| You have until the end of the month to apply for the opportunity to participate in northern Wisconsin’s 2020 elk hunt, the third managed hunt in state history.
Elk tag applications can be purchased by Wisconsin residents through the DNR’s Go Wild license system. Each potential hunter may apply once online at gowild.wi.gov or by visiting a license agent. The application fee is $10. In addition, one bull tag is raffled off by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Raffle tickets are also $10 each, and there is no limit on the number of raffle tickets an individual may purchase.
For each application, $7 goes to elk management and research in Wisconsin. During the first two hunting seasons, applicants generated over $400,000. These funds are already being used to enhance elk habitat, which benefits the elk herd and many other wildlife species that call the Northwoods home. Funding also contributes to ongoing elk research and monitoring.
Hunters who draw a tag will be notified in early June. Prior to obtaining the $49 elk hunting license, all winners are required to participate in a Wisconsin elk hunter education program offered in early September. The class will cover regulations, hunting techniques and more.
The 2020 hunting season is being recommended for only the northern elk herd. While the state’s central elk herd has grown steadily since reintroduction in 2015 and is projected to reach approximately 100 this summer after calving, no hunting is recommended to occur there in 2020.
Wisconsin’s elk hunting season will adhere to the following guidelines:
- Season open from Oct. 17 to Nov. 15, 2020 and Dec. 10-18, 2020;
- Only bull elk may be harvested;
- Only Wisconsin residents are eligible to receive an elk tag; and
- An elk tag may be transferred to a Wisconsin resident youth hunter 17 years old or younger or to an eligible Wisconsin resident disabled hunter.
For more information regarding elk in Wisconsin, visit the DNR’s elk webpage.
Photo: Charles Steiner |
