Popular elk tours start this weekend in southern W.Va.
Popular elk tours start this weekend in southern W.Va.
Tours of Tomblin WMA are a fun way to see a West Virginia elk and learn about the program which brought them back to the Mountain State.
LOGAN, W.Va. — The first elk management tours of the season get started this weekend on the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area in southern West Virginia. The tours are the easiest way for the public to catch site of the West Virginia elk herd which was restored in the state in December of 2016.
The tours began in 2018 and are extremely popular according to Lauren Cole who runs the tours out of the Chief Logan Lodge in Chapmanville.
“They are an interpretative program. We meet at the lodge at either 5:30 in the morning or four in the evening and take a van ride out to Tomblin Wildlife Management Area and we go scout for the wild elk herd,” said Cole in a recent appearance on West Virginia Outdoors.
The tours take about four hours and include a snack or lunch depending whether you choose a morning or afternoon visit. Cole leads the tour which includes a ride into the area where the elk were first released. They haven’t strayed too far in their range from that original spot.
Although the public is allowed to walk into the area on the WMA property, only authorized vehicles are allowed to drive. It makes the tours the easiest way to see the elk. The trip also provides some valuable help in glassing from a long distance away.
“There is some walking involved, but it’s very slow paced. We’re scouting for wildlife, so we walk a little and we stop. We have binoculars available and we also have a spotting scope. I operate the spotting scope, so if you’ve never glassed game at 800 yards, don’t worry about it, I’m going to do it for you,” Cole explained.
Cole said there are no guarantees of seeing elk since they are wild animals, but a high percentage of the trips yield elk sightings and during this time of year there is a higher likelihood of hearing the bull elk bugling in the region. The mating sounds are often audible from a long distance away as it echoes on the steep southern West Virginia hillsides.
“It’s really about the management of the habitat and the history of elk and other game species in the state. You’ll see active habitat work and learn about what it takes to reclaim mountaintop removal sites and convert them into valuable, diverse wildlife habitat,” she added.
The tours have limited space and fill up fast. Reservations are available through the Chief Logan Lodge website.