MISSOULA, Mont. — The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and a bevy of partners supplied $4,197,169 to improve wildlife habitat. The allotment also supports wildlife management efforts, youth archery and trap shooting programs, and mentored hunting and educational conservation programs.
“These 28 projects stretch across the state and enhance more than 80,000 acres of habitat for elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, sage grouse and many other wildlife species. That’s good news for animals and the landscapes they rely on,” said Jameson Sharp, RMEF regional director for southern Idaho.
RMEF allotted $472,596 which helped leverage $3,724,573 in partner funding.
There are more than 7,000 RMEF members and 18 chapters across Idaho.
“We greatly appreciate our volunteers. They plan and host banquets and other Idaho events that helped generate this funding to put back on the ground where it does so much good,” said RMEF President and CEO Kyle Weaver.
RMEF has a long history of conservation accomplishment in Idaho. Since 1985, it collaborated with partners to complete 720 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects with a combined value of more than $97.7 million. These projects conserved or enhanced 807,237 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 45,952 acres.
Project partners include the Caribou-Targhee, Idaho Panhandle, Payette and Salmon-Challis National Forests, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Bureau of Land Management, private landowners and conservation, sportsmen, government, business and civic organizations.
Below is a list of the projects*, by location.
Adams County
- Conduct multiple prescribed burns covering 15,000 acres on the Payette National Forest to improve big game forage and habitat (also benefits Idaho and Valley Counties).
- Supplied an elk education trunk to the Meadows Valley School, which contains lesson plans, activities, antlers, hides, skulls and other educational materials about elk and elk habitat.
Bear Lake County
- Seed forbs and plant cottonwood tree saplings across 100 acres on the Georgetown Summit Wildlife Management Area.
Blaine County
- Supply funding for materials and equipment for Bellevue Elementary’s National Archery in the Schools Program, which involves mostly fourth and fifth grade students.
- Support the Bad to the Bow 4-H Archery Club, which gives opportunities for youth of all skills levels to learn, apply and practice archery. Competitions are family events where families shoot, camp and bond. Most club members also bowhunt.
- Supply volunteer manpower to create a parking area and trailhead at the Elk Mountain project
Bonner County
- Provide funding support for the Sacred Cedars Wilderness School, which hosts workshops for youth and women of all ages to learn about archery, wilderness survival, primitive skills and nature.
Bonneville County
- Burn 1,020 acres as part of a larger effort in the Teton Basin Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest to promote diverse habitat and improved forage including early-seral aspen, mountain shrubs, forbs and grasses (also benefits Teton County).
- Supply funding for the Skyline High School Trap Team, which promotes personal and team development for students from seventh through 12th grades.
Butte County
- Remove and modify fencing on private land in a pronghorn antelope migration corridor to help big game better move across the landscape.
Canyon County
- Provide funding support for the Nampa Bow Chiefs Scholastic 3-D Archery Team, which helps youth learn about safe, ethical bowhunting practices as they compete in indoor and outdoor target archery competitions.
- Purchase archery equipment for Broken Arrow Archery Club in partnership with Idaho 4-H Shooting Sports.
Cassia County
- Supply funding for the Burley Bobcats Trap Team to help offset costs of athlete fees, shells and targets for both team practices and tournaments.
Custer County
- Apply herbicide across 5,656 acres of land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management Challis Field Office and 4,466 acres within the Salmon-Challis National Forest to control the spread of cheatgrass.
Franklin County
- Provide funding for Idaho Fish and Game mentored youth hunts. Ten seventh and eighth students from Preston and Dayton-area schools write essays on wildlife, hunting and conservation with 10 winners participating in elk cow hunts.
Kootenai County
- Supply funding support for the Idaho Chapter of the Wildlife Society, a nonprofit, professional organization of Idaho-based wildlife experts dedicated to excellence in science-based management and conservation of wildlife populations and habitats.
Latah County
- Provide funding for the Troy Deary Gun Club Trap Team, which takes part in pistol and rifle leagues during summer and winter.
- Supply funding for the Potlatch High School Trap Team to help buy ammunition and target fees and help offset costs to members.
Owyhee County
- Burn slash piles from a previous juniper thinning across 784 acres of state and private land within the ongoing South Mountain aspen restoration project in Unit 40. The area serves as summer and calving grounds for elk and also benefits mule deer, sage grouse and other wildlife.
- Remove encroaching juniper across 63,745 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands to bolster the western sagebrush steppe ecosystem and benefit elk, mule deer, sage grouse and other wildlife species. The work is part of a multi-year effort within a larger 1.67-million acre project area.
Nez Perce County
- Supply funding for the Lewis-Clark Valley Boys and Girls Club Conservation Education Program that introduces children ages 7-11 to wildlife habitat conservation.
- Provide funding for the Lewiston High School Trap Team, which offers students opportunities to engage in a disciplined, focused activity while developing life skills such as teamwork, responsibility and precision.
Shoshone County
- Restore decadent forage and open up canopies across 384 acres in year-round elk habitat in the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.
- Supply funding for fencing to funnel wildlife to a crossing structure along Interstate 90 in North Idaho. This project will improve habitat connectivity and wildlife movements in an area where wildlife-vehicle collisions are becoming more and more common.
- Provide a volunteer crew to remove wire for a fifth consecutive year from a discontinued electric railroad line along the Route of the Hiawatha, a scenic bike trail straddling the Idaho-Montana border. The wire entrapped many elk and deer over the years.
Regional
- Provide funding for Scooter’s Youth Hunting Camp, an annual opportunity for children ages 9-16 from across Idaho to learn about the safe handling of firearms including archery, black powder, long rifle and shotgun. Participants also learn about safely handling and sharpening knives, cleaning guns, outdoor survival and game calling.
Statewide
- Supply funding support for the Idaho 4-H Shooting Sports, competitions for youth ages 14-18 taking place on the state and national levels.
- In cooperation with VetCREW, provide funding for four men and four women to participate in a veterans cow elk hunt on a private landowner’s ranch.
(*Idaho received the funding allocation in 2024 but its impacts carry over into 2025 and beyond.)
About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Now in its fifth decade of conservation accomplishment and fueled by hunters, RMEF has conserved more than 9.1 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.