Inaugural elk hunting season open for state tags; tribes already harvested three

The first state-regulated elk hunting season in Wisconsin history is underway near Clam Lake.

Five hunters selected through lotteries were eligible to hunt beginning Saturday. 

Meanwhile, members of American Indian tribes, not bound by the Oct. 13 opening, harvested three bull elk in September, according to the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The elk hunting is part of Wisconsin's inaugural season for the native animal.

The Natural Resources Board approved the hunt in March on the recommendation of the Department of Natural Resources.  

State wildlife managers estimated the elk population in the northern Wisconsin herd near Clam Lake was anticipated to number at least 225 animals this summer, surpassing the 200 threshold required to hold the hunt.

Elk were native to Wisconsin but were wiped out by unregulated hunting and habitat loss in the 1800s. 

An attempted reintroduction in the 1930s failed; the final four elk were killed by poachers in 1948, according to state records.  

But a 1995 reintroduction of 25 elk transferred from Michigan to the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest near Clam Lake has resulted in a slowly growing herd.

The rules governing this year's hunt were established in the early 2000s. They included a 50-50 split of tags between state and tribal managers.

Four of the state tags were issued through a DNR lottery. The agency received about 38,000 applications, which, combined with $13,000 in donations, raised nearly $400,000 for elk management in Wisconsin.

A fifth state tag was raffled off by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The names of the five winners have been kept secret. However, the DNR said the successful applicants for its lottery were from Appleton, Green Bay, Kenosha and Merrill.

The tribes did not limit participation through a lottery or raffle but are holding "an intertribal hunt that focuses on sharing," said Charlie Rasmussen, spokesman for GLIFWC.

Elk meat and all the usable parts of each animal go to Ojibwe reservations where it is distributed to community members.

As of Friday, three bulls had been harvested, Rasmussen said. GLIFWC biologists have conducted health sampling of each animal.

The state and tribal hunters were required to attend elk hunter orientation in September.

During the state-run session, the hunters and DNR staff went into the forest near Clam Lake and practiced elk calling techniques.

A 5-by-5 bull was called to within 35 yards, said Kevin Wallenfang, DNR deer and elk ecologist. 

Wallenfang said it wasn't clear when the five recipients of state tags would actually hunt, as some had arrangements to be out of state on opening weekend. 

"Make no mistake, though, they are all excited," Wallenfang said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and they intend to utilize it."

The 2018 Wisconsin elk hunting season is Oct. 13 to Nov. 11 and Dec. 13 to 21. The times were selected in part to avoid the most popular Wisconsin gun deer seasons, as well as after the traditional elk breeding season in September and early October.

Only bulls (defined as an elk with an antler of at least six inches in length) may be harvested.

Hunting is allowed only in the Clam Lake elk range. Future hunts may be expanded to other areas of the state that in recent years received transfers of elk from Kentucky.

Only Wisconsin residents were eligible to apply for and receive an elk hunting license. 

Wallenfang said the northern Wisconsin elk herd has about 70 bulls, including many that sport large 6x6 racks and at least one 18-year-old bull.

DNR gains flexibility for future elk hunts: As a result of a September decision by the Natural Resources Board, beginning in 2019 the DNR will have more flexibility in the number of elk tags it offers. 

The board passed a rule that allows the DNR to use "current scientific data" to determine whether the population could support a limited bull harvest.

The previous rule required the elk population to exceed minimum thresholds (200 for the northern herd and 150 for the central herd) and specified the number of tags to be issued (5% of the population).

Wallenfang said the DNR would now consider herd structure, population dynamics and other metrics when setting permit levels. The NRB will review the DNR's permit requests each year.