Elk management

Elk, regal racks sprouting skyward and heads held high, once were a common sight in Minnesota.

With the exception of the coniferous forest of the northeast where woodland caribou roamed, elk lived in Minnesota's hardwood forests and on its prairies.

Known as omashkooz by the Ojibwe and heȟáka by the Dakota, elk were important to the diet and culture of Native Americans.

Settlement and development have made it impossible for elk to return to their presettlement range and abundance.Map showing current and past elk range in Minnesota

Map showing current and past elk range in Minnesota

But retooled management of three small herds in northwestern Minnesota and an idea from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa that has become a legislatively funded project are intended to bring elk and their societal and ecological benefits back to a small portion of their former range.

Throughout Minnesota, the DNR will work closely with tribal governments, agricultural producers, local governments, communities, legislators, other state agencies, conservation groups and the public to identify concerns, implement ideas and develop solutions for successful elk management and expansion in Minnesota.

The long-term vision for elk management is to increase the population and expand the animal's range in a way that provides ecological, societal, cultural, tribal and recreational benefits while implementing measures that minimize potential concerns.

Elk in the northwest

A bull elk in summer

Elk in the northeast

Bull elk laying in the woods
A bull elk and calf

A bull elk and calf

Elk restoration

Webinar video

Elk restoration webinar recording

View the recording of the informational webinar on elk restoration in northeastern Minnesota.

2025
How we monitor elk in Minnesota
Elk restoration planning underway
2024
Elk hunt update
Elk calves are on their way
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Information

See an elk, report it

See where people are spotting elk outside the animal's traditional range. If you see an elk, report it and help DNR wildlife managers better understand elk movement and distribution.

Know the difference

Individual elk are beginning to appear in a wider geographic area outside of far northwestern Minnesota. Make sure you know the difference between deer and elk in the field.

Elk hunting

A limited elk season is conducted in northwestern Minnesota each year. Visit the elk hunting page for complete information.

Natural History

Appearance & behavior

Elk are members of the deer family. They can weigh up to 900 pounds and stand 5 feet tall at the shoulder. Their coats are deep reddish brown in the summer, but their sides and back become light tan while their head, neck and legs become dark brown in the winter.The breeding season (called the rut) begins in late September. Bulls compete for cows and gather them into harems.

Primarily at dusk and dawn, bulls grunt and make a low whistling sound called a bugle. This bugle is used to challenge other bulls, maintain their harems and stake out territory.

After the rut, elk gather into winter herds and will stay together until June when the cows go off to calve before rejoining the herd several weeks later. Mature bulls spend the summer in bachelor groups.

Timeline

  • 1893: Minnesota first protects elk.
  • 1913: Minnesota Legislature appropriates $5,000 for elk reintroduction.
  • 1914-15: Itasca State Park receives 14 elk from a private farm in Ramsey County and 56 from areas near Yellowstone National Park.
  • 1932: The last recorded sighting of native Minnesota elk occurs in the Northwest Angle.
  • 1935: 27 elk are released 22 miles northeast of Grygla. They successfully establish a breeding population and move southwest.
  • 1976: DNR drafts the first elk management plan that sets elk management goals for state lands.
  • Early 1980s: A second herd migrates into northern Kittson and Roseau counties, presumably from Canada and/or the Grygla population.
  • 1984: Elk are listed as a special concern species in Minnesota, which means although the species is not endangered or threatened, it is extremely uncommon in Minnesota, or has unique or highly specific habitat requirements and deserves careful monitoring of its status.
  • Mid- to late- 1980s: As the elk population near Grygla increases, the herds move into timbered and brushland areas mixed with agriculture. Elk-landowner conflicts increase as elk find soybeans, sunflowers and other crops to their liking. Damage by elk continues even after state attempts to discourage the elk from using the fields and subsequently removing the elk from this area.
  • 1987: A revised elk management plan incorporates input from agricultural interests and elk proponents. The plan includes an elk hunting season (the first since 1893) to manage the herds and compensate farmers who experience crop damage.
  • Today: Support for an increase in Minnesota's elk population appears to be growing among Minnesota citizens. However, local agricultural producers have limited tolerance for elk damage to crops, fences and stored feed. Successful partnerships among producers, landowners, elk enthusiasts and the DNR will determine Minnesota's elk population.

