The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its protection partners gave Colorado$ 2, 176, 597 from jobs aimed at improving wildlife habitat and supporting looking history to research on the reasons behind declining deer numbers. Elk, animal deer, ptarmigan rhino, black bears, mountain lions and many other animals species are all benefited by the grant money.
According to Blake Henning, RMEF key protection officer, “better management decisions may be made for all animals going forth the more verified, scientific data we can gather about moose and habitat usage.” This money supports five analysis initiatives, enhances wildlife habitat, and both supports and supports hunting.
The RMEF funding for the 23 different jobs totaled$ 491, 808, which helped to utilize partner funds of$ 1, 684, 789.
According to Kyle Weaver, president and CEO of RMEF,” we recognize and thank our enthusiastic volunteers for organizing and hosting banquets and various events across the condition that raised this funding.”
There are 29 pages and almost 15, 000 RMEF people in Colorado.
With a combined worth of more than$ 206.4 million, RMEF and its partners have completed 870 protection and hunting history awareness projects in Colorado since 1987. These initiatives opened or improved open access to 119, 612 acres while conserving and enhancing 507, 384 hectares of wildlife.
Below is a list of all the jobs that were funded in 2023.
( *Many projects that receive funding in a single year continue to be funded for years to come. )
County of Chafee
- Provide funding for the capture of cow elk and equip them with satellite collars so that researchers can locate annual ranges, migration routes, movement patterns, and biodiversity use on private lands and the Pike-San Isabel National Forest. Findings will assist game managers in estimating population models, keeping track of mortality and success rates, and identifying the need for highway crossings and property protection ( as well as the advantages of Fremont, Lake, Saguache Counties ).
County of Delta
- Give money to Delta Outdoor Heritage and Safety Day, a free event for kids of all ages where they can take part in fishing derbies, shooting, archery, habitat education, and more that also helps Montrose County.
County of Eagle
- On property managed by the BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office, there are 634 acres of deep pinyon-juniper woodlands, conifer-encroached grass communities, elk, and mule deer ranges. In order to restore habitat that likewise benefits ptarmigan antelope, wild turkey, and other wildlife ( also helps County of Routt ), the treatment includes seeding plants, trees and vegetation.
County of El Paso
- Give the Pikes Peak Orange Crush crew money so they can give young people to the AIM Trapshooting Grand National Championships.
County of Grand
- Supply funding for the County of Grand 4-H Shooting Sports Program that teaches youth firearms safety and skills while also providing opportunities to complete hunter safety training.
- On land managed by the Bureau of Land Management ( BLM) Kremmling Field Office, enclose 1.1 miles of ancient landscaping to help reduce deer and mule deer wildlife.
County of Jackson
- provide money for studies that will evaluate how wolves affect deer habits and aid in locating significant winter migration and range corridors near North Park. Additionally, the study will assist in directing hunter accessibility and season structures ( also advantageous for Larimer and Routt Counties ).
the Jefferson County
- At Golden Gate Canyon State Park, donate volunteers to help reduce aggressive weeds and a quarter mile of old landscaping. Over the course of several decades, RMEF volunteers helped with the task.
County of Las Animas
- To improve feed and entire forest health for wildlife, remove young trees and leafy vegetation from exceedingly dense stands across 170 acres of the Bosque del Oso State Wildlife Area.
County of Montezuma
- Give money to the Dolores School District’s National Archery in the Schools Program ( NASP) to expand the middle and high schools ‘ current 4th through 5th grade curricula and teams.
County of Park
- In the South Park Ranger District of the Pike-San Isabel National Forest, five miles of ancient wire decking that burned in the 2018 Weston Pass Wildfire are being removed by RMEF volunteers and contracted personnel. The job improves the habitat for calf and winter ranges while also facilitating wildlife movement across the landscape.
County of Rio Blanco
- Family Cast, Blast and Twang in Meeker is a free event that draws participants from Moffat, Routt, and Yuma Counties and is open to anyone interested in learning outside expertise like 22 shotgun and pistol shooting, archery, fly fish casting, or spin fishing.
- Elk, mule deer, ptarmigan animal, and other animals can now more readily traverse the landscape thanks to volunteers who will replace a mile of barbed wire fencing in the White River National Forest’s Blanco Ranger District.
County of Routt
- Install online fencing to enhance eating and biodiversity management on more than 136,500 acres in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest’s Hahns Peak/Bears Ears Ranger District. To handle annual wildlife habitat needs, delicate flower populations, streambank stabilization, soil nutrient cycling, social resource protection, weed expansion, drought, wildfire, and more, online fencing is a wildlife-friendly fence option that enables wildlife managers and livestock producers to monitor and manage grazing in real time.
- On the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest near Steamboat Springs, provide funding for a new study to assess cow elk’s reactions to outdoor activity, especially during calving and rearing seasons. Data gathered did benefit Grand and Jackson Counties as well as path development, management strategies, and minimizing impacts to deer.
- By thinning alder stands and creating wildlife habitat openings on private property affected by fire suppression and wood bug infestation, you can encourage the regeneration of aspens. The majority of the project’s area is protected by RMEF volunteer conservation agreements.
County of Teller
- Grant money for Outdoor Skills Day at Mueller State Park, a free opportunity for participants to learn the fundamentals or put their skills to the test at various outdoor activities ( also helps Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Park and Pueblo Counties ).
Statewide
- Support Colorado Park and Wildlife’s Cameo Shooting and Education Complex, a 2, 000-acre service that aids individuals in learning how to shoot, honing their skills, and competing in tournaments.
- Provide funding for the Rocky Mountain Heroes Foundation, which was established by three RMEF life members, to provide guided big game hunts for aspiring young hunters.
- Give money to Of Mountains and Men, a nonprofit that guests mentored big game expeditions for kids between the ages of 12 and 17 who have finished their warrior training.
- To oppose a proposal to outlaw the supervision of mountain lions, bobcat, and lynx, donate money to the Torstenson Family Endowment to protect hunting heritage and medical wildlife management.
- provide money for two research phases that will look at the rising number of recreationalists on the landscape and the declining survival rates of adolescent elk. The findings will aid biologists in better managing and protecting Colorado’s deer community.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, Pike-San Isabel, Medicine Bow-Routt, White River National Forests, as well as several protection, golfers, governmental agencies, and private landowners are venture partners.
