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Environmental News
Mathew Holding Eagle III

State DNR and U of M partner for elk research project beginning in March

elk herd in a forest
An elk herd is pictured near Grygla. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources does an annual aerial count. The information gathered helps the DNR assess future elk management and harvest regulations.
Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has partnered with the University of Minnesota to conduct a new elk research project over the next two years. Researchers intend to capture and GPS collar 25 adult cows and around 15 adult bulls per year beginning in early March. 

This project is only the second of its kind in Minnesota, said Amanda McGraw, a DNR moose, elk and deer research scientist. McGraw said this study is more comprehensive than the first, held between 2016-2018, when only adult cows were studied. This new study will include data from bulls, cows and calves. 

“This work will allow us to bring in that information from those segments of the population that we haven't studied yet,” McGraw said. “And really understand what the population drivers are to help us better manage these herds and the area in which they reside.” 

McGraw said while out in the field, researchers will use ultrasounds to identify pregnant cows.  

“We will also be tracking the cows and trying to find the calves that those cows give birth to this spring,” she said. “And also fitting the calves with GPS collars so that we can track the calf survival to give us a fuller picture of the vital rates across different segments of this population.”

McGraw said that could potentially include up to 25 calves each year. 

Elk from Minnesota’s three wild herds in the northwest will be used for the research project.  

Earlier this month, the DNR and Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa announced they were seeking public input for a new co-management plan to restore elk to the northeast. Those efforts will also include using elk from the wild herds. McGraw said overlap between the two projects could be beneficial overall. 

“That would provide us really good information if some of those collared out from the northwest were relocated to the northeast,” she said. “Because we’d have specific information on individuals from the northwest and how they were using that landscape and be able to compare that directly to how they start using and exploring the new landscape of the northeast.”