State wildlife officials want to know what you think of their plans to continue managing the elk population that roams across parts of a five East Tennessee counties.
Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency is asking citizens to look at its proposed plan and submit comment through February 16.
You can look at the plan here. You can also leave comment on that site.
The state held two public hearings in May 2017 to gather comment. The draft includes plans for population management.
While the elk population at the Cataloochee Valley preserve in Great Smoky Mountains National Park gets a lot of attention, many Tennesseans may not realize the state oversees its own elk herd in East Tennessee.
The animals were introduced in 2000 to an area then known as the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area. It's now referred to as the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area, and includes parts of Anderson, Claiborne, Campbell, Scott and Morgan counties.
There's a viewing tower, called Hatfield Knob, dedicated to elk viewing north of LaFollette in Campbell County. It's free.
Elk once roamed Tennessee naturally but died out in the 1800s.
After the herd re-introduction in 2000, it's estimated the current population is about 350, although some estimates are as high as 600.
The so-called elk restoration zone in which the animals live consists of hundreds of thousands of acres, some of which is rough and remote. It borders an elk preservation area of southern Kentucky.
Very limited elk hunting is allowed by permit, and there's high demand to get a permit, according to TWRA.