A new agreement is being forged for the completion of the Elk Country Visitor Center in Benezette Township, Elk County, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Acting Secretary John Quigley said this week that will involve the PA Parks and Forest Foundation.

“The project was launched as a partnership with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for the 7,000-square foot Elk Country Visitor Center to include interpretive exhibits, wildlife trails and viewing blinds, year-round restrooms and parking for cars and buses,” Acting Secretary Quigley said. “RMEF has now conveyed its share of the largest elk watching and conservation education facility in the eastern United States to DCNR.

“The foundation has been a great partner in open space protection and restoring the elk herd in the Pennsylvania Wilds region, and we thank them for their help getting the Elk Center project started. This project would not have been possible without their early partnership with DCNR,” Acting Secretary Quigley added.

DCNR reached out to a long-standing partner and well-respected conservation organization, the PA Parks and Forests Foundation, to assist the department in completing the project.

“The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation appreciates the work that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has done to restore elk habitat and educate the public about elk,” said Marci Mowery, President of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation. “We look forward to working with the DCNR through the Elk Country Visitor Center to reach out to new visitors, give them a wonderful outdoor experience and share the story of the conservation efforts that have restored many of the natural and wild areas in Pennsylvania.”

Now under construction, the Elk Country Visitor Center is expected to be completed by June 2010. The commonwealth is providing $5 million for construction of the center.

The Richard King Mellon, Dominion, and Thoreson foundations; Safari Club International; Eastern Chapter Foundation for North American Wild Sheep; and many individual donors made contributions to RMEF for the center.

Additionally, Elk Foundation chapters across the country made special contributions to support the new facility.

“This project worked much like our standard lands protection project—we facilitate and fundraise, then transfer the asset to a public agency better equipped to manage in perpetuity,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “We’ve never applied this model to a conservation education facility before but we’re pleased with the outcome.”

Allen said the Elk Foundation remains focused on its core mission of habitat conservation for elk and other wildlife with no plans for additional conservation education facilities.

Going forward, RMEF will help promote the Elk Country Visitor Center and use it for special conservation and education events. DCNR will erect a donated bronze elk statue dedicated to the passion of Elk Foundation volunteers.

RMEF has agreed to transfer ownership of the 245-acre property to DCNR. RMEF also will transfer donations received to support the center to PPFF, which will enter in to a contract to complete the fabrication and installation of exhibits and displays in time for an opening in the summer of 2010.

DCNR will support PPFF’s efforts to continue to raise funds for the operation of the center while it explores a more permanent solution to the long term operation of the facility.

“We are pleased that we have forged a new partnership to ensure that the center is ready to open and greet visitors by summer of next year,” Acting Secretary Quigley said.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Wilds, visit the DCNR website or the Game Commission's Elk webpage.