Thu, Aug 28 2008
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Published June 28, 2008 06:30 pm - While a few chosen hunters are accustomed to pursuing elk in the fall, there is considerable hunting going on right now in Pennsylvania's Wilds. Outdoors: Locating cow elks is tedious work By Connie Mertz For The Daily Item While a few chosen hunters are accustomed to pursuing elk in the fall, there is considerable hunting going on right now in Pennsylvania's Wilds.
This area, comprising Pennsylvania's wild elk range, covers around 3,750 square miles, including six northcentral counties, according to Anthony Ross, regional biologist for the Pennsylvania Game Commission's northcentral region. I traveled to elk country a few weeks ago with Peter Aiken, former Wildlife Conservation Officer from Montour and upper Northumberland counties, who now serves as Wildlife Habitat Management Supervisor for the northcentral region. On this particular hunt, we were armed with cameras rather than rifles, and its success solely depended on telemetry and keen eyesight. Arriving in the Quehanna Wilds Area, we were met by Colleen Shannon, Land Management Group Supervisor for the northcentral region and her nephew, Justin Keen, along with Richard Kugel, Assistant District Forester at Sproul State Forest, and Tim Fenton, a maintenance repair manager. "Jon has located a cow," Shannon said, "and we are waiting to hear word from him." She was referring to Jon DeBerti, the agency's elk biologist, responsible for locating newborns and gathering biological information as part of the state's elk management program. We were there to assist him. Shannon explained, "Jon takes one person into the woods with him to help locate the cow. Then, once the cow leaves the immediate area, then it's safe for us to join him." "Generally, the calf is found within a 100-yard perimeter," she said as we traipsed through a level grassy field leading to forested land. "Just watch for rattlesnakes," she warned. Being a greenhorn, I didn't object to wearing snake protectors from my knees down. Once inside the woods, DeBerti told the group to space out in a single lines. Walking in what he termed grids, he told the group, "Look all around you. The calf should be in this general area." The understory was enveloped in ferns, downed branches, decaying logs and mountain stone. The six of us walked and walked, then turned and walked in other directions. We retraced our steps, but still no calf was located. "They are really hard to find," said someone in the group. "They lie so flat to the ground that if you aren't right on them, they are impossible to see." More than an hour passed with relentless black flies and constant walking. DeBerti finally gave up. 
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