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Native News
Mathew Holding Eagle III
Fergus Falls, Minn.

Public input sought on elk restoration plan in northeast Minnesota

elk in the wild
A male elk stands in a field. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is working with the Minnesota DNR to move up to 150 elk from the northwestern corner of the state to the Fond du Lac Reservation and the surrounding area, including the Fond du Lac State Forest.
Courtesy of Mike Schrage, Fond du Lac Resource Management

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will host meetings on Feb. 10 and Feb. 13 to outline a new management plan to restore elk to the northeast.

Joining the two groups coordinating public engagement for the Northeast Omashkooz (elk) Restoration and Management Plan are other tribal entities, local governments, landowners and other stakeholders.  

Fond du Lac elk biologist Makenzie Henk said the meetings will involve a brief presentation on plans to restore elk into the area.  

“We’re looking for public input, what people are excited about, what people are concerned about,” she said. “And we’ll be using that to help inform the elk management plan that we’re writing throughout the course of 2025.”

DNR elk coordinator Kelsie LaSharr credits Fond du Lac with kicking off the project which began with feasibility studies back in 2016. She said this is really the first time that a tribe in the state has worked together with the DNR on a management plan like this.  

“They’ve had a dream to return elk to the northeast part of the state for a long time. And when we say we’re returning elk to the northeast, we want to be clear we’re not trying to return elk up to the Arrowhead area,” LaSharr said. “What we’re looking to do is restore elk to the Fond du Lac Reservation and the surrounding area, including the Fond du Lac State Forest.” 

LaSharr said once a management plan is in place their goal is to move about 12-20 animals a year for five or more years until there is a “healthy, sustaining population in the northeast.” Fond du Lac’s proposal called for between 100 to150 elk. Legislation from 2023 directs them to procure the animals from Minnesota’s three wild herds located in the northwest.    

Henk said their hope is to begin reintroducing elk by 2026 or 2027.  

“Reintroductions are notoriously difficult to do, but one of the reasons why we took on this project is because there’s so many examples of elk being successfully reintroduced across the eastern United States,” she said. “While it is important culturally and socially for the band, it’s also going to be great for the entire community.” 

The first meeting takes place online Feb. 10 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. through the DNR’s website and the second, in person Feb. 13 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.