Cow Elk Extricated From Airport

Reports of two cow elk at the active county airport filtered into our office on Monday morning.

County Maintenance Supervisor Marty Drane told us that the elk likely found their way into the fenced enclosure through a gate which didn’t latch properly and may have blown open in the wind.

Reports indicate the mission to move the elk out of the airport turned into a bit of a rodeo, as elk apparently don’t herd like cattle. Just as the maintenance personnel were slowly pushing the elk along the fence towards an open gate, someone stopped on the highway to take pictures of the roundup, and the cow elk bolted away from the opening. The crew then gave the elk an hour or so to calm down, and eased them through a different gate further from the highway, with no personnel, elk, or aircraft damaged in the roundup.

More “exotic” wild game has been observed in the area that wasn’t prevalent in years past. Examples include the recent elk showing up at the airport, a moose spotted at football practice and a bear spotted near the bridge at Broadus in the last several years, and last week a black bear was spotted at the picnic area right off the highway at Boyes.