Wisconsin elk hunting
Wisconsin DNR

2019 Wisconsin Elk Hunting Season Rules Released By DNR

The DNR has released its application process, dates and rules for the 2019 Wisconsin elk hunting season.

"Wisconsin elk hunting season." For those of us who live in the Dairy State, these words still sound new and exciting. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has just released its application rules and season dates for the second elk hunting season in state history.

Here's what the DNR website shared:

The 2019 Wisconsin elk hunt will occur only within the Clam Lake Elk Range in Ashland, Bayfield, Price, and Sawyer Counties.

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Hunt details include an application period from May 1 to May 31, 2019 for Wisconsin residents only. There's a $10 application fee and the results of the drawing will be available in mid-June. It's $49 for the license fees if you're drawn, and one tag will be rewarded through a raffle conducted by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. 

  • Elk season hunt dates: October 12 to November 10 and December 12-20, 2019
  • Tag levels will be determined in April 2019

Successful applicants will take a mandatory elk hunter orientation prior to being issued their license and tag. Seven dollars from every $10 application fee, as well as proceeds from the RMEF raffle, are earmarked for elk management and research in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's elk herd has grown slowly but surely since the release of 25 elk in 1995. The state determined that a minimum of 200 elk must be living within the Clam Lake elk range before a hunt could be initiated. They are now at that point. But a limited number of elk tags are available and only bull elk may be taken.

The Wisconsin elk hunt provides an exciting opportunity for several lucky hunters, while the application fees will contribute funding for the growing management needs of the elk herds.

Last year more than 38,000 people in Wisconsin applied for state tags prior to the 2018 hunt, and generated more than $270,000 for elk conservation efforts in the state.

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