Elk in the northeast

Planning

Consistent with direction and funding provided by the Minnesota Legislature in 2023, the DNR is working to support the Fond du Lac Band to restore elk to the Fond du Lac Reservation and surrounding area, including the 1854 Ceded Territory. The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa also retain treaty rights and cooperate in co-management in this ceded territory, and the 1854 Treaty Authority has been participating in restoration planning efforts in support of those bands.

From Thursday, Jan. 21, to Friday, Feb. 28, the Minnesota DNR and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will take feedback on the proposed restoration effort in northeastern Minnesota and the scope of a forthcoming Northeast Omashkooz (elk) Restoration and Management Plan.

The upcoming engagement opportunites to become informed and involved are a crucial step in the preparation for elk restoration and development of the management plan. In the fall of 2025, a draft of the Northeast Omashkooz (elk) Restoration and Management Plan will be available for public comment before it is finalized.

You're invited to be part of the restoration and management information gathering and planning process by participating in one or more of these activities. Information gathered here will inform the DNR's work on its elk restoration and management plan for northeastern Minnesota.

In-person public meeting

Get an overview of the elk restoration project in northeastern Minnesota and the area's forthcoming elk management plan. There will be opportunities to ask questions and provide comments.

  • 6-8 p.m.
  • Thursday, Feb. 13
  • Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Room 195
  • 2101 14th St.
  • Cloquet

Webinar

Get an overview of the elk restoration project in northeastern Minnesota and the area's forthcoming elk management plan. There will be opportunities to ask questions and provide comments.

  • 6-8 p.m.
  • Monday, Feb. 10
  • Password: elk2025
Join
Join by phone: 855-282-6330
Webinar number: 2499 988 7486
Access code: 3552025

Online questionnaire

Your answers to a short questionnaire about interests, concerns and elk-related activites will help inform the content of a draft Northeast Omashkooz (elk) Restoration and Management Plan.

Open through Friday, Feb. 28
Answer questions

Written comments

Email comments
[email protected]
Mail comments to:
Minnesota DNR
Fish and Wildlife - Elk Program
500 Lafayette Rd.
St. Paul, MN 55155-4020
Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation to participate in these events, please contact Kelsie LaSharr at [email protected] or 651-539-3326 by Monday, Jan. 27. Calls from Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) users are welcome.

Illustrated timeline of elk restoration in northeastern Minnesota

Illustrated timeline of elk restoration in northeastern Minnesota

Spring 2023The Minnesota Legislature appropriates $2.3 million to the Fond du lac Band and the DNR to expand Minnesota’s wild elk population and range.
Summer 2023An interagency elk coordination team is formed and begins to plan restoration efforts.
Spring 2025Public scoping input is conducted for the Northeastern Minnesota Elk Management Plan, including public meetings and an online questionnaire.
The interagency elk coordination team drafts the Northeastern Minnesota Elk Management Plan.
Fall 2025The draft management plan is released for public comment.
Winter 2025The final plan is published after revisions based on public comments.
Spring 2026Elk begin to be moved to northeastern Minnesota.

Public opinion survey: The Fond du Lac Band, in collaboration with Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Minnesota, conducted feasibility studies for restoring elk to the Fond du Lac Reservation and surrounding area. This included a study of landowner and public attitudes towards a potential elk restoration in Minnesota. The Fond du Lac Band’s proposal, feasibility studies and attitudes survey results are available on the Fond du Lac Band website.

Interagency elk coordination team: The Fond du Lac and the DNR have formed an interagency elk coordination team to provide input on the restoration process and draft the Northeast Omashkooz (elk) Restoration and Management Plan. Members are:

  • Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
  • Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
  • 1854 Treaty Authority
  • Carlton County
  • Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
  • Minnesota Department of Agriculture
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
  • Minnesota Department of Transportation
  • U.S. Forest Service
  • Bemidji State University

Questions about the northeast elk management plan can be directed to:

Restoration
Benefits

Maintaining and strengthening the resilience of the Minnesota’s elk population will increase opportunities for viewing and hunting that will expand the cultural, ecological, social and economic impacts of elk.

Restoration of native species to suitable areas is a worthy endeavor and fits within both the Fond du Lac Band and the DNR's mission and purpose.

Restoration of elk to northeast Minnesota has the potential to achieve the following objectives:

  • Restore an elk population, a state-listed species, in an area of the state with less potential for agricultural conflicts than existing elk range.
  • Allow elk to once again play a role in the diet and culture of native peoples.
  • Provide recreational opportunities through elk viewing and boost local economies in an area of the state primed for ecotourism.
  • Provide future hunting opportunities for tribal and non-tribal members.
Concerns

Wild, free-ranging elk are large animals that can damage agricultural crops, pose a danger to drivers and their vehicles, require comparatively large forage browsing areas, easily wander outside their designated ranges and provide another vector for potential wildlife diseases.

Disease testing: Stringent animal health testing guidelines have been developed with input from Minnesota Board of Animal Health, Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Zoo to ensure that Minnesota wildlife and livestock remain healthy. The protocol will require that all free-ranging elk go through extensive disease testing prior to release. Other states with successful elk restoration projects have followed similar health protocols, which have resulted in no cases of disease transmission to livestock or wildlife.

Release protocol: DNR will follow a soft-release protocol in which elk will be confined for five to six weeks in the release zone to allow for vegetative green-up. A temporary holding facility could be constructed within the release zone. During winter captures in northwestern Minnesota, the health of the elk will be evaluated and they will be fitted with radio telemetry collars prior to moving into the Northeast holding facility.

Herd management and monitoring: Survival and reproductive rates and population growth will be monitored and, once elk are established, tribal- and state-licensed hunting will be used to maintain numbers at desired levels.

Habitat management: The DNR currently maintains approximately 1,900 acres of early succession habitat as brushlands in the release zone. Tribal lands in the release zone also contains more than 830 acres classified as fields and have the potential to be managed for elk and other wildlife habitat. Aspen, a preferred elk browse, are abundant and a significant component of local timber harvests.

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