REMEMBER THE WILD HORSES IN THE OZARKS? NOW THEY WANT TO BRING BACK SOME ELK HERDS

Remember a few years ago when there was such a hubbub over wild horses in the Ozarks? Certain environmental groups were seeking to have the horses -- descendants of horses let out to pasture when open-range laws prevailed that never came back to the farm -- killed in order to prevent what was generally described as a threat to the ecological system of the vast woods in southern Missouri.

Fast forward to today. The Missouri Department of Conservation is considering the idea of bringing elk back to those very same woods. Elk once were native to the Ozarks, but there haven't been any elk in these parts since the mid-1800s.

One might wonder, of course, why elk -- fair-sized animals, to say the least -- are good for the Ozarks, but horses aren't.

Farmers are worried about the damage elk might do to crops. Motorists are worried what an elk might do to the front end of the Buick. All in all, the Conservation Department might be better off leaving the elk wherever they've gone.