State of Wisconsin
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
101 S. Webster Street
Box 7921
Madison WI 53707-7921
January 17, 2025
Town of Knapp
W3981 County Road O
Warrents WI 54666
Subject: Elk Damage Resolution
Dear Municipality Officials:
The Department has received and reviewed Resolution 1-2024 addressing agricultural damage relating to elk
within the Town of Knapp and surrounding areas. The Department recognizes and appreciates the concerns
expressed in the resolution and is fully committed to working towards identifying solutions to alleviate elk
damage concerns. The Department is actively working within the program guidelines of the Wisconsin Damage
Abatement and Claims Program, department policy and Wisconsin State Statute to investigate all available
options for landowners and agricultural producers within the Central Elk Management Zone.
To help address concerns stated in the resolution, the Department intends to implement a suite of management
efforts over the upcoming year that may include trapping and relocation, elk habitat improvements, harassment,
continued regulated harvest through an annual elk hunting season and issuance of elk shooting permits. Currently Department staff are attempting to trap and relocate elk from areas of agricultural conflict to areas within the Central Elk Management Zone to reduce the likelihood of conflict. Trapping will occur in January – March 2025 and may continue annually as necessary. In 2021-2024, a total of 40 elk were moved from the Town of Knapp which included cows, calves, and bulls, resulting in the majority of trapped elk not returning to the original capture area. This method of reducing the number of elk residing in an area has shown to be successful in past years and will be implemented again in 2025 with a greater number of elk targeted to be removed.
Additively, elk diversion crop fields have been implemented for four years, starting in 2021, within the Town of
Knapp. As part of a pilot project, in 2021 and 2022, twenty-two acres of diversion fields were planted to attract
elk to the fields and alleviate time spent by elk in adjacent commercially produced crop fields. Based on the
documented success of this initial pilot, an additional fifteen acres of diversion crop fields were planted in 2023
and 2024 with crops that have proven to be attractive to elk and successful in attracting elk off adjacent
commercial agriculture fields during the peak crop growing and harvest season. The Department is exploring
opportunities to expand this diversion crop program to provide enhanced elk damage abatement in 2025 and
beyond by offering the program to additional landowners. Department staff will communicate additional
opportunities with impacted landowners in early 2025.
In addition to the implementation of these tools, the Department remains dedicated to managing the elk herd
within the Central Elk Management Zone by implementing additional strategies to reduce elk densities and
conflict in agricultural areas. Continued elk population management through a regulated hunting season and
potential issuance of elk shooting permits are tools that will help reduce or maintain elk populations with the
Town of Knapp when combined with the trapping and relocation efforts.
Department staff will be attending the Jackson County Land Conservation and Agriculture Committee special
meeting on February 6, 2025, to present a herd update, provide information about the Wisconsin Damage Abatement and Claims Program and currently implemented abatement techniques, and connect with
municipalities within Jackson County regarding the next steps to address elk conflict.
We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Town of Knapp Board to share concerns from impacted landowners and
welcome additional conversation and opportunities for collaboration as we work to address elk damage concerns in balance with a socially and biologically sustainable elk herd.