clam lake elk herd
Wisconsin
I hunted up by Clam Lake a few years ago and saw a few elk near the roads .just wondering what the status is on the elk up there ?
Wolf bait! That is it. No white man will ever have a chance to hunt one. Sorry, but you asked.
Not any gain this spring. Bad winter and all. They are bringing in some more elk from Kentucky soon to boost the herd.
I live in Jackson Co and I keep hearing they are going to introduce them here Spring of 2015. Wolves here too but not as many.
They have fewer elk in MN and still manage to give some tags every year … WI missed the boat by not offering limited bull tags each year … they just die of old age or eventually get pulled down by a wolf.
Ah yes, the hot lunch program for Wolves. Load the Elk up and send them to CO. Set 'em free.
This is thesame DNR that stocked Rattlesnakes in southern WI so our kids could be bitten. Lucky for us all the Rattlers died . We hope.
Are there any particular places that the elk winter? I was thinking of taking a road /sight seeing trip this winter with the kids. When i was up there i saw them on cty GG near the BUCKSNORT RESORT that was in the fall.By the way is that place still open?
Put a fence around them and lease the elk and the property to a rancher. At least that way the wolfs could be legally killed when attacking them. The money spent on this failed experiment could be better spent elsewhere.
But I like Ruger's suggestion better.
We need to ban vehicles there too ;-) Too many elk getting fed to vehicles.
There has been a 13% increase since introduction but a few years a loss in growth. I can't find any reports from after the snow left this spring but here is the latest on the website. Read through and interpret.
Stocking snakes? Maybe returning captured snakes back into their habitat. Hope it's not the "stock snakes to reduce turkeys" rumor that all Midwest state game and fish orgs have had to deal with for years.
Everyone knows the whys or reasons the Elk in WI have not and most likely won't succeed. I was hit with the irony of all of a short while back when my younger cousin who lives in KY texted me a pic of a nice bull he shot in his home state. KY has done a good job in growing their herd to a hunt-able population and the quality of my cousin's bull was evident. I don't know if they have bear down there but the wolf problem seems like a huge mistake for WI.
Anyhow, as I get older I just don't think hunting elk in WI will ever happen.
Bring in the ELK and OUT with the WOLVES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Simple solution!
"Bring in the ELK and OUT with the WOLVES!!!!!!!!!!!! "
I agree. NOTHING good has come from the re-introduction. They are not needed in a state like WI.
They didn't loose any in February because the wolves had plenty of whitetail to eat. Doesn't take a scientist to figure that one out.
The elk are still there despite all the anti-wolf rehtoric. Check the roads in and around Clam Lake early mornings or around dusk and your chances of seeing some are good. Or walk some of the tote roads and/sit on some of the highline openings.
So many folks talk about wolves as if they were reintroduced in Wisconsin as they were here in the west. I hunted out of a deer camp SW of Clam Lake in the 60's and 70's, and I know there were several active packs in northern Wisconsin then. I'm not aware of ANY wolf reintroduction programs in Wisconsin. If someone else is, I'd be interested to hear about it.
That being said, I don't consider myself "pro-wolf" and I don't like worrying about my bird digs when grouse hunting in those areas. But I'm just weary of hearing ill-informed rants against the DNR and one particular species when, in reality, the issues of deer numbers decling and the slow increase of the elk herd are issues that have many different factors contrbuting to them.
Thats about all I have to say on that. Good luck in seeing some elk. Be careful driving in those areas, as I've noticed the elk there are darker than those out west here and seem to blend in more with the surroundings.
Is the one w/ the Bud can stuck on his horn still around?
No actually Smokey, people need to get their head out of their rear-end and slow down. Hunters included. There is no justifiable reason to have a speed limit that exceeds 55. Nothing in the world other than a medical emergency is that important. If we were still at 55 and it was actually enforced, we would be at half the gas price we are at. You can lead a horse to water but, you can't make him drink! People bitch about the price of gas, insurance companies whine about vehicle/deer collisions, yet people drive 70 plus like they are entitled to. What a joke!
