Elk News

Based on the habitat suitability model derived from a study by Didier and Porter, the Wisconsin Elk Study Committee (WESCO) determined that the United States Forest Service (USFS) Great Divide District (GDD) of the Chequamegon National Forest (CNF) near Clam Lake was most suited for an elk reintroduction. The Clam Lake elk range was recently expanded by 506 square miles so the CNF-GDD currently consists of 1221 square miles (781,440 acres) in portions of Ashland, Bayfield, Price, Rusk and Sawyer counties in north central Wisconsin. State Highway 77 and county highways GG and M converge near the center of the GDD at the community of Clam Lake. The GDD is mostly under National Forest ownership (81 percent or 370,656 acres). The remaining 19 percent (86,944 acres) is privately owned, with relatively little in agricultural production.