The most important thing is to make sure you have scraped away all of the meat and fat from the hide. At that point you can just air dry it if you like but I have always worked borax into deer skin pieces I have saved and they have kept well. I've never skinned an elk so I don't know what parts to save but I do know that in the past I have purchased elk mane for the extra long hair and elk hock for the short hair with very little flair for small elk hair caddis. I have no idea where on the animal the rest of my hair came from.
I can think of few acts more selfish than refusing a vaccination.