LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Getting drawn for a Michigan elk tag is rare. In 2025, bringing one home proved even rarer.

Hunters harvested 153 elk statewide last year after navigating extreme weather, storm-damaged forests, and one of the most competitive drawings in the country. Nearly 47,500 applicants vied for just 260 elk licenses issued by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), making the hunt a long-shot before it even began.

MORE NEWS: Gov. Whitmer Calls Democratic Messaging ‘Too Obtuse,’ Fox News Host Fires Back

The season unfolded across two periods in the northern Lower Peninsula—late summer and December—each bringing different challenges. Early hunts were slowed by warm temperatures that limited elk movement and raised concerns about meat spoilage. Later hunts opened with “subzero wind chills” before rain wiped out snow cover, making tracking difficult.

Lingering debris from the March 2025 ice storm added another obstacle, leaving some previously reliable elk habitat inaccessible.

Despite the conditions, hunters took 50 elk during the early hunt and 103 during the December season. 

The DNR estimates Michigan’s elk herd at about 1,150 animals, most of them concentrated in the Pigeon River Country State Forest. To manage that population, the department has proposed more than doubling elk hunting days beginning in 2026—a plan now under review by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission.

Public comment on the proposal remains open through Jan. 23.