November 22, 2010
Nevada Projects Selected for Elk Foundation Grants
MISSOULA, Mont.—More than 3,900 acres in Nevada are slated to be enhanced for elk and other wildlife as a result of several projects selected to receive 2010 grants from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
The new RMEF funding, totaling $58,330, also includes an education project grant that will benefit schoolteachers and students in Nevada.
“We’re proud to continue our long tradition of funding outstanding conservation and education projects in Nevada, thanks to our volunteers across the state and their dedicated work in organizing and hosting banquets and other fundraisers over the past year,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “Since 1984, our grants have helped complete 184 different projects in Nevada with a combined value of more than $14.8 million.”
This year’s RMEF grants will help fund the following projects:
Habitat Enhancement
In the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, RMEF grants will be used to help thin 1,500 acres of pinyon-juniper invasion in shrub habitat used as summer range by elk in the White Pine Mountains area; install two 1,800-gallon tanks, water collection devices and wildlife drinking mechanisms to improve two 640-acre sections of the White Pine/Grant-Quinn Range; and prescribe burn 1,000 acres and hand-thin 350 acres to remove conifer encroachment in sagebrush habitat in North Schell Creek area.
Conservation Education
RMEF is providing sponsorship for the Great Basin 2010 Teachers Workshop to help instructors and, by extension, students better understand the wildlife, biology, ecology, geology, archaeology and history of the region.
Another RMEF grant will be used to help with appraisal of a property being considered for acquisition, which would permanently protect habitat and open public access.
Habitat projects are selected for grants using science-based criteria and a committee of RMEF volunteers and staff along with representatives from partnering agencies and universities. A committee of RMEF field staff and volunteers selects education projects.
Partners for 2010 projects in Nevada include the Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Department of Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, other organizations, agencies and landowners.