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KENTUCKY HAS OVER 6,000 ELK WITHIN A 13-COUNTY AREA IN
SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY!
That is OVER 10 times more elk than Pennsylvania!
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Pennsylvania has approximately 500 elk and most are located within close proximity to Benezette, a small rural community with a population of less than 300 people that offers a few hotels, B&B's, shops and restaurants and yet attracts over 75,000 visitors each year, primarily to view elk.
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Pennsylvania is now building a 7,000 square foot Elk Visitor/Education Center that will attract nearly 160,000 visitors each year to the area. Pennsylvania anticipates by 2012, the economic impact on the area will be $18.6 million.
Think of the potential for East Kentucky with 10 times more elk and more central location!
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Please Note: Land Between the Lakes Elk and Bison Range in western Kentucky featuring just 74 elk in a confined area attracts 130,000 visitors each year who pay $5 per adult to drive through the area.
Think if we marketed East Kentucky's 6,500 elk!
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Three state parks are now offering elk tours in east Kentucky and a private business recently opened in Knott County offering elk tours on horseback.
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- If East Kentucky were to build a similar facility to what is being built in Pennsylvania in the heart of Elk Country and tie it in with elk tours as well as providing information on how coal reclamation and "mountain top removal" have actually aided in the success of the elk restoration program, they could conceivably attract over 160,000 visitors by the second year of operation if properly marketed.
The economic impact to the area would be phenomenal.
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