(The Center Square) – An Ohio legislator wants the state to spend $1 million in taxpayer dollars to study bringing back elk to the state after a nearly 100-year absence.
The elk study is part of State Rep. Justin Pizzulli’s, R-Scioto County, bill that would spend $3 million in taxpayer funds, including another $2 million to study expanding side-by-side trails in the state, according to a fiscal analysis by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
While House Bill 641 would take the money from the state’s General Fund, it also encourages the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to explore private funding options.
“The Division shall explore federal and private funding opportunities, such as the Pittman-
Robertson Wildlife Restoration Fund,” the bill states. “The Division may
collaborate with state universities, including The Ohio State University and Shawnee State University, for ecological and tourism impact research.”
The bill calls for DNR to conduct a study to evaluate the feasibility of reintroducing elk into Ohio’s state forests and wildlife areas.
The legislation requires a study of ecological impact on the state, including potential damage to crops and vegetation as well as the impact on soil, water and other species and on the risk of diseases such as bovine tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease.
It would also require an economic study to estimate “the costs to the state and potential return on investment through license sales, tourism, and related tax revenues.”
The study would also include estimates on the cost of fencing and other protective measures that would be required.
Elk were once common in Ohio but vanished around the mid 19th century, due to unregulated hunting, habitat loss and other factors.
“The last known native eastern elk in Ohio was reportedly shot around 1840 or 1841 in Ashtabula County,” according to an article on the website, BiologyInsights.com.
Pizzulli did not immediately return a request for comment on the legislation.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife contracted with wildlife researchers to conduct a study on elk in 2015, spokeswoman Karina Cheung told The Center Square.
“This assessment concluded at that time that it was possible for habitat to support a limited number of elk in one or more areas of southeast Ohio,” Cheung said.
In 2020, Chronic Wasting Disease was found in a wild deer herd in Ohio and “has continued to spread,” Cheung said.
Elk are also susceptible to the disease, she said.
“Elk in other states are now testing positive for CWD,” the spokeswoman said. “If future studies regarding elk reintroduction in Ohio move forward, we would recommend that the threat of CWD be weighed as part of any recommendations.”
