MISSOULA, Mont. — The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation continued its long-standing commitment to Colorado’s elk, other wildlife, conservation and hunting by teaming up with partners to distribute $3,710,181 for 33 projects across the state.
“This funding supports the largest single-state elk population in North America by bolstering five ongoing research studies, seven wildlife-friendly fencing efforts and 10 habitat enhancement projects,” said Jenn Doherty, RMEF managing director of Mission Operations. “It also allocates more than $340,000 to defeat a reckless anti-hunting ballot initiative that would frustrate proven wildlife management and supports nearly a dozen hunting heritage projects.”
RMEF allotted $761,760 that helped leverage $2,807,421 in partner funding for the 2024 projects, many of which carry over into 2025.
“We have more members in Colorado than any other state. And they show how much they care for wildlife and wild landscapes by their commitment to raise this funding and also by dedicating their time and efforts to help with volunteer habitat stewardship work,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO.
Dating back to 1987, RMEF and its partners completed 894 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Colorado with a combined value of more than $209.8 million. These projects conserved or enhanced 509,999 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 120,252 acres.
Below is a list of all 33 projects.
Archuleta County
- Provide volunteer manpower to remove more than a mile of old fencing and other debris from an RMEF land conservation and access project completed several months earlier. The property features elk summer and winter habitat and is also home to mule deer, black bear and turkey. The parcel lies within a major elk migration corridor and is a popular hunting and recreation area on the San Juan National Forest.
Boulder County
- Supply volunteers to remove more than one mile of old barb wire fencing from Rabbit Mountain, which supports abundant wildlife including elk, black bear, turkey and other species along Colorado’s Front Range.
Chaffee County
- Remove dense or diseased lodgepole pine across 911 acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Royal Gorge Field Office to improve forage quality and quantity on elk winter range. The project area encompasses an elk and mule deer migration corridor that parallels the Upper Arkansas River and overlaps an ongoing study, supported in part by RMEF, examining elk movement.
- Supply funding support for a study to help determine the impacts of development and increased recreation across summer and winter elk range on land managed by the Pike-San Isabel National Forest and BLM Royal Gorge Field Office. Researchers place GPS collars on 50 cow elk to monitor movement with data to assess the needs for habitat work, land conservation and possible highway crossing locations (also benefits Fremont, Lake and Saguache Counties).
Custer County
- Treat 80 acres to reduce invasive weeds and allow native grasses, forbs and shrubs to prosper on the Upper Red Cliffs Ranch State Wildlife Area to benefit elk, mule deer, black bear, turkey, grouse and other species.
Delta County
- Provide funding and volunteer support for Outdoor Heritage and Safety Day, a free family-friendly event for youth to take part in archery, shooting, fishing, other outdoor activities and learn about wildlife management and conservation (also benefits Montrose County).
Eagle County
- Burn 1,500 acres in the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District on the White River National Forest to enhance forage quality for elk and other wildlife species. The project also includes invasive weed treatment.
- Supply funding to support new research monitoring movement in elk and mule deer migration corridors on land managed by the White River National Forest and BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office. Data gathered from collars on 60 cow elk and 60 mule deer will help identify important areas to target for habitat improvement, recreation management actions, easements and/or movement corridor structures. The study will also begin to assess elk and mule deer responses to the recently introduced wolf population (also benefits Grand and Routt Counties).
- Supply funding for research looking at the impacts of outdoor recreation on wintering elk in the Eagle Holy-Cross Ranger District on the White River National Forest , including the effectiveness of seasonal trail closures. Results will provide information to develop or improve best management practices to sustainably manage elk herds and recreation opportunities.
El Paso County
- Provide funding assistance to help the Pikes Peak Orange Crush, a competitive youth clay shooting team from ages eight to 25 (also benefits Douglas and Pueblo Counties).
Grand County
- Treat 500 acres for invasive weeds in the backcountry of the Arapaho National Forest’s Sulphur Ranger District to enhance habitat for elk and other wildlife. A contractor uses mules with saddle-mounted spray units to reach remote areas.
- Supply funding for the Grand County 4-H Shooting Sports Program, which teaches youth about firearms safety, skills and builds confidence for those wanting to pursue hunting.
- Provide volunteer manpower to remove one mile of woven wire fencing on land managed by the BLM Kremmling Field Office. The project benefits elk, mule deer and other wildlife.
Jefferson County
- Provide volunteers to help remove invasive weeds from 6.5 miles of meadow habitat within Golden Gate Canyon State Park. The area is home to elk, mule deer, moose, black bear and turkey.