10 or less. That might be the dumbest post of the year. And that's saying a lot from this site.
Take your liberal 55 mph driving Prius to your commune in kalifornia
thanks nordicarcher for the advice on seeing elk
10, I was being sarcastic. I agree with you and am tired of the wolf rhetoric and am in agreement with nordic archer too.
No, the one with the beer cans died. It was unable to digest any food it ate due to some problem blocking its system and that is why idiot snowmobilers were able to put beer cans on its antlers.
Kowzdeer, what is liberal about driving conservatively? Instead of driving like you have your head up your butt. What's a Prius? So you are saying that slowing down does not use less gas and the price of fuel would not drop as demand dropped? Dude, you have to be home schooled.
Smokey, I agree with you in part. Still believe the current plan for the elk is going to do nothing but, allow wolves to eat better than me. Believe me, I would love for it to be more successful. For that to happen, there has to be a bit of a reality check. And, you are right. What we do on the highway has to be a part of the equation. We need a different mind set for the elk herd, for whitetails, for conservation, for timber harvest, for predator control, and yes for how we use fuel by the way we drive. Actually, I would argue it is in the best interest of national security to roll back our speed limits, thus decrease our dependency on arab oil. Not advocating guys giving up their trucks or hotrods or anything like that. Just chill out and slow down.
This state is going to have a 70 mph speed limit soon.
You can drive like a grandma going to church and high five with all of your other liberal buddies driving Honda fits in the right lane, but this state is going forward. Not backwards. No matter how much the libtards in Madison kick and scream.
Kowzdeer, what is a Honda fits? You seem to know a lot about so called liberal culture. You sure there isn't another side to you just begging to come out of the closet? Just asking! And actually, I drive like a great grandma! I'll drive in both lanes just to piss guys like you off. And, now back to the actual topic, ELK! Too funny.
10 - it's good to see you're deflecting and not supporting your ridiculous argument at all.
Elkaddict-you are absolutely right. I wasn't looking to get into a infantile diatribe just agreeing with Smokey there are a lot of factors hanging over the heads of the Wisconsin Elk project. Apparently, if you have an opinion different from what someone else might have you are the mortal enemy. Ok, I guess. Here is an interesting read on how the elk are doing in Virginia. I see Kentucky already has outfitters, and have been hunting elk for sometime.
Sarah Smith Barnum recently visited Buchanan County, Va., to check out the new elk herd. Here are 4 things you need to know about the reintroduction. I recently visited Buchanan County, Va., to check out the new elk herd. Guided by two RMEF volunteers, I took to the hills to find some of these amazing creatures that I'd never seen in person in hopes of hearing their spine-tingling bugles. Lucky for me, I heard two beautiful bugles, made two new friends and learned a ton about the new Virginia elk herd. Here are 4 things you need to know about the reintroduction: 1.) Virginia Elk Herd Thrives I talked to RMEF volunteers James Coleman and Leon Boyd. Coleman took me up to the drop-off location, where the three original groups of elk were temporarily penned and then released. This spring 20 calves were born, and the herd is up to about 100 elk. According to Boyd, another 50 calves could be born next year. 2.) Limited-Tag Draw Expected The Virginia DGIF is set to hold a limited-tag draw when the herd gets to about 400 elk. According to Coleman, the DGIF has it set up so that tag recipients will have to coordinate with one of the RMEF volunteers to ensure that an older bull is taken. 3.) Yearlings Are Getting Pregnant Coleman informed me that some of the yearlings have been getting pregnant, which is uncommon. Boyd said this was the case in Kentucky as well, (Kentucky's program is what the state of Virginia’s elk reintroduction is modeled after), and it is probably due to the mild winters and abundance of food from the mine and gas drilling reclamation. 4.) The Elk Are Free Ranging Many of the folks in Grundy, and the surrounding towns of Buchanan County, Va., were under the impression that the elk were penned, but this is not the case. The elk are wild and free ranging. With West Virginia and Kentucky so close to the county, I was concerned the elk might migrate to those states. Boyd said, “Buchanan County was the only county that spoke in favor of the stocking. It is very possible that elk can go to West Virginia, Kentucky or anywhere they wish because they are wild and free ranging. We have seen the majority of the animals stay within a few miles of the release area. Just this morning I saw 54 elk where you were with James.”
