State, Band invite input on elk

An effort is underway to educate and gain public feedback on the planned elk restoration project for northeastern Minnesota.

"We are thrilled to announce that, with the support of the Minnesota DNR, 1854 Treaty Authority, local governments, and other conservation partners, we are on track hoping to reintroduce the first elk to the area in the next year or two," said Mike Schrage, wildlife biologist for the Fond du Lac Band, in a news release. "The return of elk will not only enrich the cultural and dietary traditions of the Fond du Lac people but also foster new ecotourism opportunities and enhance our region's ecological resilience."

The first round of elk releases is planned for spring 2026, and captures and releases would continue for years until a self-sustaining herd is established.

Elk will be released into a temporary holding pen in sparsely populated Progress Township located due west of Cloquet on the way to Cromwell.

"There is exciting and important work underway to reestablish elk in northeast Minnesota," Minnesota DNR commissioner Sarah Strommen said in a news release. "We're looking forward to working with Tribal partners to enhance the important ecological and cultural benefits that elk provide in Minnesota."

Public meetings are Feb. 10 and 13. The first public meeting will be online 6-8 p.m. Feb. 10, with access available on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources elk management webpage - located at mndnr.gov/elk - while the second public meeting is 6-8 p.m. Feb. 13 in person at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, auditorium room 195.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Fond du Lac Band are conducting a variety of engagement activities to help inform the restoration and management plan, including an online questionnaire available at mndnr.gov/elk/elk-northeast.html. Comments and questions can be submitted until Feb. 28 by email to [email protected].

Over a period of years, the Fond du Lac Band has prepared a proposal and conducted feasibility studies for restoring elk to the Fond du Lac Reservation and surrounding area, the Band said. A 2021 proposal called for moving 100-150 elk from northwest Minnesota in small groups over the course of many years, the DNR news release explained.

"The Minnesota DNR supports work to advance this proposal, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of existing herds in the northwest," the DNR said. "Other considerations important in the project include landowner and other public support as well as supporting the health of other big game populations."

The Carlton County board of supervisors previously voted to allow a holding pen on county land in Progress Township. The remote property had been identified by the Band for its high ground, road access, recent logging activity and bumblebee habitat.

"The Fond du Lac Band has been working patiently for the last 10 years to bring omashkooz (elk) home," Schrage said. "This process has been about restoring a native species, providing future elk hunting and viewing opportunities, and reestablishing a species adaptable to a wide range of future climate scenarios."

The effort to establish elk in the northeast is considered a restoration because tens of thousands of elk historically lived throughout most of Minnesota, the DNR said. Currently, a small population of elk roams lands in northwest Minnesota owned and managed by private landowners, the Minnesota DNR, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Fond du Lac Band was in the process of negotiating with Red Lake Nation for use of its elk herd. The Red Lake Nation previously fostered the reintroduction of elk in the northwestern part of the state.

At meetings with the Carlton County board, the reintroduction of elk has been billed as an ecotourism opportunity - for hunting (in the long term), and also the ability for visitors to see the animals during calving season and listen for their attractive bugling.

A cooperative survey by the Band and University of Minnesota that weighed the opinions of 4,500 private landowners and 4,000 local residents in northeastern Minnesota was overwhelmingly in support of reintroduction.

The pen is being constructed using $4 million allotted by the state legislature in 2023 to help reintroduce the elk. It will include 10-foot fencing. There are no plans to capture mature bull elk; rather, spike and raghorn bulls would join cows and calves in being brought to the area, Shrage has said in the past.

"The successful reintroduction of elk will contribute to a robust and self-sustaining population, allowing these majestic animals to thrive once again in their natural habitat," the Fond du Lac Band press release said. "The elk's presence will play a meaningful role in the culture of the Fond du Lac Band and support broader conservation and tourism goals."

The Band said it invites all community members to attend the public meetings and share their perspectives.

More information on elk research and management, and signing up for the Minnesota DNR Elk Notes quarterly email newsletter, are available at mndnr.gov/elk. People can also sign up for the Elk Notes newsletter at any of the public meetings.

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Get involved

Public meetings on elk reintroduction are Feb. 10 and 13. The first public meeting will be online 6-8 p.m. Feb. 10, with access available on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources elk management webpage - located at mndnr.gov/elk - while the second public meeting is 6-8 p.m. Feb. 13 in person at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, auditorium room 195.