DNR logs record number of elk applications



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"DNR News"



Jan. 20, 2026
Contact: Brent Rudolph <[email protected]>, 517-730-8802 or Andy Henion <[email protected]>, 231-495-1648

Michigan hunters brave the elements to harvest 153 elk in 2025

Henige family

Michigan elk hunters faced challenging weather and storm-ravaged terrain to harvest 153 elk in 2025.

A record number of applicants – 47,493 – applied for one of just 260 elk licenses that were issued through the state’s annual drawing. The elk hunt took place in the northern Lower Peninsula over two periods – one that stretched across late August and September and one in December.

“With more than 47,000 applicants for the 260 elk hunting licenses made available, Michigan elk hunting is a highly prized opportunity,” said Brent Rudolph, the deer, elk and moose management specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

“Despite their good fortune, the lucky hunters drawn for this year faced a variety of challenges to harvesting an elk,” Rudolph said. “Those challenges included high temperatures in the early hunt period, blustery cold and freezing rain in the late hunt period, and continued complications from the historic March 2025 ice storm that left significant areas of downed trees and debris in the woods of northern Michigan.”

Managing the herd

The DNR uses hunting as the primary method to sustainably manage Michigan’s elk population, which stands at an estimated 1,150 animals. The elk herd is centered in the Pigeon River Country State Forest, primarily in Cheboygan, Montmorency and Otsego counties.

The DNR Wildlife Division has proposed lengthening the elk hunting season for the 2026-2027 hunting cycle [ [link removed] ]. Under the proposal, the two hunting periods would provide 45 total days of harvest time, more than double the current 21 days of harvest time. Public feedback has been coming in since November, and final comments can be emailed to [email protected] <[email protected]> by Jan. 23. The proposal will be presented for decision this spring by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission, which has the exclusive authority to regulate the taking of game in Michigan.

Perseverance, success 


Whitmire elk harvest

In 2025, the DNR issued 100 elk licenses for the first hunt period (30 licenses for any elk and 70 for antlerless only). The period was split into three sessions: Aug. 26-29, Sept. 12-15 and Sept. 26-29. During this hunt period, hunters harvested 50 elk (26 bulls and 24 antlerless elk) despite warm temperatures that reduced elk movement. Some hunters chose not to hunt when the temperatures reached the mid-70s due to the challenge of retrieving and processing the elk before the meat spoiled.

In addition, many trees and limbs were still down following the 2025 ice storm, making it difficult to traverse some areas in the woods. Elk were reported as not occupying some reliable past locations, another potential impact of the ice storm.

During the second hunt period, Dec. 13-21, the DNR issued 160 elk licenses (50 for any elk and 110 for antlerless only). Hunters harvested 103 elk (40 bulls and 63 antlerless elk). Opening weekend brought subzero wind chills, while warming temperatures and rain then removed the snow cover, making it difficult to track elk.



Henige - elk pole

On the morning of Dec. 13 Brent Henige of New Lothrop shot a 559-pound elk on state-managed public land just off County Road 622 in Montmorency County. The wind chill was 10 below zero, but luckily Henige was able to locate and harvest the elk within a couple hours.

“I didn’t have time to shake,” he said. “It happened so quickly.”

Henige hung the bull on the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Elk Pole and celebrated the harvest with his wife, two children and other family members. He had applied for an elk license for 19 consecutive years before finally drawing the tag in the popular annual drawing.



Bruce Nelson elk harvest

Bruce Nelson of Hastings said he had applied for an elk license every year that Michigan has held a drawing. The state held its first elk hunts in 1964 and 1965, then paused the drawing due to low elk numbers before resuming it in the 1980s.

Nelson, now 87, finally drew a tag in 2025 and was able to shoot a cow elk on Dec. 13.

“Have you ever known anyone who’s waited 61 years to get an elk?” Nelson said with a laugh. "It was an absolute privilege and a thrill to get my elk after all this time."

For more information on elk in Michigan, visit the DNR’s elk webpage [ [link removed] ].



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*Note to editors:* Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows. Photos courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources unless otherwise noted.


* Brent Henige and family [ [link removed] ]: Brent Henige of New Lothrop (fourth from right) and family members celebrate his harvest of a 559-pound elk bull at the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Elk Pole. 
* Gary Whitmore elk harvest [ [link removed] ]: Gary Whitmore (right) poses with family members after harvesting a cow elk on Dec. 13 on private land near Atlanta. Whitmore, 75, of Flushing, is a former biology teacher who grew up "loving and appreciating" elk and even incorporated hunting into his classroom lessons. (Photo courtesy of Gary Whitmore)
* Brent Henige elk harvest [ [link removed] ]: Brent Henige of New Lothrop harvested this 559-pound bull on Dec. 13 on state-managed public land in Montmorency County. 
* Bruce Nelson elk harvest [ [link removed] ]: Bruce Nelson, 87, harvested this cow elk on Dec. 13 after receiving his first elk hunting license. The Hastings man had entered every elk hunt drawing dating back to 1964. (Photo courtesy of Bruce Nelson)

 

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to Michigan.gov/DNR [ [link removed] ].

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