Nearly 1,400 acres of prime elk habitat is being added to Sproul State Forest in Clinton County. The land purchase will pave the way for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and DCNR to work with the Department of Environmental Protection and Trout Unlimited to clean up several acid mine discharges into Kettle Creek, a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.

“Our organization has worked in partnership with DCNR in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, and our long-standing relationship is a conservation success story that we intend to build upon in the years ahead,” said Peter J. Dart, Elk Foundation President and CEO.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a non-profit, wildlife conservation organization based in Missoula, Montana, has worked closely with DCNR and other partners in Pennsylvania to establish and enhance elk habitat in The Pennsylvania Wilds - one of the most beautiful and undisturbed regions east of the Mississippi River.

The Pennsylvania Wilds contains about 2 million acres across 12 counties in the north central part of the state, and is home to a thriving herd of more than 700 elk.

The Elk Foundation purchased the land and conveyed the title to DCNR and will be managed by DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry’s Sproul State Forest.

“The partnership of the Elk Foundation and DCNR to clean up the acid mine discharges from the Kettle Creek property is a winning scenario for Clinton County and the many communities in the county that depend on hunting and recreation to boost their economies,” said Clinton County Commissioner Harold “Bud” Yost.

Yost, who considers Clinton County a “gateway” to The Pennsylvania Wilds, said the land acquisition and subsequent mining clean-up will not only benefit elk, deer, bear, turkey, small game species, and other wildlife that inhabit the property, it will improve the quality of fishing on Kettle Creek, a trout stream that has been growing in popularity in recent years.

“The Kettle Creek acquisition is a major step in our long-term effort to protect high quality habitats for elk and other wildlife and to open lands for hunting and other forms of recreation,” said Rawley Cogan, lands program manager for the Elk Foundation.

An estimated 10,000 hunters visit Sproul State Forest every year, Cogan said, adding that the area is also becoming a destination for other forms of recreation, such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and wildlife viewing.

In March, the State of Pennsylvania’s DEP awarded the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation $1.35 million in Growing Greener II funds to eliminate dangerous cliffs and spoil piles at the former Kelley Estate, a 4,200-acre acquisition completed by the Elk Foundation, North Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, DCNR and Pennsylvania Game Commission in 2000 in West Keating Township in Clinton County. The Elk Foundation is administering the grant and is working with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Clinton County Conservation District and the consulting company, New Miles of Blue Stream, to complete the project.

A 1995 study supported by the Wild Resource Conservation Fund found that wildlife watching in Pennsylvania generated nearly $1.8 billion in economic activity each year, and the popularity of elk is a key attraction.

“This is an important opportunity to add to and protect some of the most rugged and remote forest land in Pennsylvania,” said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis.

“As stewards of the park and forest lands in the Pennsylvania Wilds that are becoming a growing destination for outdoor recreationists, we thank the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and our other partners for this opportunity to provide food and habitat for wildlife, clean up and protect the resource and offer the best outdoor experience possible to our visitors so that they understand the role we all play in the future of our natural resources,” Secretary DiBerardinis said.

Sproul State Forest currently encompasses more than 300,000 acres of forest land located in western Clinton and northern Centre counties.

“The Kettle Creek property is an excellent acquisition that will allow the state to conduct aggressive acid mine drainage reclamation,” said Clinton County Rep. Mike Hanna (D-Centre).

“The partnership between the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the State of Pennsylvania illustrates the effectives of diverse groups collaborating to achieve common goals that will benefit the citizens of our state for generations to come,” Rep. Hanna said.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat. In Pennsylvania, the Elk Foundation has conserved or enhanced nearly 14,000 acres of wildlife habitat, and has worked with its partners to complete 126 conservation projects with a value of nearly $8 million.

To learn more visit www.elkfoundation.org or call 800-CALL-ELK.

(Courtesy of DCNR’s Resource newsletter.)

11/24/2006