A couple of weeks ago, I noted from a Michigan Department of Natural Resources news release that a whopping record number of applicants applied for the drawing to hunt elk over two hunt periods. Unlike bear and other game tags in the Great Lakes state, hunters must be Michigan residents to obtain elk licenses.
In all, 153 elk were harvested.
With such interest, it seems Michigan could do even better for its coffers by opening the draw to nonresidents, as well, but as of now that doesn’t seem to be on the table.
“I think it’s unlikely that Michigan’s elk hunt would be opened up to nonresidents in the foreseeable future,” said Brent Rudolph, MDNR deer, elk, and moose management specialist. “We had a record number of 47,493 hunters applying for the 260 licenses made available in 2025. Residents would be pretty upset to see their odds of being drawn go down further if nonresidents could enter. Even for the Pure Michigan Hunt, nonresidents can apply but are not eligible to hunt elk.”…