Historical elk range

Elk range in 1840

Elk range in 1860

Elk range in 1880

Elk range in 1890

Elk range in 1900

Habitat

Elk are primarily grazers and prefer open brushlands and grasslands for foraging and forested areas for winter and security cover. Native elk habitat in Minnesota was abundant in the prairie and forest transition zones prior to European settlement and elk are a keystone species in the prairie environment. A bull elk in northwestern Minnesota during winter

Ideal elk habitat in the current Minnesota elk range is comprised of a mixture of brushland and grassland with islands of forest within the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland biome. The mixed habitats in the elk range are also interspersed with significant agricultural lands, which has greatly impacted social acceptance of elk due to crop damage complaints.The tallgrass aspen parklands are a mosaic of prairie grasses accented by groves of aspens or scattered bur oaks.

Trees are a rarity in the prairie grassland. Most of the historic prairie is now in agricultural lands, although patches of remnant prairie remain.

These mosaics of woodland cover and large open areas provide excellent elk habitat.

Woodlands provide escape cover from human disturbance and predators, and wooded corridors provide travel lanes among seasonal habitats.

Open prairie grassland areas provide a wide seasonal variety of elk forage that includes green and dried grasses, forbs and woody plants.

Food

Elk food preferences vary with the time of year. Among natural foods, grasses and forbs comprise the bulk of the diet during the snow-free period. Woody browse is consumed during late fall and winter when herbaceous forage is less abundant or covered by deep snow.

Elk also use agricultural crops, particularly those adjacent to wild land where they can feed without venturing far from cover. Sunflowers, soybeans and oats are favored crops. Corn, wheat and barley also are eaten. Alfalfa is used during spring green-up and late in the fall. Baled alfalfa and grain are highly preferred winter foods where available, especially during winters with deep snow.

Research

Researchers set to collar elk in 2026

Researchers collaring a Minnesota elk

A better understanding of how elk move across their landscape and the factors influencing their survival will provide vital information to better manage Minnesota’s elk population.

Minnesota DNR researchers, along with researchers from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, will capture elk in northwestern Minnesota in January 2026 and January 2027. Researchers will capture and place GPS collars on up to 25 adult cows and up to 15 adult bulls across the two years. They will also collect biological samples such as blood to assess the herds' health.

Collars will alert researchers of a potential mortality event if a collared elk does not move for four hours.

Findings from the field

Behavioral responses of female elk to hunting: During 2016 and 2017, DNR researchers worked to quantify changes in elk movements during the hunting season compared to pre- and post-hunt time periods.

Landowner attitudes toward elk in northwestern Minnesota: In collaboration with the University of Minnesota, the DNR surveyed 3,000 private landowners in northwestern Minnesota who lived within the current elk range and the surrounding area to determine their attitudes and preferences for future elk management.

During collaring, researchers will confirm pregnancy for captured adult cows and will implant a vaginal implant transmitter if pregnant. Researchers can use radio equipment to navigate to the location where the transmitter was expelled during birth, which will increase the chances of finding the newborn calf. The calf can then be collared with a GPS collar allowing researchers to monitor them for survival and assess what habitat types they are using.

This work will build upon the prior research conducted on these herds from 2016 to 2018 and will allow the DNR to:

  • Better understand what habitat types both male and female elk use.
  • How adult male elk interact with elk from other subpopulations.
  • What factors influence adult and juvenile survival.
  • The reproductive potential for this population.
  • Develop an alternative monitoring method to track elk populations.

Project funding comes from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources and approved by the Minnesota Legislature. DNR also provided in-kind support.

Reports

Status

Health assessment

Population

Harvest

Elk damage

Newsletter
2025
How we monitor elk in Minnesota
Elk restoration planning underway
2024
Elk hunt update
Elk calves are on their way
Elk Notes!

Sign up today for Elk Notes!

 

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