The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation opened or secured public access to nearly 76,000 acres of elk habitat in 2015. “Creating, maintaining and securing access to elk country is core to our mission of ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage,” said Blake Henning, RMEF vice president of Lands and Conservation.
In 2015, RMEF carried out 17 land projects in eight different states that permanently protected 12,249 acres of elk habitat and opened or secured access to 75,922 acres, or approximately 119 square miles.
RMEF’s Access Elk Country Initiative calls for accelerated efforts to find common-sense solutions to local access challenges. Its goal is to open or secure access to 50,000 acres of public lands every year for the next five years for a total of 250,000 acres of elk country open to hunters and others to enjoy.
“A lack of access to huntable land is the number-one reason why some people don’t hunt. And since hunters provide the lion’s share of funding for land and wildlife conservation, it is vital that we ramp up our access efforts,” added Henning.
Access Elk Country charter sponsors include Sitka, Kimber, Bushnell, ALPS OutdoorZ, Yeti, Yamaha and Gerber.
“We consider these groups conservation partners because of both their financial backing and their shared support of our mission,” said Steve Decker, RMEF vice president of Marketing. “We are also extremely appreciative of our members and volunteers for their support and dedication.”
Since 1984, RMEF opened or secured access to 852,628 acres of elk country across 21 states.
About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Founded over 30 years ago, fueled by hunters and a membership of nearly 220,000 strong, RMEF has conserved more than 6.7 million acres for elk and other wildlife. RMEF also works to open and improve public access, fund and advocate for science-based resource management, and ensure the future of America’s hunting heritage. Discover why “Hunting Is Conservation™” at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.