NEWS RELEASE

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Researchers from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will pilot the use of trail cameras to estimate the state's elk population as part of a larger research project aimed at determining the most accurate and cost-effective way to manage the elk herd.

The DNR’s Wildlife Division recently set up about 200 cameras in and around the core elk range, which encompasses some 1,100 square miles across northern Lower Michigan. Most of the cameras are on state-managed land, although DNR researchers worked with landowners to set up cameras on private land as well.

Camera data will be compared against the DNR’s current method of estimating the elk population – aerial surveys – to determine which method is more precise and cost-effective

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