[UPDATE]: The project between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources is nearing completion as 26 elk arrived in Wisconsin last week, after finishing their 45-day quarantine period in Kentucky.

The elk will spend 75 days in a seven-acre acclimation pen in the Black River State Forest, before being released.

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Governor Walker, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources have finalized an agreement to boost Wisconsin’s elk population.

In 1995, a small experimental herd was introduced in Clam Lake, Wis. through a gift from the State of Michigan. The herd has grown to around 160 animals. Since 1995, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Jackson County Wildlife Fund and other stakeholder groups have been working to expand the elk population in Wisconsin.

This month Kentucky wildlife staff will begin trapping wild elk, testing them for disease, and will transfer them to Jackson County this spring. Wisconsin DNR staff will help with testing and care for the elk while they are held in quarantine. In return, Wisconsin will help Kentucky financially to develop habitat projects for wildlife in Kentucky. Funding for the elk herd and Kentucky habitat projects are received from partner groups and stakeholders.