Road Rally or Elk Hunt?

Rebecca MorganConservation & Wildlife Management, Hunting Ethics & Safety

For anyone who is experienced at hunting the mighty whitetail, and successfully draws a Michigan elk permit, you may well be in for a surprise.  It’s a totally different animal out there, and we’re not just talking about the species. Whereas deer hunters settle into a blind in an area plentiful with deer sign, including buck scrapes and rubs, elk hunting mostly requires being on the constant move.  Similar to deer, elk are herd animals, grouping together as they migrate to where they can find a new source of food.  However, based on their increased … Read More

Before The Hunt – Michigan Elk Hunting Preparations

Tom LounsburyBucks n Bears, Friends of ELO

By:  Tom Lounsbury. One of my bucket list dreams has been to get lucky on the draw for a Michigan elk license. I have been faithfully applying each year since 1984, and getting long in the tooth, it was my hope to receive a Michigan elk license while I could still put one foot in front of the other. Needless to say, folks, I was euphoric to the core when I went online in early July and discovered my dream had finally come true. At the time, I didn’t know whether I had a bull … Read More

Michigan elk hunting today – winning the draw represents the ultimate adventure

Tom LounsburyFriends of ELO

By:  Tom Lounsbury. This year marks the 102nd anniversary of elk returning to Michigan. This all began with 7 Rocky Mountain elk (from Yellowstone National Park) being released in 1918 near Wolverine in northern Michigan. Elk are native to Michigan, but they had become extinct around 1875 due to unregulated hunting and a major loss of habitat. The subspecies found here was known as the eastern elk and was once abundantly found from the East Coast all the way to the Mississippi River. It was also bigger than its Rocky Mountain cousin, with mature bulls … Read More