Restoring Elk Country – AZ Rain Tank Replacement
In June 2021, lightning ignited the Rafael Wildfire in central Arizona, just west of Sedona. Before firefighters fully contained it one month later, it scorched more than 78,000 acres across the Kaibab and Prescott National Forests.
The rain trick tank in the Sycamore Canyon area was a casualty in the fire’s path, a crucial water source for elk and mule deer, especially since it lies within the Grand Canyon to Prescott Migration Corridor Complex, a major wildlife corridor.
About the only part of the site that survived the flames was the 20,000-gallon, above-ground storage tank.
In June 2023, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation volunteers joined ranks with Arizona Game and Fish Department and Kaibab staffers to tear down what was left of the support structure. Leftover burnt materials went to a landfill.
Four months later, thanks to funding from two RMEF grants, support from Arizona Game and Fish, and Pittman-Robertson dollars generated by hunters, contractors built a heavy-duty steel support deck, a four-foot by five-foot drinker and modified fencing to let wildlife in but direct livestock to a secondary drinker nearby.
In addition to elk and mule deer, the project also benefits black bears, pronghorn antelope, whitetail deer, wild turkey, upland birds, mountain lions, songbirds and hunting.
Restoring elk country is fundamental to RMEF’s mission of ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.
Since 1984, RMEF helped conserve or enhance nearly 9 million acres of wildlife habitat.