DNR pushing for smaller elk harvest
To help maintain a desired ratio of adult bulls in the Wisconsin herd, the Department of Natural Resources has recommended a 40% cut in elk harvest tags for the 2020 hunting season.
The proposal would offer six tags this year, down from 10 in both 2018 and 2019, the first years of regulated elk hunting in state history.
The six-bull quota recommendation for this year is an "investment in the future by ensuring that elk hunt opportunities can be offered annually and managing for a balanced age structure that includes representation of bulls of all ages," the DNR said in literature supporting the change.
Having more big antlered, older bulls would not only benefit hunters but would contribute to rural economies through elk viewing and appreciation for these larger animals, the agency said.
The Natural Resources Board will consider the DNR's request at its May 27 meeting.
Elk were native to Wisconsin but were wiped out in the 1800s through unregulated hunting and habitat loss.
A successful reintroduction began in 1995 with the transfer of 25 elk from Michigan to the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest near Clam Lake. Additional elk were brought to Wisconsin from Kentucky over the last six years, both to augment the northern herd and to establish a central Wisconsin herd near Black River Falls.
The DNR projects the northern herd will have 297 elk and the central herd will have 100 after the 2020 calving season.
A tightly-controlled elk hunt was held for the first time in 2018 and repeated in 2019. The rules of the hunt were spelled out in administrative code.
Hunters obtained tags through a state lottery (four tags) or a raffle run by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (one tag). In addition, Ojibwa tribes were issued an equal number of tags
each year.
Nine bulls were killed in 2018 and 10 in 2019.
Experience from the first two elk hunting seasons suggests that state hunters target bulls in the older age classes, according to the DNR.
If the quota was held at 10 mature bulls this year and for several successive years, the bull numbers would likely decline in the short term and and take several years to rebuild to current levels, according to a DNR model.
It would also result in an age structure dominated by young bulls and lacking mature bulls. The agency said such a potential make-up would not be ideal from a herd dynamics, breeding, and recruitment standpoint, nor for elk viewing or recreational hunting where the pursuit of mature bulls is desired by many participants.
A model with an annual quota of six bulls showed no short-term decline and a stronger, quicker increase in overall bull numbers.
The agency referred to the proposed reduction as an "investment."
"A harvest reduction this year is expected to provide future benefits including sustainable and appropriate herd dynamics that lead to added hunting and viewing opportunities in the future," according to the DNR's literature in support of the quota change.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has been the largest private financial supporter of Wisconsin elk reintroduction and management.
When asked if he supported the proposal, Kurt Flack, Wisconsin regional director for the RMEF, said: "RMEF believes in science-based management of all wildlife and our partners at the state level are the best people to make those decisions following the Elk Plan and recommendations of the Elk Committee."
The advent of elk hunting in Wisconsin has helped raise substantial funds for the DNR's elk management program.
Over the first two years elk hunting application fees generated about $427,000 in revenue that is statutorily earmarked for elk management and research in Wisconsin.
The DNR received about 38,000 and 23,000 elk hunt applications in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Seven dollars from every $10 application fee, as well as proceeds from the RMEF raffle, are earmarked for elk management and research in Wisconsin.
The two RMEF elk tag raffles generated about $48,000 in revenue, Flack said; all raffle proceeds go back to the Wisconsin elk program.
The DNR lottery and RMEF raffle funds are already being used for elk habitat projects, herd monitoring and elk research, according to the DNR.
In one other proposed change, the 2020 Wisconsin elk hunt would be open to animals anywhere in elk range. The 2018 and 2019 hunts were restricted to elk near the 1995 release site in Clam Lake.
Board meeting online-only
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Natural Resources Board announced its May 27 meeting will be "via eConference."
Under this format, the board members will participate remotely through computers and no in-person appearances will be allowed by the public. Written statements were accepted through Wednesday.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. May 27; it will be broadcast through a link on dnr.wi.gov.
In addition to the proposed decrease in the elk hunting quota, the agenda includes a review of the 10-year Lake Superior fisheries management plan and request for approval of several scope statements for potential future changes, including for whitefish quotas on Lake Michigan.