The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation awarded more than $440,000 in grants to fund 42 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects, including continuing elk restoration efforts, in the state of Wisconsin. “We are both excited about and committed toreturning more elk to their native range in Wisconsin,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “We also appreciate the hard work and dedication of our volunteers who worked hard to raise funding for a vast array of other projects all across the state.”
The grants, awarded in 2014, and will directly benefit Ashland, Bayfield, Bedford, Burnett, Chippewa, Columbia, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Iron, Jackson, Kenosha, Lincoln, Marathon, Monroe, Oneida, Outagamie, Polk, Price, Racine, Richland, Sawyer, St. Croix, Vilas and Wood Counties. There are also five projects with statewide benefits.
Since 1990, RMEF and its partners have completed 322 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Wisconsin with a combined value of more than $6.9 million. These projects have protected or enhanced 2,648 acres of habitat and have opened or secured public access to 1,270 acres.
Here is a sampling of RMEF’s Wisconsin projects, many of which carry over into 2015, listed by county:
Ashland County—Enhance elk forage on 320 acres on the Chequamegon National Forest through maintenance of existing forage openings and accelerated restoration of aspen forage habitat via mowing, hand-clearing, prescribed fire and timber sale.
Jackson County—Provide $300,000 in funding over the next three years to help continue the ongoing restoration of Wisconsin’s elk herds and expand the herd into new areas (also affects Ashland and Sawyer Counties), and improve early successional habitat by treating, and then seeding, 30 acres adjacent to potential release sites for the Black River elk reintroduction, maintaining high quality habitat near the core of the Black River elk herd range.
Kenosha County—Provide funding to assist the Central Falcons shotgun team attend the Scholastic Clay Target Program National Championship in Illinois.
Sawyer County—Enhance 450 acres through a variety of treatments including prescribed fire, mowing, and planting on the Flambeau River State Forest and Kimberly Clark Wildlife Area.
Statewide—Provide funding to support the Wisconsin High School Rodeo Association’s involvement in its shooting sports activities.
For a complete list of Wisconsin’s projects, go here.
Partners for the Wisconsin projects include the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and various sportsmen, wildlife, civic and government organizations.