Quite The Big Game

Boxley Valley and the community of Jasper are well-known spots to Arkansans who have visited the area. Maybe you know the area because you've seen the Arkansas elk herd that inhabit the pastures. Or maybe you know because, like some of us, you stop there every time you're in the area to get a glimpse of those elusive elk, only to be left wondering if they're just someone else's imagination.

Well, they're no myth. For 18 years, the award-winning Buffalo River Elk Festival has celebrated the reintroduction of the big game animal that was once indigenous to the area.

"The elk population had depleted due to loss of habitat and unregulated hunting," says Wesley Wright, elk program coordinator with the Game and Fish Commission. "So in the 1980s, some men from the Game and Fish Commission went to Colorado and Nebraska and brought elk back to Arkansas."

Wright says the elk provide a unique opportunity for hunters that they may not be able to find in other states. Only now, the hunting is completely regulated. Only 29 elk hunting permits will be awarded this year -- at a drawing during the festival.

"I think that's the biggest draw [of the festival] is the permits," Wright says. "We put the names in a squirrel cage and physically draw them. People really enjoy that; it adds a lot of suspense to the drawing."

The festival will include arts and crafts booths, live music and food -- like any other festival. It's the contributions of the local people -- and of course the elk -- that make it a special celebration.

"Our natural habitat here and our natural beauty are becoming more and more of a draw," says Jasper Mayor Jan Larson. "If you have children, they can get out and try a kayak if they've never done that before. We have our natural beauty, and it's just a gorgeous place. It's an outdoorsy thing -- the emphasis is on nature and a lot of the local [things we have to offer].

"I'm really proud to be part of it and this county. The people really are what make it so special. We're all helping out so it's been a good unifying experience."

-- Jocelyn Murphy

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NAN What's Up on 06/24/2016