Reader's View: Carlton County elk herd will be critical

At a recent Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confab, our new state elk coordinator, Kelsie LaSharr, reported that the testing of northwestern Minnesota elk for chronic wasting disease and other diseases found nothing. This was great news, as the Fond du Lac Band-led restoration of elk in Carlton County , where elk were native for centuries before we wiped them out, is to take place next year. This historic wrong must be reversed. The coming restoration is a big conservation success story for Minnesota.

Some northwestern elk have the usual brain worm, etc., that’s already present in area deer and, further north, in moose.

There are many solid conservation-related reasons to restore elk to Carlton County, including that they are native, hunting, tourism, and tribal culture. Another reason mentioned at the DNR gig was the very survival of elk in Minnesota. To wit: a disease or other natural event could wipe out all the elk in northwestern Minnesota. A second herd in Carlton County would prevent such an environmental catastrophe.

I have hunting land in Carlton County. I cannot wait to hear the bugle of the mighty bull elk echoing through the popples while I'm grouse hunting. What a day that will be.

Mark Herwig

White Bear Lake, Minnesota