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, according to a news release from the DNR.
Consistent with direction and funding provided by the Minnesota Legislature in 2023, the DNR is working to support the 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.
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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 to 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.
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 affect the elk population in the northwest.
Other considerations important in the project, according to a DNR news release, include landowner and other public support as well as supporting the health of other big game populations.
“There is exciting and important work underway to reestablish elk in northeast Minnesota,” Sarah Strommen, Minnesota DNR commissioner, said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to working with Tribal partners to enhance the important ecological and cultural benefits that elk provide in Minnesota.”
The effort to establish elk in the northeast is considered a restoration because tens of thousands of elk historically lived throughout most of Minnesota, the DNR said. 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. This area overlaps with the Red Lake Nation’s 1863 Old Crossing Treaty boundary.
An elk coordination team, including 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.
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.
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“The Fond du Lac Band has been working patiently for the last 10 years to bring omashkooz (elk) home,” Mike Schrage, FDL wildlife program manager, said in a statement. “This process has been about restoring a native species, providing future elk hunting and viewing opportunities, and reestablishing a species adaptable to a wide range of future climate scenarios.”
The Fond du Lac Band’s proposal and feasibility studies are available on the Fond du Lac Band website.
Info and input opportunities
The DNR and the FDL Band are conducting engagement activities:
- An online public meeting from 6-8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10. The access link is available at mndnr.gov/elk.
- An in-person public meeting from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Room 195, 2101 14th St., Cloquet.
- An online questionnaire is available at mndnr.gov/elk/elk-northeast.html through Feb. 28.
- Questions and comments can be shared via email to ne.elk.plan.dnr@state.mn.us through Feb. 28.
- More information on elk research and management, and a sign-up for the Minnesota DNR Elk Notes quarterly email newsletter, are available at mndnr.gov/elk.
A draft of the Northeast Omashkooz Restoration and Management Plan will be available for public comment this fall before being finalized.
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