JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A national elk-conservation group has promised financial support for Missouri's elk restoration plan.
The state Department of Conservation said the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has raised enough money to begin building an elk holding pen in Kentucky. Elk from that pen will be relocated to Missouri after they pass a quarantine period.
The department said in a news release that Missouri's plan calls for eventually releasing up to 150 elk in a 346-square-mile area in Shannon, Carter and Reynolds counties in southeast Missouri. It's been about a century since Missouri has had an elk population.
Construction of the holding pen in Kentucky begins later this month, with elk trapping expected to begin in late December or early January.
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