Northwest Minnesota elk numbers hover above goal in Lancaster area

ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Division of Pure Assets is providing 30 licenses for the 2022 elk season in Kittson County of northwest Minnesota, similar as final 12 months, in response to

looking season data printed on the DNR web site

.

The appliance deadline is Friday, June 17. Elk licenses are a once-in-a-lifetime alternative in Minnesota open to residents solely, and demand far outpaces out there tags.

In Zone 20 close to Lancaster, Minnesota, an space that features Cranium Lake, Seashores Lake and Percy wildlife administration areas, the DNR is providing two “hunter alternative” licenses – good for both a bull or a cow – in every of 4 seasons: Aug. 27-Sept. 4, Sept. 10-18, Sept. 24-Oct. 2 and Oct. 8-16.

Throughout those self same time frames, 5 antlerless licenses will probably be out there for every of the 4 Zone 20 seasons.

In Zone 30, which incorporates the Caribou Township space of northeast Kittson County, the DNR is providing two bull-only licenses for a season that may start Sept. 10 and proceed by way of Sept. 18.

There are at present three acknowledged elk herds in northwest Minnesota: Grygla, Kittson Central and Kittson Northeast, which can be known as the Caribou-Vita or border herd, as a result of the animals vary between Minnesota and Manitoba.

The announcement concerning the upcoming season comes on the heels of the DNR’s winter aerial elk survey, which tallied 84 elk – 33 bulls and 51 antlerless – within the Lancaster survey space. That compares with 16 bulls and 45 antlerless elk in 2017, 18 bulls and 57 antlerless elk in 2018, 33 bulls and 61 antlerless elk in 2019 and 33 bulls and 69 antlerless elk in 2020.

The DNR didn’t fly a survey in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beneath state legislation, the DNR should attempt to handle the Kittson County herd with a inhabitants aim of fifty to 60 elk.

Elk hunters in northwest Minnesota had an general success price of 82% final fall in the course of the 4, nine-day seasons in Zone 20 and 100% success for the 2 bull-only tags that had been out there in Zone 30 of northeast Kittson County.

“We’re aggressively making an attempt to get that herd over there in Lancaster to that inhabitants aim vary,” mentioned Blane Klemek, performing Northwest Area wildlife supervisor for the DNR in Bemidji. “There have to be some impact to that administration, to that hunt administration technique, as a result of clearly, the quantity is smaller, however what can be smaller, moreso, is that antlerless quantity. That actually did drop fairly a bit – 69 antlerless animals in 2020 and two years later, 51.

“So you’ll be able to, I suppose, surmise that the looking technique is impacting these antlerless numbers to a point.”

As a part of the survey, DNR personnel in a fixed-wing plane fly one-fifth-mile transects at an altitude of 300 to 400 ft and speeds of 80 to 90 mph, counting the elk they see under.

In northeast Kittson County, the DNR didn’t survey the Caribou-Vita herd as a result of Manitoba did not fly its portion of the survey. The DNR solely surveys the Caribou-Vita herd throughout winters when it could possibly coordinate the survey with Manitoba as a result of numbers on all sides of the border can range dramatically from in the future to the following.

The DNR did depend six bulls in the course of the Lancaster survey that had been in Zone 30, the realm in northeast Kittson County, the place two bull-only tags can be found this fall.

“I must say that Caribou-Vita herd is doing very properly,” and approaching Manitoba’s inhabitants aim of 200 elk, Klemek mentioned, a minimal for establishing a hunt on that aspect of the border. “The inhabitants hasn’t reached that 200 quantity but, nevertheless it’s inching up that method.”

Elk looking in that a part of Manitoba at present is proscribed to First Nations members.

Additionally encouraging was an uptick in elk numbers for the Grygla herd, Klemek mentioned. The winter survey tallied 29 elk – 14 bulls and 15 antlerless – which is under the DNR’s aim of a pre-calving inhabitants of about 35 elk, however greater than any of the earlier 4 surveys.

In 2017, survey crews counted solely 17 elk within the Grygla herd.The DNR hasn’t supplied a season within the Grygla space for a number of years.

“We’ve had quite a lot of concern about that inhabitants as a result of it actually form of tanked,” Klemek mentioned. “It wasn’t all that way back there have been 50 some animals in that Grygla inhabitants that we might depend, and again in 2017, solely 17 animals and this 12 months 29. That’s signal.

“We nonetheless received’t be looking that inhabitants till it will get up into that inhabitants aim vary of 30 to 38.”

The DNR’s four-year elk administration plan for northwest Minnesota expired in 2019, Klemek mentioned, however the COVID-19 pandemic delayed work on drafting and growing a brand new plan. The plan ultimately will probably be up to date, he mentioned, however administration plans for grey wolves and moose probably will take precedence inside the DNR’s Part of Wildlife within the quick time period.

“(The) workers’s capability to do two plans directly just isn’t actually one thing we are able to do at this cut-off date,” Klemek mentioned. “We right here within the area will probably be serving to write this new administration plan, nevertheless it should wait a short while but.”