The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1997 elk release, with elk quota hunting applications for this season on sale through April 30.
Through the annual random drawing, applicants will be able tune into a Saturday, May 14 livestream from the Prestonsburg Mountain Arts Center. Those selected for the elk quota hunt will be assigned to one of six units within an elk zone, courtesy of a second drawing. The hunting season then begins September 10 and runs through January 4, 2023.
In 2021, a record number of applicants — nearly 90,000 — submitted for the drawing. Since elk were reintroduced to Kentucky in 1997, the state’s herd has reportedly grown to be the largest east of the Rocky Mountains.
All told, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife issued 594 permits, which equates to a 0.66% lottery award rate.
Kentucky’s elk reintroduction spanned five years from 1997-2002, following a drought of more than 150 years since the native species had been spotted. With few regional natural predators, elk quickly thrived.
Now, this free-ranging herd inhabits more than 4 million acres in 16 southeast Kentucky counties, and states like Wisconsin, Virginia and Missouri have since re-established their herds.
Since the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources receives nothing from the state’s general fund, the agency relies on the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, boating registration fees and federal grants. The proceeds from elk quota entries help continue fund conservation, protection and the enhancement of resources for hunting, fishing, trapping, boating, shooting sports, wildlife viewing and other related activities across the state.
For more information about the elk hunt draw, or to sign up, visit fw.ky.gov/solar.
Permits are offered for bull firearm, cow firearm and either-sex archery/crossbow permit; individuals may apply separately for each permit type, for a total of three possible applications per year. However, individuals can only apply once for each permit type.
General drawing quota permits cannot be bought or sold, and hunters must follow season requirements for the permit for which they were drawn.
The two-day elk hunt draw at the Mountain Arts Center kicks off with a concert, food and vendors
on Friday evening, May 13, and is followed by a reveal of selected hunters names from noon until 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 14.
