Over 30,000 applications were submitted for Virginia’s first elk hunt lottery, generating more than half a million dollars, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
A sixth tag was given to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which auctioned it off for more than $100,000 that will be returned to conservation efforts within the management zone.
About 200 elk are in Buchanan County, with about 45 in Wise County and another 50 scattered across Southwestern Virginia.
Entangled elk were given a sedative to allow officials to free and return them to the wild, and property owners were compensated for any damage, Anderson said.
No people have been injured as a result of these interactions with elk.
“It has been nothing but positive,” she said.