- We'll take elk from the Clam Lake Elk Range and
move them to other suitable habitats elsewhere in Wisconsin,
if the citizens in those areas want elk in their neighborhood.
In 2001, the department and
the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
did a suitability study looking at habitat.
And then also looking at land uses,
land ownership, availability of public land and
they found 15 different suitable areas.
Two of those suitable areas are down in the central forest.
One being the Jackson County area.
And then the other one down there is in the Clark County.
And then also there's some area
to the east of where the elk are right now
that has a lot of public land and
a lot of forest management going on.
But then there's also 13 different sites
across northern Wisconsin.
Some of them which are several thousand square miles in area.
All the way from the northeastern part
of the northern part of Wisconsin
to other areas around us here.
There's some sizable areas to the north of us,
to the northwest of us, and to the east of us.
I think the biggest patch is probably about
a 5,000 square mile area in northeastern Wisconsin.
We found that aspen, in the 0-10 year age class,
is the most preferred habitat of elk.
And that they seek that out and
they use it much higher use than its availability
on the landscape.
It's a lot easier for a 500 to 900 lb.elk
to run through that aspen stand
than a 75 to 100 pound wolf chasing it.
So it's predator-escape cover in addition to high-quality forage.
So that's why the elk select those areas.