2026 Wisconsin elk hunt season opens Saturday; what to know
Elk (Courtesy: Wisconsin DNR)
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources marks the start of the 2026 elk hunting season on Saturday, Oct. 17. This marks Wisconsin's ninth elk hunting season since the species was reintroduced to the state.
Elk hunt
By the numbers:
Chosen from over 34,000 resident applicants, 16 hunters were randomly selected to participate in the 2026 state-administered hunt.
The DNR received 13,970 applications to hunt bull elk in the Northern Elk Management Zone hunting unit groups and 20,728 combined bull and antlerless applications for the Central Elk Management Zone for this season.
What they're saying:
"New this year, elk tags are unit-specific, which allows for focused harvest pressure in units where human-elk conflicts are higher while simultaneously setting lower quota levels in other hunting units where the desired objective is to allow for population growth," said Christina Kizewski, DNR biologist for the Central Elk Zone.
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The DNR said the random drawing ensures that each applicant has an equal chance of selection within the respective management zones. Applicants were required to identify their management zone of choice during the elk hunting application process.
Apply for 2027
What you can do:
The DNR's elk management is driven by the revenue received as a result of hunter application fees, which contributes directly to the future of the state's elk population. For each $10 application fee, $7 goes directly toward elk management, habitat restoration and research.
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The application period for the 2027 Wisconsin elk hunt is expected to open with the new license year on March 1, running through May 31, 2027. Final elk harvest quotas will be determined before the application period opens. Only hunting units or groups of units with an active harvest quota will be open for applications.
Applicants must choose a specific unit or grouping when applying, with the 2027 elk drawing scheduled for early June.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.