By a 97-0 vote, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill authorizing the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries to create a special license for elk hunting in the state’s elk management zone. It also authorizes the board to establish quotas and procedures for selection to purchase the license.
There are approximately 250 elk currently in Virginia’s management zone. Media reports indicate the state will wait until there are approximately 400 elk before allowing an elk hunt to take place.
The bill clarifies that a separate special license to hunt elk is not required to hunt elk outside the designated elk management zone. The Virginia Senate is yet to vote on the legislation.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation provided funding and volunteer manpower to assist with the successful restoration of elk onto their historic Virginia range in 2014.
(Photo source: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries)