BENTON, Ky. — Only about 4,000 people have applied for a permit to participate in Kentucky's first elk hunt since the Civil War era — a fraction of the tens of thousands of people expected.

        Prospective elk hunters have until May 31 to pay $10 to apply for the chance at a lottery to win one of 10 open slots to hunt the elk, but state fish and wildlife officials had expected more people to respond by now.

        Several factors have probably prevented many of the state's 270,000 deer hunters and others from entering the lottery scheduled for July 27-28 at an elk festival in Hazard, said Roy Grimes, wildlife director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Kentucky's elk population is expected to be about 1,500 by summer (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

        State officials think “people know the odds are great, and they don't want to spend $10 on a gamble,” Mr. Grimes said Tuesday at a two-day workshop for outdoor writers at Camp Guthrie in western Kentucky. The event, which started Monday, is sponsored by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

        Free-ranging elk were reintroduced to Kentucky for the first time in more than a century in 1997. The state's elk population is expected to be about 1,500 by June, Mr. Grimes said.

        The herd is expected to grow to 7,400 elk in nine or 10 years — nearly a decade ahead of schedule, Mr. Grimes said. After reaching that goal, state officials hope to issue 1,000 elk-hunting permits each year, Mr. Grimes said.

        Bulls weigh 600 to 800 pounds and have antlers 3 to 6 feet wide. To ease some hunters' fears, the state is providing two helpers to assist in cleaning and photographing animals after they are killed.

        Twelve permits will be issued for elk hunting in 2001.

        One permit was issued to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which has contributed $1.2 million to the project, and a second to the Shikar-Safari Club International, which has contributed $200,000.

        The groups were selected from a pool of conservation groups that were allowed to apply for a permit to be auctioned off at fund-raising events.

        The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation garnered $37,000 for its permit at an auction, and the Shikar-Safari Club received $10,000 for its permit, Mr. Grimes said.

        To participate, hunters must have a Kentucky hunting license.

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