MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin's six Chippewa tribes plan to harvest a single elk over the next five days to honor the animal, marking the first time in decades an elk could be killed in the state.

The state Department of Natural Resources has been working since the mid-1990s to reintroduce elk to Wisconsin. Currently only a single herd of about 185 elk exist near Clam Lake in far northwest Wisconsin. DNR regulations call for a limited hunt when the population reaches 200 animals.

The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, which represents 11 Chippewa tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, announced Thursday it has issued one permit for a bull elk that can be executed between Thursday and Monday.

The commission contends treaty rights grant them the authority to take the elk.

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