As part of its new elk reintroduction plan for southern West Virginia, 9,000 acres in Logan and McDowell counties will become a major part of the new elk zone.
In McDowell County, 4,500 acres will adjoin the existing Tug Fork Wildlife Management area, which already covers 2,266 acres between the communities of Iaeger and Welch.
Additionally, 4,300 acres leased near Holden in the west central part of Logan County has been named the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, who has made the elk reintroduction a priority.
Tomblin WMA will be managed by the DNR in cooperation with Ecosystem Investment Partners. “Though the area is in steep, rugged southern West Virginia, it is unique in that most of the ridge-tops have been surface-mined and reclaimed to wildlife habitat, most recently by Alpha Natural Resources,” said DNR Director Bob Fala.
The combination of mined mountain tops and forested valleys creates a mosaic of mixed habitat types, already home to a number of wildlife species, will now host an elk population.
Fala said the properties are under long-term leases from Ecosystem Investment Partners and may eventually be purchased by the DNR to ensure the public will have access long after the elk reintroduction program is put into effect.