Range

Based on the habitat suitability model derived from a study by Didier and Porter, the Wisconsin Elk Study Committee (WESCO) determined that the United States Forest Service (USFS) Great Divide District (GDD) of the Chequamegon National Forest (CNF) near Clam Lake was most suited for an elk reintroduction. The CNF-GDD consists of 715 mi2 (457,600 acres) in portions of Ashland, Bayfield, and Sawyer Counties in northcentral Wisconsin. State Highway 77 and County Highways GG and M converge near the center of the GDD at the Community of Clam Lake. The GDD is mostly under National Forest ownership (81% or 370,656 acres). The remaining 19% (86,944 acres) is privately owned, with relatively little in agricultural production.