Jasper Elk Festival

This weekend (Friday and Saturday) is the Buffalo River Elk festival. Head on down to Jasper to view these majestic creatures in person. Though the festival centers on the elk hunting permits, wildlife watchers can also learn a lot about elk in Newton Country. You can check out my tips for elk viewing too.

The festival will also have a hula hoop contest, a karaoke competition, a kid's fishing derby, a 5k walk, bands, a dutch oven cook-off, elk education seminars, an elk calling contest, an archery tournament, a talent show and a fireworks display. The elk permit drawings and most of the activities will be at the courthouse square in Jasper with the kids' fishing derby on the banks of the Little Buffalo River. Download the schedule (PDF).

Elk in Arkansas are pretty special. The current population comes from elk reintroduced in Arkansas in 1981-1985. It's only in the past decade that the herd has achieved a huntable number. Arkansas Game and Fish allows very few elk to be legally hunted each year, so the permit drawing is a big deal to hunters.

As much as I hate to think about these majestic creatures being hunted, the fact that the population is big enough to sustain hunting is a testament to conservation and how hard Arkansas Game and Fish has worked to bring elk back to Arkansas. Hopefully they'll stay here for a long time.