A symbol of strength, nobility and dignity, elk are a North American icon. After vanishing from the Mountain State in the 1800s, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (WVDNR) launched a long-brewing plan to reintroduce elk to the state in 2016. Nearly a decade later, West Virginia University researchers are working to ensure the population remains healthy and strong for future elk tourism and hunting opportunities.

The WVU Wild Genomics Lab is no stranger to underdog success stories. Dr. Amy Welsh, professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Resources at the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, has led genetic assessments of several other species reintroduced to West Virginia. This includes an ongoing study of river otters and a previous evaluation of fishers — the latter of which demonstrated exactly what researchers hope will also be true for elk in West Virginia: adequate genetic diversity, interbreeding between West Virginia individuals and surrounding states and, as a result, a viable and strong population.

The West Virginia elk herd began with just 24 elk brought from Kentucky to the most suitable place in the state identified for elk management: a former coalfield in southern West Virginia, now known as Tomblin Wildlife Management Area. Since then, several subsequent introductions and reproduction within the introduced elk has brought the herd’s numbers to around 200 strong, traversing the mountains of West Virginia and following the footsteps of those from nearly two centuries prior.

Although elk have been missing from West Virginia’s food chain for so long, they’ve returned to their niche easily. Elk play a vital role in the ecosystem, where they act as a food source for predators and scavengers, disperse seeds and maintain grasslands through their grazing and, overall, help balance the ecosystem.

The herd has not been without challenges, however. Elk of different subspecies from both Kentucky and Arizona have been introduced to West Virginia: Manitoban elk and Rocky Mountain elk. Some of the animals died due to a parasitic brain worm transmitted by white-tailed deer, the latter of which is a prime concern of the lab’s research efforts. 

Using DNA extracted from tissue, the lab has begun examining the genetic diversity of the herd — the biological variation within a population’s genetic characteristics. By analyzing the genes of individual elk, the lab is searching for signs of inbreeding, reproduction between the two subspecies and signs of genetic predispositions to parasite-induced fatalities.

Post-reintroduction genetic assessments are not a routine practice, which Welsh attributes to a focus on the greater picture — population size and whether the species can be harvested — as opposed to the finer details.

“There really hasn’t been much of a focus on genetic assessments,” said Welsh. “You might have a decent number of individuals, but are they all genetically the same? It’s a change in paradigm in management agencies realizing that a lot of times those finer scale questions are important in truly assessing whether or not you have reintroduction success.”

High levels of genetic diversity support a population’s overall health and resilience through environmental changes such as diseases, parasites, climate change and other stressors. This enables the species to thrive short and long-term, and, for the West Virginia elk herd, long-term success means greater opportunities for elk tourism and hunting opportunities — some of the WVDNR’s core goals for the population.

“[Elk tourism] provides a greater opportunity for getting people involved in conservation. You don’t have to already be interested in conservation to want to go see these large, charismatic animals,” said graduate student Adam Cook. “If you can draw people in with something cool that most people want to see, like elk, it helps them care more about everything the WVDNR is doing and become more engaged in certain natural resources aspects of the state.”

Elk are a great bridge for conservationists and hunters alike, said Welsh. Both communities have investments in the population’s long-term success, and the WVDNR’s efforts receive support from both groups.

The public interest in elk has not gone unnoticed by state officials — early this year, Gov. Jim Justice announced an almost $7 million investment in elk tourism, including a visitors’ center and observation tower in Tomblin Wildlife Management Area, allowing tourists and locals alike to view the majestic animals in their natural habitat.

Welsh and Cook’s genetic studies are expected to conclude by the end of Cook’s thesis in May 2025, at which point results of the study will be able to advise WVDNR on future management efforts of the West Virginia elk herd. 

For more information on the state elk herd and tourism opportunities, visit WVDNR.gov/plants-animals/elk.

It’s a new world for the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma and Texas left the Big 12 for the SEC this week. It was three years in the making and it’s now official. Meantime, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are set to join the Big 12 in August.

