Wisconsin's elk hunting season opens Saturday, Oct. 17, with 16 hunters randomly selected from more than 34,000 applicants, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said. This marks the ninth elk hunting season since the state reintroduced elk.
The state received 13,970 applications to hunt bull elk in the Northern Elk Management Zone and 20,728 combined bull and antlerless applications for the Central Zone. The Northern Zone has an eight-bull quota with four licenses awarded to state hunters and four to tribal members. The Central Zone issued six antlerless and six bull licenses to state hunters.
New this year, elk tags are unit-specific, allowing the state to focus harvest pressure in areas with higher human-elk conflicts while setting lower quotas in units where the goal is population growth.
The program is nearly 100 percent self-funded through application fees and external grants. Of the $10 application fee, $7 goes to elk management to fund collar purchases, habitat enhancements, and research.
The 2027 elk hunt application period for Wisconsin residents is expected to open March 1, 2027, and run through May 31, 2027, with the drawing expected in early June.