More elk for hunters

CALIFORNIA elk are flourishing, delighting hunters who hope to score one of 312 elk tags -- a record allotment -- for summer and fall seasons.

Prescribed burns, habitat improvement and animal relocation programs have helped herds, which number about 9,100 tule elk, Roosevelt elk and Rocky Mountain elk. Most are found in the Owens Valley, Central Valley and Northern California.

“We had a half-million elk at one point,” said Jon Fischer, an elk specialist with the Department of Fish and Game. “We’ll never have that number again, but there’s reason to believe we’ll get back up to about 15,000.”

The names of hunters drawn for elk tags will be posted at www.dfg.ca.gov June 24.

-- Pete Thomas