Below is a news release from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation provided funding and volunteer manpower to assist with the successful restoration of elk to their historic Wisconsin range in 1995, as well as subsequent restoration efforts since then.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that Wisconsin’s fourth state elk hunt closed on Dec. 17, 2021, with three of the four hunters awarded an elk harvest tag for the 2021 elk hunting season successfully filling their tags.
“All four hunters had multiple opportunities to harvest bull elk across the Clam Lake Elk Range,” said Josh Spiegel, DNR Wildlife Biologist. “Holding a once-in-a-lifetime tag, all four individuals had great hunting experiences and pursuits that were, like many hunts, filled with ups and downs. The 2021 elk hunters worked hard putting in a lot of hours in the field looking for signs, identifying key feeding areas and planning their hunt. Scouting and hunting an animal that moves long distances daily can be difficult.”
Three of the four hunters were drawn at random from a pool of about 25,000 applicants. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation raffled the fourth state tag in a fundraiser to support elk management in Wisconsin. The Foundation’s raffle winner was drawn from more than 1,800 applicants and is the second female hunter to harvest their first big game animal using a Wisconsin elk tag in the last two seasons.
“This year’s raffle winner is a longtime member of her local Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation chapter,” said Spiegel. “She’s not only been able share this experience with family and friends but with the local Foundation chapter as well.”
Similar to the first three elk hunting seasons, Ojibwe tribal hunters also had the opportunity to harvest elk in the Ceded Territory of Wisconsin in 2021 with the season closing on Jan. 2, 2022. For inquiries relating to the tribes’ 2021 elk hunt, contact Travis Bartnick, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission Wildlife Biologist at tbartnick@glifwc.org.
The 2022 elk hunt application period is expected to start March 1 and run through May 31. For each $10 application fee, $7 goes to elk management, habitat restoration and research in Wisconsin. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will hold its raffle in late summer 2022.
Since 1990, RMEF and its partners completed 577 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Wisconsin with a combined value of more than $11.7 million. These projects protected or enhanced 9,301 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 2,000 acres.
(Photo credit: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)