Public comment deadline on Minnesota elk extended

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants public comment on whether the number of wild elk in the northwest part of the state should increase.

The Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association, concerned more elk would hurt ranchers, urges cattle producers across the state to take DNR up on its invitation.

“We’re really encouraging you to respond,” says Tim Nolte, a Sebeka, Minn., rancher and president of the state cattlemen’s group.

DNR - the state agency that manages wildlife and other natural resources - recently extended the deadline for public comment, originally set for Dec. 27, to Jan. 22 to give people more time to weigh in.

Ashley Kohl, executive director of the cattlemen’s association, says her group worked with DNR to extend the comment period after the state agency’s public meetings on the plan in December, she says.

DNR’s draft Strategic Management Plan for Elk for 2016 to 2020 would replace the five-year plan in place from 2009 to 2015. It addresses the number of elk, conflicts between elk and landowners and opportunities to hunt and view elk.

Minnesota now has estimated 130 wild elk in three herds, all in the northwest part of the state. Support for increasing the number of elk appears to be growing, DNR says on its web site.

At the same time, however, “Elk are large animals that often cause crop and fence damage. DNR strives to find a balance between landowner/farmer tolerance and the public's desire for more animals,” the website says.

Nolte says his group wants to make sure that DNR fully understands how important the issue is to ranchers in the area.

For more information, visit dnr.state.mn.us/elk/index.html.

The section on “meetings and comments” address how to submit comments. The link also has a copy of the draft plan and the history of elk in Minnesota.

Agweek is planning a late-January cover story that will look closer at the issue of expanding Minnesota’s wild elk herds.