Michigan's 2026 elk hunting periods will be Sept. 23 through Oct. 4, and Dec. 1 through Dec. 15. Only 100 licenses will be available for each northern Lower Peninsula hunt. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources photo)

Drawing results will be available June 22 for Michigan’s elk season, which has an application deadline of June 1.

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission has decreased the number of elk licenses to 200 — down from 260 offered in prior years — based on a Department of Natural Resources recommendation to help stabilize the herd in the northern Lower Peninsula.

Elk hunting is limited to Michigan residents and more than 47,000 applications are expected. An application is $5. Each hunter is limited to one application per year.

Hunters should be aware of several changes to the hunt as approved by the NRC.

Actions taken April 8 include:

— Setting the first elk hunt period in 2026 from Sept. 23 through Oct. 4, a 12-day, contiguous period. Previously, the first hunt period was broken up into three, four-day sessions that began in late August.

— Setting the second hunt period from Dec. 1 through Dec. 15, a 15-day period. Previously, the second hunt period was Dec. 13-21, a nine-day period that was closer to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

— Giving successful elk hunters 72 hours to present the elk head or entire animal for registration as directed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Previously, hunters were required to register the entire elk within 24 hours of harvest.

Brent Rudolph, the DNR’s deer, elk and moose management specialist, said the changes are geared toward hunter convenience and increasing opportunities to harvest an elk.

“For the first hunt period in particular, having a contiguous session that starts later in the season should make it easier for hunters to plan their hunt. The move also provides more favorable conditions and avoids the warm temperatures we’ve experienced during the earlier hunt in recent years,” Rudolph said.

A DNR aerial survey in early 2026 estimated the elk herd at 733 animals with a confidence interval of plus/minus 247, meaning the population could range between about 486 and 980 animals. That estimate generally falls within the DNR’s management goal of 500-900 animals established in its elk conservation and management plan.

To help keep the herd stabilized, the NRC:

— Kept the elk license quota for the first hunt period at 100, while changing the quota mix. Forty “any-elk” licenses will be issued (an increase of 10), and 60 antlerless-only licenses will be issued (a decrease of 10).

— Decreased the elk license quota for the second hunt period to 100 compared to 160 last year. That includes 30 any-elk licenses (a decrease of 20) and 70 antlerless-only licenses (a decrease of 40).

Purchase an application from any license agent, online at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish mobile app. The app is available for download at the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Find a license agent at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenseAgents.

Hunters are selected for an elk license through a weighted chance system. In the annual drawing, the total number of chances is equal to the number of chances an applicant has earned in past drawings (beginning in 2003) plus one chance for their current-year application. Those who are not selected for a license earn one chance for future elk drawings.