More than 49,000 people, an all-time record, applied for one of 300 tags to hunt elk in Michigan. According to the Detroit News, the sale of lottery applications generated about $250,000 that help pay for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) elk management program and other conservation efforts.
Hunters successfully drawn pay $100 for an elk tag. Additionally, they spend approximately $1,200 per hunt.
“They are a large charismatic animal that’s iconic for Michigan,” Rachel Leightner, DNR wildlife outreach coordinator, told the Detroit News. “It really is an experiential hunt. You get to spend days in northern Michigan scouting and tracking elk. Maybe you harvest an animal, and maybe you don’t. You still get a great experience.”
Dating back to 1990, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partners completed 166 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Michigan with a combined value of more than $7.6 million. These projects protected or enhanced 6,882 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 1,601 acres.
(Photo source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources)