Goal for northeast Minnesota elk reintroduction is 2026

A vision turned plan to reintroduce elk to northeastern Minnesota has progressed for about a decade, and attendees at the DNR’s Roundtable last weekend were told the current goal is to begin moving elk – modest numbers at a time – beginning in February 2026.

The elk would come from the state’s only elk herds – three herds of varying sizes in northwestern Minnesota.
It’s a project jointly pursued by the state DNR and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Red Lake Nation, too, has been involved in relocation discussions.