Las Animas County
- Repair a wildlife water source on the Bosque del Oso State Wildlife Area by cleaning mud from a well, recasing the well with gravel and silica sand to keep silt from plugging the pump and installing a new pump.
- Treat noxious weeds across 450 acres of meadows and canyon bottoms on land previously conserved with an RMEF volunteer conservation agreement to enhance habitat for elk and other wildlife.
Moffat County
- Supply funding for research focusing on elk herd health and calf survival as well as elk response to increasing human recreation. Results will help guide elk management across the state including developing best management practices that minimize impacts to elk while maintaining recreational opportunity (also benefits Delta, Garfield, Gunnison, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Routt and San Miguel Counties).
- Buy cattle collars to implement a virtual fencing system on a grazing allotment near the Colorado-Utah border. Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the BLM want to reduce the amount of physical fencing that impedes wildlife movement while also improving rangeland health through sustainable livestock management in Game Management Unit 10, a premiere hunting unit that provides year-round habitat for elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and features two mapped mule deer migration corridors.
- Remove and replace barb wire fencing with a virtual fence system within the Routt National Forest’s Hahns Peak-Bears Ears Ranger District and nearby private land to improve movement across one the most heavily used elk migration corridors in northwest Colorado where calving rates declined the past several years. The work also benefits moose, black bear, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and sage grouse and other wildlife (also benefits Routt County).
- Provide funding for research examining how elk learn to migrate by using GPS collars to track the movement of cow elk and calves from birth until adulthood to inform migration corridor protection and enhancement efforts (also benefits Delta, Garfield, Gunnison, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Routt and San Miguel Counties).
Montrose County
- Work with a landowner to conserve and protect 1,049 acres of critical migration corridor habitat for more than 7,000 elk as well as mule deer and other wildlife near Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
Park County
- Build a year-round, 1,200-gallon water source for elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and other wildlife on the James Mark Jones State Wildlife Area.
- Supply volunteers to work with Intermountain STIHL employees and others to remove one mile of old fencing on the Pike-San Isabel National Forest’s South Park Ranger District to improve wildlife movement across the landscape.
Pueblo County
- Supply funding for the Pueblo West Sportsman’s Association to train additional range safety officers who help with hunter sight-in events, 4-H competitions and other shoots.
Rio Blanco County
- Implement a series of habitat treatments including prescribed fire, thinning, seeding, invasive weed treatment, sagebrush restoration and wildlife-friendly fence upgrades on the White River National Forest’s Blanco Ranger District, which is a critical transition point between elk winter and summer range (also benefits Garfield County).
- Help purchase materials and provide volunteers to replace old horse corral panels and gates with new ones on the Jensen and Oak Ridge State Wildlife Areas. Corrals allow access by hunters with horses including older and physically challenged hunters who may not be able to access the land otherwise.
San Miguel County
- Thin 545 acres and create small openings within timber stands on elk summer range within the Norwood Ranger District of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests to improve plant diversity and wildlife habitat, promote forest health and reduce fuels and the risk of wildfire.
Teller County
- Provide funding for Outdoor Skills Day at Colorado’s Mueller State Park, a free annual event for families to learn the basics or test their skills at archery, shooting, fishing, geocaching and other activities (also benefits Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Elbert, Fremont, Jefferson, Park, Pueblo and Weld Counties.)
Statewide
- Allot $340,000 for a collaborative effort to defeat Proposition 127, a citizen ballot initiative seeking to ban the hunting of mountain lions and bobcats. Doing so would circumvent the authority of Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists and scientists, who have relied on hunting for decades as a crucial tool in the state’s proven wildlife management and conservation plans.
- Provide funding support for the Rocky Mountain Heroes Foundation to organize and carry out mentored hunts for first-time youth hunters. Participants are required to have hunter education certification and be RMEF members.
- Supply funding for the Hunter Field Engagement Course at the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex. The two-day course, offered monthly, helps students who complete their hunter education to gain knowledge, skills and the ability to make ethical, accurate shots when afield.
- Allot funding to support Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management, a group that works to enhance, promote and defend the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and its principles of responsible, science-based wildlife management.
- Provide funding for Of Mountains and Men, a nonprofit that hosts mentored big game hunts for boys ages 12 to 17 primarily without fathers and/or from the inner city. The program offers training in marksmanship, animal behavior, hunting techniques and game care.
Project partners include the Arapaho, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison, Medicine Bow-Routt, Pike-San Isabel, San Juan and White River National Forests, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management and various conservation, sportsmen and business groups as well as private landowners.
About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Founded in 1984 and fueled by hunters, RMEF has conserved more than 8.9 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 rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.