Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

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Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby Horizontal Hunter » Wed Aug 26, 2015 12:46 pm

By Erik Lorenzsonn | Wisconsin Public Radio 6 hrs ago 0

Courtesy of Wisconsin DNR
Two of the elk, seen above in the quarantine pen prior to their release.

Jackson County has some new inhabitants: For the first time since the 1800s, elk can be found roaming free in the Black River State Forest.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released the 23 elk into the forest on Thursday, after the animals spent almost eight months in quarantine. They were brought to Wisconsin from Kentucky as part of a five-year reintroduction project.

Ecologists initially captured 26 elk for the project. Those numbers changed during the quarantine period, in which seven elk died and four calves were born.


The only other herd of elk in Wisconsin is in Clam Lake. Elk were brought there in 1995 as part of a study by the University of Wisconsin-Steven Points. That herd has grown in size from 25 to nearly 160 elk today.

"That was really an experiment to see how well elk could do in northern Wisconsin," said Kevin Wallenfang, a big game ecologist with the DNR. "This is really our first — if you want to call it — official elk reintroduction in Wisconsin."

The Upsides And Downsides To Elk

Wallenfang said the nearly two-dozen elk will be both a tourist attraction and an economic boon for Jackson County.

"In the little town of Clam Lake in northern Wisconsin where we put elk, they estimate that brings in probably $200,000 to that local community a year," he said. "When you’re talking about areas that don’t have a lot going on, bringing in a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of business to a few small businesses can be pretty significant."

Though elk have a similar diet to white tail deer, Wallenfang said from studying the Clam Lake herd, it is unlikely the two species will compete for food. But diet isn’t the only thing in common between elk and deer.

"You pick any problem that deer cause in the state, an elk could potentially do the same thing," Wallenfang said.

One of those problems is the potential hazard to drivers, although the DNR has tried to mitigate the issue.

"We put these animals in areas where there are the fewest roads and the largest blocks of forest. We put them in areas to keep them from getting into trouble," said Wallenfang.

The reintroduction of the species also means elk hunting could return to Wisconsin. However, that would hinge on the herds growing in size: Wallenfang said the threshold would be a population of 200 elk in Clam Lake, and 150 elk in Jackson County.

Read more:
http://www.apg-wi.com/ashland_daily_pre ... dbf1e.html

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby rutnbuck » Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:30 am

That's about how many deer are up north. Shouldn't be much competition. 20 years in clam lake and only that many elk. I would stop the funding. Get the deer herd up first which would be much more than 200k for all the towns not just one. Increase bear permits and control the wolves. You can see elk at the zoo if it's a spectator setting. Poor mismanagement of funds if you ask me. Next thing you know they'll want armadillos in the state, where does it end? I have nothing against elk it's just pissing away money when more focus needs to be on what makes money for the state. The whitetail deer is the money maker.

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby john1984 » Tue Feb 02, 2016 5:09 am

Image

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Feb 02, 2016 6:14 am

john1984 wrote:Image

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Doesn't surprise me. Between the number of wolves in the area plus potential for many vehicle kills these elk never had a chance.
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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Tue Feb 02, 2016 6:38 am

The rut related deaths of whitetails is not going to happen with elk. The girls willingly give it up instead of making him work for it.
But I agree that wolves will get a few directly. And also wear down the herd as a whole.

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Feb 02, 2016 6:55 am

Clam Lake herd is in a fairly secluded area of the state. Vehicle kills will no doubt be much higher in Jackson County.

This is from the Clam Lake herd:


The second most common cause of elk death after predation (primarily wolf and bear) is vehicle collision, with over 30 verified deaths since 1995. Six years ago, DNR elk biologists launched a three-pronged effort to prevent elk-vehicle collisions. First, they began using a reflective, blaze orange radio collar on cows to increase their visibility during the dark and dusk periods when most vehicle collisions occur. Second, they moved their winter trapping efforts farther away from state and county highways, drawing elk away from roads during the higher risk period of winter.

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby john1984 » Tue Feb 02, 2016 7:06 am

Last spring 5 of those Jackson cty elk
died.The cause of death was attributed to acute Babesiosis, a disease caused by a tick-borne parasite.

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby dan » Tue Feb 02, 2016 7:42 am

I bear hunted right where they released the Jackson county elk and got more wolves on my cameras eating donuts than bears... There are a lot of wolves in that area.
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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Mar 26, 2016 4:28 pm

I read that more elk were brought up from Kentucky this week. More feed for the wolves over there.

Check out these articles.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wolves ... li=BBnbfcL

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/25/us/wyomin ... index.html

How long before this happens to these elk that never had any predators other than man? :whistle:
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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby P&YBuck1 » Sun Mar 27, 2016 12:29 am

I read the article Dewey posted and just adds to wasted money trying to introduce elk in a wolf infested area... :oops:
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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby stash59 » Sun Mar 27, 2016 2:51 am

Yeah this probably isn't going to work here. But you don't know for sure until you try.

Where is most of the funding coming from? The state, the feds or RMEF?
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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby Nocturnal » Sun Mar 27, 2016 3:43 am

I hunt in the area the elk are. Much like dan said with the wolves. It will be a slow growth in the herd, if any at all. It's not uncommon to hear wolves on a nightly basis. I usually capture them on trail cams every year, and see a couple every year too. And the stories I've heard from the locals talking about elk has been interesting to say the least. They did mention they had to tranquilize two elk already, cause they went beyond the Dnrs elk zone. For anyone that is familiar with the area. These two elk were getting into the farm country of tomah. Im sure they relocated them near the others. Pretty surprised to hear that considering all logging that has occurred over the years. But it's possible they were being pushed by predators, but that's just a guess of mine.

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby Gib Reed » Sun Mar 27, 2016 10:27 am

Not a fan of this program until the wolves are actively managed at the state level.

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby Dewey » Mon Mar 28, 2016 3:34 pm

stash59 wrote:Yeah this probably isn't going to work here. But you don't know for sure until you try.

Where is most of the funding coming from? The state, the feds or RMEF?

Copied from elk relocation info article..........

Funding for Wisconsin's elk translocation efforts is a result of key partnerships and support from the Ho-Chunk Nation, Jackson County Wildlife Fund, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and many others.

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Re: Wisconsin: Elk introduced into Jackson County

Unread postby stash59 » Tue Mar 29, 2016 3:13 am

Dewey wrote:
stash59 wrote:Yeah this probably isn't going to work here. But you don't know for sure until you try.

Where is most of the funding coming from? The state, the feds or RMEF?

Copied from elk relocation info article..........

Funding for Wisconsin's elk translocation efforts is a result of key partnerships and support from the Ho-Chunk Nation, Jackson County Wildlife Fund, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and many others.

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Remember seeing that now. At least it's not a bunch of state money!

Maybe this will help with the wolf being delisted! We can only hope.


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