Sometimes it pays to be lucky and if you are a would-be elk hunter in the Badger State, you’ll need all the luck you can get.
In order to even get a chance to pull the trigger on a Wisconsin bull, you’d have to be one of 21,300 applicants to draw one of only four available tags. Since reintroducing elk from neighboring Michigan in 1995, that state has watched the herd grow from 25 animals to now what officials believe to be over 500 animals statewide.
As part of the plan presented last year to the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, this year’s quota of 8 bull elk will be concentrated in the state’s northern elk zone, which is said to inhabit roughly 355 of the 500 elk in Wisconsin.
With four of the bull tags earmarked for the Ojibwe tribe as per their treaty rights, the remaining four tags were up for grabs in a randomized lottery system.
This week Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources announced that the winners had been selected and contacted by the DNR. The winning hunters are said to be from Cedarburg, Green Bay, Sparta and Mount Horeb.
“The winners are excited to pursue elk right here in their home state and create memories with family and friends – something they will hold onto for the remainder of their lives,” said Josh Spiegel, DNR Wildlife Biologist. “We wish them the best of luck.”
The DNR went on to thank everyone who applied for this year’s elk permits. Those applications contribute directly to the future of the state’s elk population. For each $10 application fee, $7 goes to elk management, habitat restoration and research.
