The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced that three Wisconsin residents won a once-in-a-lifetime elk harvest tag for the 2021 Wisconsin elk hunting season which opens on October 16. The agency randomly selected the three hunters from a drawing pool of more than 25,000 applicants. For privacy reasons, their names have not been announced.
"It's always a highlight to be able to make these types of contacts," said Josh Spiegel, DNR Wildlife Biologist, who called winners individually to inform them they won. "All three hunters were surprised and there was even some cheering. In a follow-up call, one winner said he hadn't stopped smiling for days as his excitement grew for the hunt this fall."
In May, the natural resources board approved a harvest quota of eight bulls from the northern elk management zone. Of the eight tags, the DNR will award four to state hunters. The Ojibwe tribes will receive an allocation for the remaining four elk tags per their treaty rights within the Ceded Territory.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will award the fourth state elk hunting license through a raffle, with proceeds funding elk management and research in Wisconsin.
The 2021 elk hunting season will occur only in Wisconsin's northern elk zone in parts of Ashland, Bayfield, Price, Rusk and Sawyer counties, where the first restoration effort began with 25 elk from Michigan in 1995. The northern elk herd population is projected to reach 330 animals this year.
Categories: Wisconsin, Rural Lifestyle