Branson Outdoors: Elk Making a Comeback in the Ozarks!

As a child my family vacationed in Branson for the obvious reasons.  We liked the shows, go carts and Silver Dollar City.  Now that I’m older, bringing my family to Branson, I have found many more entertainment options.  In fact, if you truly want to investigate Branson and the unique Ozark culture, the abundant wildlife and magnificent scenery, you’ll need to spend more than a couple of days.  Start out by renting a cabin in Branson that you’ll enjoy instead of a hotel room just to sleep in.  Plan on spending a week and do more than play golf and shop.

Take a drive into Arkansas just to see what wildlife you might encounter.  On my last drive through the Ponca and Boxley area, down Highway 43 out of Harrison, Arkansas, I was fortunate enough to see a herd of wild elk.  It was late September, breeding season for elk, when I came across three bulls and four cow elk grazing in a quiet pasture just before sunset.  We stopped the car and watched until dark.  The elk apparently knew we  were not a threat.

Back in Branson that night (try The Cabins at Grand Mountain—they have free internet in the rooms) I was able to find recent information on when and how elk have been reintroduced to the Northwest Arkansas region along the Buffalo River.  In the early eighties, 112 elk were released near Pruitt in Newton County.  The herd has now reached to over 350 and most elk call the upper and middle Buffalo National River corridor in Newton and Searcy counties home. The herd has grown to a size that allows even a small hunting season (30 permits are issued) to keep elk populations in line. 

State, federal and private interests are working together to improve and expand suitable habitat so that future generations might see these splendid creatures as they were, when they once freely roamed the mountains and forests of the Ozarks.

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