Northeast Minnesota elk restoration planning underway

Northeast Minnesota elk restoration planning underway

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, in coordination with other Tribal entities, local governments, landowners and other stakeholders, has kicked off public engagement on the Northeast Omashkooz (elk) Restoration and Management Plan.

An elk coordination team including individuals from Tribal, state, county and federal agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations, is planning the restoration work, which includes public meetings that will inform a new northeast elk restoration and management plan.

Ways you can participate

The DNR and the FDL Band are conducting a variety of engagement activities to help inform the restoration and management plan.

From Jan. 23 to Feb. 28, the DNR and the FDL Band invite public input on the scope of the forthcoming plan. Later this fall, a draft of the Northeast Omashkooz (elk) Restoration and Management Plan will be available for public comment before being finalized.

Opportunities to participate in identifying topics for the Northeast Omashkooz (elk) Restoration and Management Plan include:

• Attend the online public meeting on Monday, Feb. 10, at 6-8 p.m. The access link is available on the DNR elk management webpage.
• Attend the in-person public meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 6-8 p.m. at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Room 195, 2101 14th St., Cloquet, MN.
• Complete an online questionnaire available on the DNR elk management webpage by Feb. 28.
• Submit comments by email sent to ne.elk.plan.dnr@state.mn.us by Feb. 28.

Throughout the restoration project, questions and comments are welcome and can be submitted via ne.elk.plan.dnr@state.mn.us.

Background on planned elk restoration

Over a period of years, the Fond du Lac Band prepared a proposal and conducted feasibility studies for restoring elk to the Fond du Lac Reservation and surrounding area. The 2021 proposal calls for moving 100-150 elk from northwest Minnesota in small increments over the course of many years. The Minnesota DNR supports work to advance this proposal, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of existing herds in the northwest. Other considerations important in the project include landowner and other public support as well as supporting the health of other big game populations.

To ensure elk populations remain stable in northwest Minnesota, only a sustainable number of elk will be captured and moved to the northeast each year. State elk harvest and elk translocations will be balanced during this time to ensure that neither unduly affects the elk population in the northwest. The first round of elk releases in northeast Minnesota is being planned for spring 2026 and captures and releases would continue until a self-sustaining herd is established.

The effort to establish elk in the northeast is considered a restoration because tens of thousands of elk historically lived throughout most of Minnesota. 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. Additionally, this area overlaps with the Red Lake Nation’s 1863 Old Crossing Treaty boundary.

DNR supporting the restoration effort

Consistent with direction and funding provided by the Minnesota Legislature in 2023, the Minnesota DNR is working to support the Fond du Lac Band in restoring elk to the Fond du Lac Reservation and the surrounding portions of 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. Throughout the restoration effort, the DNR will also maintain or increase elk populations in northwest Minnesota.