than the state’s extinct eastern elk, but the elk is back and probably here to stay.

“There is no question. The elk have been confirmed,” said Paul Johansen, assistant chief of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

The first sighting occurred near Boone County’s Wharton Grade School, where a young bull elk was seen trying to cross a nearby highway in mid-October. Since bowhunting seasons for deer and black bear began, more elk sightings have been reported.

Once abundant in the Eastern United States, elk disappeared as people proliferated throughout the region. Some states have reintroduced the large, antlered animals into the wild. In Kentucky, an estimated 5,700 elk have been put into a 16-county area along West Virginia’s western border.

The DNR has been getting reports of up to six elk together. Officials believe there to be as many as 11 elk in the area.

Lone Kentucky elk have been seen in West Virginia before, but now we have herds.

Biologist Tom Dotson said the DNR is investigating reports of a truck pulling an elk-filled trailer into the Bald Knob area around the same time the sightings began.

‘‘There are reports that a coal company might have had them brought in to improve the environment. There’s also speculation that a hunting club might be behind the stocking. Whoever did it, if anyone did, they had to have had money, because elk aren’t cheap,’’ Dotson said.

If the reports of locals and photo documentation wasn’t hard enough proof, DNR Commissioner Kenny Wilson actually saw one.

West Virginia biologists had assumed since the day the first Kentucky elk were stocked a decade ago that West Virginia would have an elk herd whether it liked it or not.

“The reality is you can not place as many elk as they did on the border and not expect them to expand into the state of West Virginia. Short of building a Great Wall of China and placing armed sentries on top, we knew there was no question we would have elk,” Johansen said.

There has been speculation about whether the elk came from Kentucky or were released there by some elk-introducing game outlaw with a trailer full of elk. Officials say there is some indication that the game outlaw theory is true, but Kentucky elk have been known to wander into West Virginia before. It is also possible that the elk came from both sources.

Regardless of how they got here, West Virginia now has an elk herd. You can’t kill them, elk are still a protected species, a status they were given after they were extirpated.

The state is mostly prepared to take on elk-herd management. Biologists have compiled data and been thinking about how to manage an elk herd for years.

“Their (Kentucky’s) goal was to build and grow an elk herd,” Johansen said, “and by God, they did a good job. The question is how are we going to manage that elk resource Kentucky has so ’graciously’ provided us. The reality is it is going to cost a lot of money to manage this elk herd. They are a tremendously valuable resource, the bottom line is when you place an herbivore that size into an ecosystem you will have impacts,” he said.

The most obvious impact of an elk population is with vehicle collisions. Deer accidents are bad enough, just imagine hitting something the size of a horse. Imagine how much crop damage elk can do.

Yet, there are some positives.

First, a wrong has been righted. God gave West Virginia elk and we killed them all. We are getting a bit closer to the natural order of things.

People can learn to cope with elk and the herds can be managed. Pennsylvania has had a century of elk management experience we can draw on as it stocked its highly-successful elk herd only 50 years after the last native elk there was killed. The elk has created its own economy, not only with elk hunters, but for the eco-tourists who travel to Pennsylvania to watch them.

The DNR plans to manage the elk herd differently in various regions of the state. It will likely be allowed to expand in the southern part of the state where there is little agriculture and plenty of abandoned mining sites for grazing habitat. It also might be allowed to flourish in the eastern mountains. In other areas, such as population centers or those with vulnerable agriculture, the elk herd will likely be severely restricted.

Test results have detected the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) agent in a total of 11 white-tailed deer collected during the 2008 spring collections in Hampshire County, West Virginia, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR). All of the deer testing positive for CWD were collected by Wildlife Resources Section personnel working in the Slanesville/Augusta area of the county. No new positive samples were detected in the Yellow Springs area of Hampshire County.

            These collections have been designed to investigate and determine the prevalence and distribution of the disease in Hampshire County. In addition, wildlife biologists are carefully monitoring changes in the structure of the deer herd within the CWD containment area.

            The first case of CWD in West Virginia was confirmed on September 2, 2005. Since that time, DNR has been fully engaged in activities guided by its CWD Incident Response Plan which is designed to accomplish the following objectives.

· Determine the distribution and prevalence of CWD through enhanced surveillance efforts.

· Communicate and coordinate with the public and other appropriate agencies on issues relating to CWD and the steps being taken to respond to this disease.

· Initiate appropriate management actions necessary to control the spread of this disease and prevent further introduction of the disease.

            To date, CWD surveillance efforts conducted by DNR have resulted in a total of 31 deer being confirmed positive for CWD in Hampshire County. These include 30 deer in the Slanesville/Augusta area and one deer in the Yellow Springs area. Despite ongoing and extensive surveillance efforts being conducted by Wildlife Resouces Section personnel throughout West Virginia, CWD has not been detected outside of Hampshire County.

            CWD is a neurological disease found in deer and elk, and it belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The disease is thought to be caused by abnormal, proteinaceous particles called prions that slowly attack the brain of infected deer and elk, causing the animals to progressively become emaciated, display abnormal behavior and invariably results in the death of the infected animal.

            There is no known treatment for CWD, and it is fatal for the infected deer or elk. It is important to note that currently there is no evidence to suggest CWD poses a risk for humans or domestic animals.

            “Landowner and hunter cooperation throughout this entire CWD surveillance effort in Hampshire County has been excellent,” noted DNR Director Frank Jezioro. “As we strive to meet this wildlife disease challenge and implement appropriate management strategies, the continued support and involvement of landowners and hunters will be essential.” DNR remains committed to keeping the public informed and involved in these wildlife disease management actions. “We would especially like to thank all the cooperating landowners in Hampshire County for allowing our personnel to enter their property and collect deer for CWD testing,” said Jezioro.

            “Our well trained and professional wildlife biologists, wildlife managers and conservation officers are working diligently to fully implement the DNR’s CWD Incident Response Plan, which is designed to effectively address this wildlife disease threat,” said Jezioro. “Hunters, landowners and other members of the public should feel confident that we have some of the best wildlife biologists and veterinarians in the world, including those stationed at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens, Georgia, working collaboratively on this situation.”