Four cow elk and a bull calf made their way up a hill after being released on a reclaimed strip mine near Hazard, Ky. in this Dec. 18, 1997 file photo. They are the first free-ranging elk in Kentucky in 150 years. Kentucky's elk restoration success has inspired Virginia to look anew at a management plan involving the Rocky Mountain species, encouraged by hunters and local officials who are seeking an economic stimulus in the coalfields territory, where unemployment flirts with double digits. (AP Photo/Rhonda Simpson, File)