Committee hears request to extend Fond du Lac elk restoration appropriation to 2029
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Summary
Rep. Kozlowski and a Fond du Lac representative asked the House committee to extend the allowable use period for a 2025 appropriation to 2029 so habitat work and an acclimation pen can be completed; DNR warned about disease‑risk and the committee laid the bill over as amended.
Rep. Kozlowski asked the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee on behalf of the Fond du Lac Band to extend the period to use a 2025 appropriation so the band and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) can complete habitat work and begin restoring elk to the reservation.
"We had funds that would help the band restore elk to the reservation," Kozlowski said, explaining the A1 author's amendment would strike a reference to moving animals from a Northwest Minnesota herd and instead respect tribal sovereignty and co‑management planning. Reid Labeaux, testifying for the Fond du Lac Band, told the committee the amendment was meant to be "agnostic as to the location" of source animals and to reduce tensions with Red Lake Nation members who objected to the original wording.
Labeaux emphasized disease concerns: "We have to be very, very careful in where we're bringing them from because of...chronic wasting issues," and said the band needs time to locate suitable animals without endangering existing wildlife.
Rep. Burkel pressed for financial details and for where remaining funds sit; Kozlowski and Labeaux said about $500,000 has been spent on a three‑acre acclimation pen, road work, habitat restoration and staff training, leaving roughly $1.8 million unspent from the original appropriation. Labeaux said unspent funds would revert to the agency if the project could not be completed.
Pat Rivers, deputy director of the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife, described the agency as a "strong partner" on restoration but said the DNR prefers animals from a Northwest herd with a long history of disease testing. Rivers told members that if the Northwest herd is not available, the agency would need to identify other sources while minimizing disease risk to resident deer and moose.
The committee adopted Kozlowski's A1 amendment by voice vote and laid HF 4061, as amended, over for further consideration. No formal vote on the bill's final disposition was taken at the hearing.