(Photo credit: Susan Summer Elliott)
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partners are bolstering Nevada’s big game and their habitat with $1,619,165 and a dozen projects. The grant funding benefits elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep and other wildlife species, plus the landscapes they rely on, across the state.
“Challenges we are tackling with this grant funding include thinning expansive pinyon and juniper growth that choke out grasses and other forage essential for elk and other wildlife. We are also supporting research to better understand causes of elk mortality of specific herds,” said Jenn Doherty, RMEF managing director of mission operations. “We are grateful to a litany of partners who work with us to put these dollars on the ground that do so much good.”
RMEF, which has 14 chapters across Nevada, contributed $206,113 of the overall total, used that amount to leverage $1,413,052 in partner funding.
Dating back to 1988, RMEF and its partners completed 306 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Nevada with a combined value of more than $30.7 million. These projects conserved or enhanced 481,115 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 57,160 acres.
Below is a list of the projects, shown by county:
Douglas County
- Supply funding for the Carson City Hot Shots Clay Target Program, which provides youth and young adults an opportunity to learn about firearms skills and safety, competitive team shooting, sportsmanship and responsibility as well as an appreciation for hunting and wildlife conservation. This is the only year-round youth shooting program in Nevada (also benefits Carson County).
- Provide financial support for Carson Valley Youth Shooting Sports, which offers opportunities for youth to learn firearms skills and safety, competitive team shooting, sportsmanship and responsibility (also benefits Lyon and Carson City Counties).
Churchill County
- Provide funding for the Lahontan Valley Claybreakers, a program that helps 500 third through 12th graders learn about trapshooting, gun safety, individual responsibility, commitment and sportsmanship (also benefits Lyon County).
Elko County
- Apply noxious weed treatment across 10,000 acres of crucial mule deer winter range and year-round elk range within burn scars on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wells Field Office in the southern portion of the Pequop Mountains. Follow-up treatment includes reseeding with forage-friendly grasses and shrubs.
- Supply funding for a study to help determine why 31 percent of radio-collared elk in western Elko County die annually from Seasonal Elk Mortality Syndrome (SEMS). Recent signals suggest minerals important for immune response may be limited in these elk. This research gathers important data to compare mineral profiles in herds experiencing SEMS and compare that to more productive elk herds around the state (also benefits Humboldt, Nye and White Pine Counties).
Humboldt County
- Provide funding for Nevada Outdoor School, which helps participants learn about the environment, conservation, hunting, ATV safety and various recreational skills (also benefits Elko, Eureka, Lander, Pershing, Washoe and White Pine Counties).
Lincoln County
- Lop and scatter encroaching pinyon-juniper across 1,000 acres managed by the BLM Caliente Field Office to restore natural site conditions, reduce potential for large wildfires by reducing fuel loading, increase understory grass and forb species diversity, and improve sagebrush and mountain shrub habitat for wildlife.
Nye County
- Remove juniper encroaching across 1,200 acres of sagebrush and mountain shrub communities along an important mule deer migration corridor in the Ely Ranger District on the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest. The project also improves elk winter range and bighorn sheep habitat (also benefits White Pine County).
Washoe County
- Provide financial support for the Maison T. Ortiz Skills Camp, a gathering for youth to take part in outdoor safety, shooting, archery, map reading, plant identification, fishing, basic survival, fly tying, conservation and other hands-on activities.
- Supply volunteer support to build pipe fencing around a spring just south of the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, to protect it from overuse by livestock and feral horses.
White Pine County
- Lop and scatter encroaching juniper across 1,200 acres of wildlife habitat managed by the BLM Bristlecone Field Office. A recent watershed assessment for South Spring and Hamlin Valleys shows uncharacteristically high tree densities with perennial grasses and forbs below historic levels.
- Supply funding and volunteer support to install two wildlife water guzzlers on BLM Bristlecone Field Office-managed land in the Schell Creek Range. The guzzlers, which are pipe-railed fenced to keep out livestock, supply 19,000 gallons of water for one of Nevada’s most important elk herds.
Project partners include the Nevada Department of Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, Pittman-Robertson funding generated by hunters and various outdoor, conservation, business and civic organizations.
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.