The amount of free range land is a real plus for Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. Maybe, if Wisconsin had that luxury, it would be different?
Well I would say Wisconsin has a lot of land for the elk to free range and they are not penned so they too can go where the like.
Smokey going back to your point earlier, way more roads and therefore hazards in Wisconsin. My travels in that region and Wisconsin tell me a elk is more likely to meet up with a vehicle in Wisconsin. We do have large tracks of land but, we do have a lot more roads crossing that land.
I'm hoping to go out west to hunt elk and mule deer in the next few years. I've been following the reintroduction of elk to Wisconsin closely. I had heard they were looking to get additional elk from Kentucky or Michigan to increase the overall numbers.
I'd love to be able to hunt elk in Wisconsin and they were native to this state before they were eradicated.
It is a correct statement that wolves were not reintroduced to WI. That said, I'd love to see the limit to < 100 than the couple thousands that exist today. I have no love for them at all. They have played a huge role in the elk herd not expanding and they surely don't help the diminished deer population.
Spot on happy! A representative number is all we need. They have done more damage than good. Thing is, most of us will never see one in the wild in our lifetime. I'm not dead set against them but, their numbers need to be managed in accordance of the deer herd. As deer numbers go down, predator hunting tags should go up, including black bear! When deer numbers return, decrease the number of predator tags offered. Black bear could be OTC next year along with wolf tags and when a quota for both is reached, the hunts are closed down. Coyote, should be open statewide year round. You do this, and watch how both deer and elk rebound.
Is that liberal enough for you Kowz? What is your solution?
I have spent time in VA. and Kentucky and would say our road density up here is way less than their road density.
Where is coyote season closed in WI.? How many hunters go after them? I see a few guys out and maybe that is increasing but they are not even putting a dent in the songdog numbers.
Good point Smokey, thats why I'm proposing a new earn a buck program next year. Shoot a predator earn your buck tag. It can include yotes, bears, and wolves.....proper licenses of course.
I camped up there in tents and canoed the river many times. It was the coolest thing to be sitting next to the fire smoking a cigar and listen to the bugles. Very,very cool.
true wild Elk are very easy to hunt, I can just imagine how easy these Elk would be to hunt. Set 'em free and focus the money on whitetails and youth hunters.
The elk i saw near the roads were grazing on the grass a local guy told me the reason they put the elk up there was because the US NAVY has long strips cut through the woods some kind of ultra low frequency sonar. The idea was that the elk would have plenty of grass to graze on in he middle of the woods but the grass turned to an unsuitable food maybe weeds took over.Just wonder if they dont have a good food source?
The Navy ELF system is no longer in place. The Navy pulled out. I believe the RMEF does some funding of a bit of maintenance of the corridors but the USFS is hesitant to do much more than mowing. It has been recommended that there also be prescribed fire on the corridors. Again USFS is not moving on that.
The elk can often be seen along the highway but they also are using the openings off the road as well.
When the elk were brought in some of the openings were reseeded and fertilized. For several years these openings were lush but now have lost the nutritional value. When they were first reseeded we saw an increase in deer and antler size in bucks. Often times when managing for one species many others benefit.
Eastern Kentucky and the Virginia' at the higher elevations smokey is what I am referring to. I don't agree with you on that. My last trip, it seemed pretty desolate to me. There probably has to be stats somewhere.
Interesting info thanks smokey
Smokey, I was going under the assumption that coyotes were closed in the northern zone during the gun deer season. If I am wrong, I stand corrected.
