Red Lake Nation voices concern as plan advances to reintroduce elk in northeast Minnesota

St. Paul — The Minnesota Legislature during its most recent session authorized $2.3 million in spending for the Minnesota DNR to work with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to capture elk from northwestern Minnesota and move them to the northeastern part of the state, largely on the Fond du Lac reservation. Now, discussion of action plans between the partners has begun, with a goal of transferring elk by the spring of 2026.

More recently, another affected party has entered the elk re-introduction conversation.

Red Lake Nation officials recently sent a letter to the DNR, stating opposition to the plan that would move elk from Red Lake reservation land and questioning the department’s lack of communication with Red Lake during the planning process.

Blane Klemek, the Minnesota DNR’s northwest region wildlife manager, said the DNR plans to consult with both Fond du Lac Band and Red Lake tribal biologists regarding safely moving the elk – in the range of 10 to 20 per year.

“I can say in confidence that we … are excited about being a part of this partnership with Fond du Lac and Red Lake,” Klemek said. “To be at ground zero of a major wildlife restoration project like this is exciting.”

Red Lake officials, in their letter to the DNR, questioned the band’s earlier lack of involvement in the project.

Al Pemberton, Red Lake Department of Natural Resources director, said the band sent the letter to the Minnesota DNR, taking a stance against the DNR’s plans to relocate elk from the northwest area of the state to the Fond du Lac reservation.

He added that the area that’s being proposed to capture elk from in the northwest is a part of the Red Lake Band’s ceded territory from the 1863 treaty.

Pemberton said Red Lake Nation plans to work with the DNR and Fond du Lac to figure something out. He said Red Lake won’t be unreasonable about the situation, but they want to be a part of the dialogue for the next couple years before any captures are made in the northwest.

“We’ll work with them,” Pemberton said. “We’re not unreasonable. … We want to do things right, too.”

Klemek said the DNR is working with the Minnesota Legislature to try to remove the statute that states the population goals for elk. Because it’s under law, the DNR must maintain a specific range of elk population in each of the northwest zones.

If the statute were removed, then the DNR could work on growing the elk population more than the goal range. With the addition of the northeast area having elk in the next couple of years, Klemek only sees the elk population increasing in the future, so he wants to take away the goals and develop a management plan for elk.

Pemberton said Red Lake would support removing the statute and increasing the size of the northwest herds. Red Lake Nation, he said, wants to see elk herds thrive in the northwest.

Talk of reintroducing elk to the northeast began in 2014, and how it would be done has been discussed since then, according to Klemek. The Fond du Lac Band and state DNR worked together to get the appropriations for the project in this year’s budget.

The Fond du Lac Band made a formal project proposal for the LCCMR to be awarded grant money. The money was used on a feasibility study, which was needed to figure out if the northeast was a good place to transport elk.

An allocation from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (lottery proceeds) to the Fond du Lac Band allowed for a feasibility and other studies in past years.

It took some time to get to this point in the process, but Mike Schrage, wildlife biologist for the Fond du Lac Band’s Resource Management Division, said it’s been worth the wait.

“It’s gratifying that we’ve come to this point and also a bit of, oh my God, what do we do now, because suddenly a whole lot more is happening quicker on this project than literally the previous nine years of moving this along,” Schrage said.

During the past month, discussions have centered around what needs to happen before capturing and transferring elk. There are many components that need to be finalized in the next two years.

One is determining a health protocol for the elk, so the animals aren’t injured or sick when brought to a new area of land. Klemek said the DNR and its partners will conduct chronic wasting disease surveillance in the Kittson area this fall, where the elk are located.

Elk harvested during the elk-hunting season will be tested for CWD, as will harvested deer in the northwest area. Red Lake Nation’s hunters will also test for CWD during the tribal elk hunt.

Schrage said 30 to 50 elk would be the maximum amount transferred in a batch (over a period of years), but more realistically, it’ll be 10 to 20 elk, he said. He added that they don’t want to transfer adult bull elk, but rather bring over young bulls or cows.

The plan for capturing and releasing the elk is a multistep process, according to Schrage. The plan is for the state DNR and Fond du Lac band to capture elk in February 2026 and transfer them to the northeast side by the reservation.

The Fond du Lac band will hold the elk in a facility for about six weeks before releasing them into the wild. Schrage said he’s looking forward to working with the DNR on the project and growing the elk population in Minnesota.

“I sense among DNR staff a lot of excitement for this idea and this project,” Schrage said. “(The DNR) brings a lot of elk experience, both from Minnesota and from other states, to the table and a lot of resources.”

Update on Red Lake elk hunt

Prior to the Minnesota DNR releasing its details for the 2023 elk hunt, the Red Lake band released its plans for its elk hunt. Red Lake increased its permits from five to 30 this year after enacting the use and protection of the treaty rights of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians under the Old Crossing Treaty.

Under the resolution, the 2023 elk hunt will be permitted off-reservation in the Old Crossing Treaty area. The Minnesota DNR released its information about the elk hunt and is allowing 17 permits across the two different zones.

There was some confusion on the jump from five to 30 permits for Red Lake, so DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen sent a letter to the Red Lake Band stating the state’s concern for overharvesting elk with 47 permits available between the two parties.

Klemek and Pemberton agreed there’s been communication between Red Lake and the DNR about the elk hunt in the fall, and they they’re in agreement with new arrangements.

Red Lake will distribute all 30 permits, but they agreed to cap the harvest at 15 elk and evaluate what to do next at that point.

Pemberton said they didn’t harvest any elk with the five permits last year, so they’ll see what this year brings.