Revived, then reviled: Ky. lets community hunt elk

STONEY FORK, Ky. – Bringing the majestic elk back to the Appalachian hills and hollows where they once roamed has become a nightmare.

Rogues from a herd that numbers in the thousands are trampling gardens, flattening fences and marring yards with manure in the southeastern Kentucky town of Stoney Fork. They have made the roads dangerous, causing dozens of car crashes.

Some residents have had enough. With the state's OK, they headed out into the woods to kill elk. They killed 13 of them.

Many of the remaining elk are being trapped and released in other places where they're less likely to be a problem. Missouri is to receive 150 to start a new herd there.

Some 1,500 elk were released into 14 Kentucky counties in 1997. They've now grown to more than 10,000.