Benezette Township in Elk County will soon be home to the largest elk-watching and education center in the eastern United States, state officials announced.With $7.6 million already committed to the project, the proposed center would add another element to the Pennsylvania Wilds region, which has attracted thousands of visitors and helped spur the local economy.
The 7,000-square-foot facility - featuring interpretive exhibits, wildlife trails and viewing blinds, along with year-round restrooms and parking for vehicles and buses - will come to fruition thanks to a 30-year agreement between the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
"This new center will give us additional opportunities to reach out to new visitors, give them a wonderful outdoor experience and share the story of the conservation efforts that have restored the elk herd, and many other natural and wild areas in Pennsylvania," Gov. Ed Rendell said in announcing the development of the center.
All told, the state's wild elk herd, the largest in the Northeast, draws more than 75,000 visitors to the area each fall, officials said. Benezette Township is located in the heart of the Wilds region, which covers Elk, Cameron, McKean, Potter, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, Tioga and Warren counties.
All, of course, leads to my "elk story".
My brother and his family from Southern California came to visit us one time and we took them up to Lake Tobias, which our daughter really liked at the time (I think she was about 4). They have all the animals, including elk, wandering around their property, and they take you out in a bus that has had its top cut off so you can go for a "safari" ride. Kids love it.
They warned us that the male elk out in the area was in rutting season, and because of that, very aggressive. We sat down on the bus and started riding, and our nephew, who was about 6 or 7 at the time, sat at the "window" seat.
Sure enough, an elk spotted us as we were moving and came up chasing us. His antlers practically reached into the bus, and our nephew wasn't really liking this huge wild animal running right along side of him, keeping up with the bus and staying just about eyeball to eyeball with our nephew, 10 feet away.
And then the elk screamed. That surprised all of us, and our nephew ended up burying his head into his Dad's shoulder. It's really surprising how loud - and how high - an elk screams.