Elk buck: After nearly being wiped out of the state's habitat, elk are starting to make a comeback in Minnesota. Today, there are around 150 elk in the northwest corner of the state. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)Several falls ago, I had the great opportunity to go to Yellowstone National Park in late September. What made the trip extra spectacular was that the elk were in rut and were hanging around everywhere. They were sitting in parking lots and building lawns. They had no fear of people and consequently, we were able to get to see these majestic animals much closer than you’d ever expect. (We still kept at a safe distance. You don’t want to mess with those antlers.)

Anyway, the whole experience turned me into an elk junkie. Driving around I was always looking for elk. At restaurants, I was ordering elk burgers or elk steak. Early in the morning and at night me ears were tuned into hear their distinct bugling.

So to my great surprise I read in the Sept. 20 Star-Tribune that elk used to roam over most of Minnesota back in the 1800s. Today, they’re confined to two little pockets in the northwest corner of the state.

But here’s the good news, they’re numbers are starting to rebound. Today, the two herds number about 150 total wild elk. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources expects their numbers to keep growing through its management plan.

One herd straddles the U.S./Canada border near Minnesota’s border with North Dakota. That herd is numbers around 100 right now. Southeast of there, near the town of Grygla, another wild herd has established itself. It numbers about 20 or 30.

While I’m crazy about elk, farmers generally aren’t. They see the big creatures as a threat to their crops and that’s considered a main reason while the elk population and range in Minnesota has been cut back over the past 150 or so years. In the past 20 years, farmers in the northwest corner of Minnesota have been paid $60,000 for crop losses caused by elk.

A factor that has reduced that elk/farmer tension is the establishment of food plots on public lands near the herd’s home bases. Those plots keep them closer to their home bases and less likely to seek food in farm fields.

Even though elk numbers are still low, there is a limited hunting season for the animals in Minnesota. This fall’s hunt could harvest up to eight elk in the Grygla area. There is no hunt planned for the border elk until their numbers get up around 200 head.

What to see or hear more about Minnesota elk? Check out this link: www.startribune.com/outdoors

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