It’s a critical year in college football as the powers try to create a Power 2, rather than a Power 4, with the Big 12 and ACC excluded from the SEC and the Big Ten. So for the Big 12, it will be imperative to get some impressive wins in 2024 to put to bed the narrative that the Big 12 can’t compete with the top two conferences in college football.

There are going to be opportunities for the Big 12, such as Oklahoma State vs. Arkansas and UCF vs. Florida, plus Iowa State vs. Iowa and Colorado vs. Nebraska. But the biggest game for the Big 12 will come in Week 1, when the West Virginia Mountaineers host the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Why Penn State

The Nittany Lions enter the 2024 season as the team best positioned to challenge the top trio in the Big Ten of Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon. Big 12 fans will recall that James Franklin hired Kansas offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to boost a passing game that ranked 80th in the FBS with 215 yards per game.

The two teams met last year when West Virginia lost 38-15 to Penn State, but that final score does not do the game justice. WVU trailed by a touchdown at halftime, and had it a two-score game entering the fourth quarter before things began to unravel for the Mountaineers.

Penn State finished the regular season 10-2 with their only losses coming against Michigan and Ohio State.

For the Mountaineers

So now these two teams meet for a second-straight season, this time in Morgantown for Week 1. West Virginia is a projected middle-of-the-pack team in the Big 12 preseason poll, despite a nine-win campaign in 2024. So they likely won’t be in the preseason Top 25, while Penn State will likely find itself in the Top 15, if not higher.

For a Big 12 that is being perceived as competitive, but weak at the top, a West Virginia win over a highly-ranked Penn State program immediately gives credibility to the new Big 12 and helps change the conversation from where the national media narrative wants it to be.

National media talking heads want to promote a “Power 2”, because that’s what their overlords at ESPN, FOX, etc. prefer. They want that narrative as the consolidation is good for their college football business.

The Big 12’s Non-Con

At the start of every season I discuss how Big 12 fans should root for every Big 12 team in non-conference play. It’s good for the league to win as many games as possible before conference play, and then when your team plays its conference games, every win is more valuable, if the perception of the league is high. Just ask the SEC about this. That conference has mastered that perception, whether fair or not, and that’s how they get away with eight league games and multiple FCS games, with no questions asked!

So for Big 12 fans, this is the most critical non-conference slate in Big 12 history. It will set the tone for the future of college football.

Will it truly become a Power 2? Or can the Big 12 win the right games to justify conversations around a Power 3 or Power 4 with the ACC?

Regardless, it all begins Week 1 in Morgantown, West Virginia with a 12:00 p.m. EST start on FOX.

West Virginia was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll and according to most sportsbooks, the win total is bouncing around between six and seven wins. Expectations on the outside aren’t all that high, to say the least.

So, what are realistic expectations for the Mountaineers in 2024? What would a disappointing season look like? And how about a dream season? We break it all down below.

Record: 8-4 or 9-3.

We’re thinking realistic with a hint of optimism. It’s no secret that West Virginia’s 2024 schedule is more challenging than what they faced in 2023. That said, reaching eight or nine wins should be attainable for this group which might be the deepest roster Neal Brown has had since taking the job in 2019.

Record: 7-5 or worse.

When you have one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, a dynamic duo in the backfield, and a stout offensive line you have to win eight games at bare minimum. Anything less will have West Virginia fans wondering if 2023 was an anomaly and questions will arise once again about Neal Brown.

Record: 10-2 or better.

Some would say 10-2 is realistic and I won’t push back too much on that. However, the Mountaineers have not won 10 games since 2016 and to call that a realistic goal is a bit of a stretch, especially with this schedule. This would be be a dream year for WVU. Notching 10 wins most likely secures a spot in the Big 12 championship and perhaps a spot in the College Football Playoff. Achieving two big goals like that for the first time in program history is the definition of a dream year.

READ MORE ABOUT WVU ATHLETICS

The Gauntlet That Will Determine if WVU is a Contender in 2024

1988 vs. 2007: Who Was the Best WVU Football Team Ever?

Brandon Yates ‘Hungry’ to Prove Doubters Wrong