(WTAQ-WLUK) — Three people from Northeast Wisconsin have won the chance to hunt elk in Wisconsin this year.
The state Department of Natural Resources announced the winners of the annual elk hunt lottery Tuesday. Four people — including winners from Green Bay and Hortonville — will be able to hunt in the Clam Lake zone in northwestern Wisconsin. Another four — including one from the Waupun area — get the chance to hunt in the Black River zone in west-central Wisconsin for the first time ever.
The season runs from Oct. 12-Nov. 10 and Dec. 12-20.
The DNR received 17,761 applications for Clam Lake zone hunting licenses and 7,750 for the Black River zone. Applications cost $10.
Winners are required to participate in an elk hunter education course before receiving a tag. The class covers Wisconsin elk history, hunting regulations, biology, behavior and hunting techniques.
There is an eight-bull quota for the Clam Lake zone and a four-bull quota for the Black River zone. Per treaty, Ojibwe tribes have the right to declare up to four bulls in the Clam Lake zone.
Elk are native to Wisconsin, but were eliminated from the state in the 1880s by unregulated hunting and habitat loss, the DNR says. Reintroduction efforts began with 25 animals released in the Clam Lake zone in 1995. In 2015, elk were reintroduced in the Black River zone. Hunting began in 2018 in the Clam Lake zone.
The DNR estimates the total elk population at more than 400.
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