Yes, North Dakota has elk. They live in three main areas of the state: the Little Missouri National Grasslands in the western Badlands, the Killdeer Mountain area in the west-central part of the state, and Cavalier County in the far northeastern corner. The population is stable to increasing, with the state issuing 902 hunting licenses for the 2025-2026 season across multiple management units.
Where Elk Live in North Dakota
The largest concentrations are in the rugged western part of the state. The Little Missouri National Grasslands, which surround Theodore Roosevelt National Park, hold the core population. This landscape of buttes, coulees, and mixed-grass prairie is classic elk habitat, offering both open grazing areas and wooded draws where elk shelter during the day. The Killdeer Mountain area, about 60 miles northeast of the Badlands, supports a separate population in its forested hills.
The Cavalier County population in the northeast is smaller and geographically distinct from the western herds. This area along the Canadian border provides a different type of habitat, with more agricultural land mixed into the elk’s range.
How Elk Returned to the State
Elk were once abundant in North Dakota. When John James Audubon traveled down the Little Missouri River in 1843, he described seeing elk swimming across the water and wrote that “the number of this fine species of deer that are about us now is almost inconceivable.” By the late 1800s, unregulated hunting and habitat loss had wiped them out entirely. Theodore Roosevelt himself noted the decline in 1888, writing that elk were “now fast vanishing” and “already almost a thing of the past” in the Badlands.
Elk remained absent from the Badlands for nearly a century. In 1985, park officials reintroduced 47 elk (8 bulls and 39 cows) into the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The animals came from Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. By 11 PM on the day of their release, a large group had already been spotted gathered near Buck Hill inside the park. That founding herd became the basis for the elk population that now ranges across much of western North Dakota.
Seeing Elk in the Wild
Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit offers the most accessible elk viewing in the state. Elk are most active at dawn and dusk, spending the hotter parts of the day hidden in wooded draws and ravines. Wind Canyon Overlook is one of the best spots to scan for them. At sunrise or sunset, look west across the butte tops from the overlook, where elk often graze along ridgelines.
The North Unit of the park occasionally has elk sightings, but they’re rare there. If your goal is to see elk, focus your time in the South Unit and plan for early mornings or late evenings. Binoculars or a spotting scope help considerably, since elk often feed on high ground at a distance.
Population Management and Hunting
North Dakota manages its elk through a tightly controlled lottery system. Only state residents can apply, and the state issued 902 total licenses for the current cycle: 212 “any elk” tags (which allow hunters to take a bull or cow) and 690 antlerless tags restricted to cows and calves. Licenses are distributed across seven management units, with the largest allocations going to units E2 and E3, where wildlife managers recently increased license numbers in response to growing elk numbers.
The lottery application window opens October 1 each year, with a deadline in late March. Competition for tags is stiff, particularly for bull elk permits. Some hunters apply for years before drawing a license.
Elk and Agriculture
As the elk population grows, so do conflicts with ranchers and farmers. Elk can damage stored hay and livestock feed, which creates friction in a state built on agriculture. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department offers assistance to landowners but does not pay for wildlife damage directly. Instead, the department provides repellents, scare devices, temporary fencing, and permanent hay yard fences to protect feed supplies. Landowners can also get help designing depredation food plots, which draw elk away from stored feed and onto designated areas.
The state also uses hunter access programs as a management tool. By encouraging landowners to allow hunting on their property, wildlife managers can keep elk numbers in check in areas where crop and feed damage is a concern.
Disease Monitoring
Chronic wasting disease, a fatal neurological illness that affects deer, elk, and moose, is on the state’s radar. North Dakota tested 1,224 animals statewide in its most recent surveillance effort, a group that included deer, elk, and moose. CWD has been detected in North Dakota’s deer population, and wildlife managers monitor elk closely as the disease spreads regionally. The state integrates disease risk reduction into its landowner assistance programs, recognizing that concentrating animals around stored feed can accelerate transmission.