Wisconsin elk hunters filled 9 of 10 tags through the first portion of the season

Hunters filled nine of 10 tags available through the first portion of Wisconsin's inaugural elk hunting season, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The harvest included all five of the permits issued to American Indian tribes and four of the five available to other state residents.

The tribal harvests occurred from Sept. 23 to Oct. 18, according to Charlie Rasmussen, GLIFWC spokesman.

Rules established by the tribes focused on communal hunting and sharing the elk meat among the community, Rasmussen said. Names of tribal hunters who took part were not released.

The four elk killed by other state residents were taken Oct. 15 by Joe Wiltzius of Franklin, Nov. 8 by Dan Vandertie of Brussels, and Nov. 11 by Tyler Erdman of Merrill and Wayne Ramcheck of Kenosha, according to DNR records.

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The state's first regulated elk hunting season was held near Clam Lake, the 1995 release site for Wisconsin's elk reintroduction project.

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

State rules allowed a limited hunt for bull elk to be held when the northern herd surpassed 200 animals, which it did earlier this year, according to the DNR.

The 10 kill tags were split equally between tribal members and other state residents.

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. Approximately 5,000 tickets were sold by the RMEF, raising about $50,000. The money will also be used for Wisconsin elk projects, said Kurt Flack, RMEF regional director.

The DNR set two time periods for the hunt, Oct. 13 to Nov. 11 and Dec. 13 to 21.

The new source of funding is a bright spot for DNR wildlife management. Over the last eight years, the agency has seen its budget cut and staff reduced by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Further, the Legislature has denied requests by sportsmen to increase license fees to help fill DNR funding gaps. The last license fee increase was 2005.

The state hunt got off to a rocky start Oct. 15 when Wiltzius was cited for illegally shooting the first elk killed by a non-tribal member. Wiltzius is charged with shooting an elk across a roadway (potential fine of $217.90) and for hunting within 50 feet of the center line of a roadway ($222.90).

He also faces a potential wild animal surcharge of $2,000 if directed by a judge. The case is in Sawyer County court.

The tribal hunt also resulted in a citation. On Oct. 18 a Mille Lacs (Minnesota) Band member who did not possess a proper tag shot an elk on public land near Clam Lake.

Wardens with GLIFWC investigated and the elk was subsequently tagged with the fifth and final tribal permit. 

The violation is in Mille Lacs Band court in Minnesota, Rasmussen said.

The season has had it's share of good news, too, including the experience of Vandertie, a Door County dairy farmer who had exercised good judgement and ethics and passed up multiple opportunities before shooting a 6 by 6 on Nov. 8.

And last Sunday, the final day of the first portion of the season, two elk were taken.

First, Erdman shot a mature bull in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest northwest of Clam Lake. 

Coincidentally, Ramcheck was hunting in the same area and encountered Erdman. Rather than keep hunting and focus on filling his own tag, Ramcheck and Dan Revoy of Kenosha (who was accompanying Ramcheck on the hunt) stopped to help Erdman carry his elk out of the woods.

Karma was about to repay their good deed.

About noon Ramcheck spotted what appeared to be a large herd of cow elk. But in the middle was one animal that didn't look like the others.

Over the next few minutes, it became clear 21 cows were being chaperoned by a lone bull elk that sported a high and wide 6 by 5 rack.

"It was hard to even see the bull at first," said Ramcheck, 55. "But we waited and waited and finally he stepped into the clear."

Ramcheck used a .30-06 rifle to take the bull, the first elk of his life. The animal was aged at 8 years and estimated at 800 pounds.

"I never even dreamed this would be possible," Ramcheck said. "I'm still at a loss for words to describe it."

Ramcheck has hunted in Wisconsin since he was 12, mostly for pheasants, rabbits and white-tailed deer. After winning the tag in the lottery, he studied videos of elk calling and other elk hunting techniques. He also studied maps to learn where he could legally hunt and actively scouted and hunted on foot.

He put on about 30 miles of hiking during five days of hunting in October near Clam Lake. 

Ramcheck said after he killed the elk a bowhunter came out of the woods and offered to help carry the quarters.

"He said he could hunt later," Ramcheck said. "And that this was way cooler."

On the drive home to Kenosha from Clam Lake, the elk head and antlers were visible in Ramcheck's trailer. Ramcheck said he received repeated "thumbs-up" from other drivers.

"At every stop we made, people wanted to take photos of it," Ramcheck said. "It's exciting for everybody, especially me, to be part of this."

Prior to the season, state wildlife officials predicted all 10 tags would be filled.

"As expected, hunter success has been high, and they are getting some big, mature bulls," said Kevin Wallenfang, DNR deer and elk ecologist, in a statement. "It was unfortunate that the hunt started off the way it did with an illegal harvest, but since then the other hunters have shared the story of some great hunts in a wilderness setting and the local hunters and others in the community have been overwhelmingly excited and helpful to them."

One state tag remains unfilled, but the hunter will have an opportunity to hunt again in December.