Moose Droppings

National Park looking for Elk Volunteers

Apr 26, 2007 @ 06:46 pm by Moose

As one who travels up to see the elk a few times a year I’ve witnessed some folks pulling some real bone headed moves. These are wild animals and should be treated like that and respected. The draw for these animals is huge and traffic jams in the middle of the woods are common. I’ve seen lots of folks attempting to get way to close to an elk and other wildlife. Well the National Parks is going to introduce the “Elk Bugle Corps”.

The park is putting together a team called the Elk Bugle Corps that will work with park rangers in the valley, located north of Waynesville, from spring to late fall.

The program is similar to one in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The Elk Bugle Corps there has been directing traffic and answering questions about the animals for 17 years. The team is named for the bugling sound of male elk.
“It is really important to get the message out to visitors about elk behavior and how to behave while viewing elk in Cataloochee,” said Ranger Nancy Gray.

Wish I was a bit closer sounds like a good program.

Volunteers would work from 5:45 to 8:45 p.m. during the week. Help is especially needed on the weekends. The park would prefer volunteers to sign up for a particular day each week or commit to a week at a time.
Volunteers would need to be good with people and have an interest in the elk and the park. In addition to traffic control and teaching ethical wildlife viewing, the volunteers would provide general information about the park and expert information on the elk project.

Citizens Times