When Europeans began settling North America, as many as 10 million elk roamed almost everywhere in the United States and parts of Canada. Remnants of elk bones and antlers have been found in ancient American Indian villages and campsites across the continent.

European explorers, trappers and settlers depended on elk for food and clothing. At first elk were easy to kill with muskets and rifles. As elk grew more wary, hunters became more resourceful. They used drives, ambushed elk at salt licks and cornered them with hounds.

Overhunting coupled with habitat loss throughout the 18th and 19th centuries took a harsh toll. Eastern elk herds were  wiped out by the late 1800s. By 1900, perhaps 90,000 elk remained on the continent. These animals were located mostly in the Yellowstone area and a few other western hideouts.

Hunters and conservationists rallied to stop wanton killing, temporarily closed all hunting seasons and began restoring elk to their native ranges. Beginning in the early 1900s, Yellowstone National Park became the source for returning elk to some of their original territory. Wildlife managers transported elk by wagon, truck and train to release sites across the continent. Restored elk herds prospered in the western states and in Pennsylvania, but most attempts to bring elk back east of the Mississippi failed.