WI to Start Elk Comeback with Trapping in Kentucky

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin wildlife officials are ready to put their elk comeback plan into action.

Gov. Scott Walker and the state Department of Natural Resources say they reached a deal with Kentucky wildlife officials earlier this week that allows Wisconsin DNR to capture 150 Kentucky elk over the next five years and import them to Wisconsin once they're certified as healthy.

Wisconsin has only one elk herd, a group of about 160 animals near Clam Lake.

The new animals will be used to bolster that herd and start another herd in Jackson County.

The first round of trapping is set to begin this month.

Wisconsin DNR big game ecologist Kevin Wallenfang says the goal is to capture 50 elk by early February and introduce them to the wild in Wisconsin by June.