I was shocked to see a posting at the Snowbank Lake entry asking visitors to report any elk sighting to the NFS. Really? Are there now elk somewhere in the BWCA?

I only know about herds in NW MN...I suppose they could wander east

There certainly USED to be elk there - maybe they're expanding again from a combination of better habitat management and the decline of the moose.

Elk would be cool. Can we bring back the caribou as well?

quote fitgers1: "Elk would be cool. Can we bring back the caribou as well?
"

There was a plan to reintroduce the Woodland Caribou to the BWCA years ago but it got scrapped after the Blowdown...They were going to reintroduce them in the Little Saganaga area. Caribou

Did they elaborate as to why or just say to report any sightings?

No elaboration on 'why'. The posting included a line drawing of an elk, a description of the animal, and the request that BWCA visitors assist the NFS by reporting any sightings to the NFS after exiting the BWCA.

The first person to spot an elk in the BWCA gets a ... pat on the back.

They're doing the same thing with Mountain Lions in Missouri. Obviously there's a little bit of a difference, but they know they're starting to reintroduce themselves to the area. They just need to know where they are.

Well there is about 40 in Northwestern Minnesota.

Elk might be a reasonable replacement for the woodland caribou that were in the canoe country up until about 1910, or so. Elk might also take the place of moose, if they eventually disappear from the area.

I'm surprised that Ontario hasn't transferred some of the over-populated caribou on the Slate Islands in Lake Superior and attempted to reintroduce them to Quetico. There is good habitat up there, but wolf and deer numbers might be too high for an introduction to succeed.

This Elk was spotted selling tickets at wing night and has been observed in the BWCA.





;-)

quote AndySG: "This Elk was spotted selling tickets at wing night and has been observed in the BWCA.






;-)"

Why didn't you shoot? :-)

quote nolanbunch: "I was shocked to see a posting at the Snowbank Lake entry asking visitors to report any elk sighting to the NFS. Really? Are there now elk somewhere in the BWCA?"

Yeah, I would be shocked too. Sure have never heard of one. They have been released not far that away in Ontario, however:

Ontario elk release sites

I saw elk warning signs (warning not to confuse them with deer or moose and shoot them) near Dryden, Ontario, which is just 100 miles north of the border. Perhaps some have drifted south into the Q, and then it's not a stretch to imagine a few getting into the BW. I doubt if any of the NW herd have moved this far east, but that could happen, I guess.

Elk moving into the BWCA, moose declining rapidly.





Maybe we will have to replace the flying moose with a flying elk soon....?

Quetico gets a few caribou off and on that drift into the area there, and was it about 25 years ago somebody got a picture of a caribou along the Gunflint.
There was talk of Caribou introduction by Little Sag-Gabi area because of the low deer population in that area. Caribou I guess are very susceptible to the deer brain problem.

If there's an elk in the BWCA you'll hear them before you ever see them. They bugle their heads off in the fall.

quote 2old4U: "If there's an elk in the BWCA you'll hear them before you ever see them. They bugle their heads off in the fall."

I was thinking the same thing...we have an elk farm just a few miles down the road from us, and the bugling is very frequent this time of year

There's a decent size Elk herd in NW WI in the Chequamegon National Forest (close to 200 now I think). My wife did research on them for a while before we moved to IA. I doubt that they are moving further North at this point. They are all collared and do regular counts during the winter.

On September 15, 2012, my paddling partner and I were on day 13 of a 300+ mile paddling trip when we heard "something" bugle on the southeast shore of Saganaga Lake. We heard it multiple times near sunset and also a few times the following morning (in dead calm weather). We were camped near the mouth of the Granite River and the sound came from the east. Our first thoughts were; "I didn't know there are elk around here." While we certainly wouldn't consider ourselves experts on large mammal mating calls, it sure sounded like the high-pitched bugle we have come to associate with elk.

Photo is from that campsite, early morning on the 16th.

We have two subspecies of elk in California, Roosevelt and Tule. I was try to figure out which subspecies would be present in northern Minnesota. Would it be the Manitoban?

quote Jeriatric: "We have two subspecies of elk in California, Roosevelt and Tule. I was try to figure out which subspecies would be present in northern Minnesota. Would it be the Manitoban?"

Never mind. I did the research I should have in the first place. You have Manitoban elk in the nw corner of the state and a small group of confined Rocky Mountain (American) elk 60 miles to the south.
The Manitobans prefer prairie. Any other possibilities for the BW?

quote BrokenDownBoater: "On September 15, 2012, my paddling partner and I were on day 13 of a 300+ mile paddling trip when we heard "something" bugle on the southeast shore of Saganaga Lake. We heard it multiple times near sunset and also a few times the following morning (in dead calm weather). We were camped near the mouth of the Granite River and the sound came from the east. Our first thoughts were; "I didn't know there are elk around here." While we certainly wouldn't consider ourselves experts on large mammal mating calls, it sure sounded like the high-pitched bugle we have come to associate with elk.


Photo is from that campsite, early morning on the 16th. "

BDB- It would be fun to hear more about your trip. You should do a trip report. As for the elk bugle on Sag; my best guess is that it came from an elk hunter that was on a fall fishing trip because he/she did not draw an elk tag that fall.