Fond du Lac Band wants to move elk to northeast forest

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Once hunted to the brink of extinction, elk could be reintroduced to the forest in northeastern Minnesota. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has submitted a plan to the state Department of Natural Resources that would move 100 to 150 elk from existing herds in the northwest to an area that includes the Fond du Lac reservation and the Fond du Lac State Forest in Carlton and St. Louis counties. Thousands of elk once roamed the state, but now their population has dwindled to three small herds in northwestern Minnesota. The DNR has not yet responded to the proposal.