A variety of agencies and private groups cooperated in the effort to make the restoration of elk to the Smoky Mountain National Park possible. Key to the project was the groundwork and financial support of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Managers decided not to bring in the third group in 2003 because the herd at Elk Island National Park in Alberta Canada will not have any surplus animals available. The Park prefers to obtain accept elk that originate from Elk Island because the elk population there has been isolated from other deer or elk for decades and has been closely monitored for disease. Project biologists feel that those factors greatly minimize the risk of bringing in animals infected with brucelosis, TB or CWD.

In the photo below, an elk sniffs the cold air of its new home.