In just under six weeks, the prime fall elk viewing season will be in gear in Boxley Valley, in NW Arkansas. From the middle of September until around the first of November, the annual elk rut will take place. The absolute best place to view the rut is along Highway 43. Prime times are mornings and evenings, but as the weather moderates, all day viewing is possible.
Fortunate visitors may witness a bull elk fight as pictured on the left. Dominant herd bulls weighing nearly 1,000 pounds vie for mating rights. This is the best time to see these majestic animals and listen to them bugle. Wildlife lovers come from a multi-state region to enjoy the spectacle creating income for cabin owners and local small businesses.
A growing number of photographers have learned that Boxley Valley is one of the very best places to get "lifetime" photos of elk. The unique geological characteristics of Boxley Valley traps the herds between two bluff lines. They pasture in the fields fairly close to the road. To get the very best photos, a long lens is required. I recommend 400MM if you can afford it, or at least 200MM with a multiplier. High megapixel cameras enable photographers to crop for "digital zoom" and achieve decent results. Tripod or monopod use will enhance results for most, but personally I opt for a high ISO and leave the clutter behind.
The Arkansas Game and Fish is now creating its elk management plan. One of the concerns to be addressed by the plan is the Boxley Valley elk herd that some local people assert has become too large. I spend more time observing the Boxley Valley elk herd than anyone. If anything, there are fewer animals than in years past, plus they now concentrate in feed plots around the intersections of highways 43 and 21, and therefore affect farmers elsewhere in Boxley Valley less than in the past.
I believe the bottom line is that local people want to hunt the Boxley Valley, not to control elk, but just to kill elk as a game animal. The arguments they make have little basis in fact and must be examined in the larger context of what is good for tourism. Newton County cannot afford to have elk viewing harmed by a hunt in Boxley Valley.
Decisions are weighed on competing frames of reference. There are competing frames of reference here. One is the concerns of a handful of farmers who would like to see the elk herd driven from Boxley Valley. The larger frame is what driving the elk from Boxley Valley would mean to hundreds of Newton County residents who derive their incomes from tourism.
If you look at the numbers, there are a handful that want the elk gone, and hundreds of residents who depend on tourism for their livelihoods. In 2009 Newton County had a 9% increase in revenues, while its neighbor, Boone County had a revenue decline of 10%. The difference is tourism, and a huge part of Newton County's tourism is the elk herd, specifically the viewing of the elk herd in Boxley Valley.
In this economy, Arkansas cannot afford to reduce tourism. Not at all. While I feel sorry for the rare problems a handful of farmers may have with elk, I am much more concerned about throwing away a dependable state-class tourist attraction that results in revenue for the county government, and jobs for hundreds of local residents.
Newton County is one of the poorest counties in Arkanasas, it cannot afford to lose tourism dollars. Tourism dollars are the life blood of Newton County and it appears that these revenues are shielding the county from the deep recession impacting everywhere else, like Boone County. Elk viewing is one of the cornerstones Newton County tourism, it should be expanded by relocating elk to more areas if anything.
Under no circumstances should elk viewing be curtailed in Boxley Valley, it should be expanded. Elk viewing often tips the balance for tourists who consider alternative destinations for a vacation. We cannot afford to lose our standing as the Elk Capital of Arkansas, our jobs and economic future depend on protecting elk viewing tourism.
