The first hunt period of the 2018 elk season starts Aug. 28, and 100 Michigan hunters will have 12 days to fill 30 any-elk and 70 antlerless-only licenses issued in the northern third of the Lower Peninsula.
“In general, elk hunters have a remarkable success rate during this first hunt period,” said Brian Mastenbrook, Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife field operations manager. “With only 100 hunters, we can really work closely with hunters and landowners to find elk.”
The first hunt – also known as Michigan’s early elk hunt – allows hunters to harvest an elk in any location in the elk management unit except within the core elk range; this approach helps to target animals that have moved outside the core elk range. Regulated hunting is a management tool used to influence how many elk are present and where they are located. The goal is to keep the majority of elk within the core elk range.
2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the reintroduction of elk to Michigan. In 1918, seven elk from the western United States were brought to Michigan and released near Wolverine, in Cheboygan County, to help re-establish the state’s elk population
(Photo source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources)