By Graham Scher – R & J Broadcasting | July 24, 2025

Cloquet, MINN. – Starting this fall, a team of Bemidji State University researchers will perform the first formal survey of deer populations on Minnesota’s Fond Du Lac Reservation. The work is part of exploratory research being done by the Fond Du Lac band of Lake Superior Chippewa for its initiative to restore elk to the region’s environment. The study is funded by a 1.4 million dollar grant from Minnesota’s environment and natural resources trust fund, enshrined in the state’s constitution to support projects meant to protect, conserve, preserve and enhance Minnesota’s natural resources. BSU graduate researchers will be led by Dr. Jacob Haus, Associate professor of biology.