The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, recognizing support and advocacy for public policy that aligns with and advances its mission in Conserving America’s Big Game, announces Rep. Ryan Zinke is the recipient of the RMEF Excellence in Advocacy Award. RMEF President and CEO Kyle Weaver and Chief Conservation Officer Blake Henning presented the honor to Zinke during a gathering at RMEF headquarters.

A three-term congressman representing western Montana’s 1st Congressional District, Zinke also served as the Secretary of the Interior during the first Trump administration. During his time in federal office, Zinke has sponsored and supported key legislation related to several RMEF mission priorities including active forest management, big game habitat and migration corridor conservation, public access and the management of grizzly bears.

“Congressman Zinke has proven time and again through legislative leadership and action that he is committed to real conservation and America’s public lands,” said Weaver. “His work crafting and advancing critical legislation resulted in impactful conservation outcomes, making him an invaluable ally to hunter-conservationists throughout our nation.”

Zinke was outspoken in opposing Senate language in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that would have sold off or transferred federal public lands and played a leading role in having the sell-off language removed from the bill. He authored and co-sponsored numerous pieces of legislation to improve the health of our national forests, including the Fix Our Forests Act to encourage more forest management. Zinke co-sponsored the Grizzly Bear State Management Act to remove Endangered Species Act protections for grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and return their management to state and tribal agencies. As Secretary of the Interior, he signed Secretarial Order 3362 calling for the conservation of big game winter range and migration corridors, which continues to serve as the basis for several RMEF land, habitat and research initiatives.

“RMEF has been one of the strongest conservation partners in Montana and across the West, and I’m honored to receive this award,” said Zinke. “From keeping public lands in public hands to improving elk migration corridors and restoring healthy forests, we share a belief that conservation works best when hunters, landowners, states, tribes and federal managers are at the table. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together and look forward to the next generation of leadership in this effort.”

Zinke’s involvement in other recent pieces of legislation important to RMEF include:

  • House passage of the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026, commonly known as the Farm Bill. The bill includes six provisions sponsored or co-sponsored by Zinke, notably codifying a permanent fix to the 9th Circuit Court’s disastrous Cottonwood decision, which unnecessarily complicates environmental review of proposed forest management projects through redundant and irrelevant information.
  • Authoring and co-sponsoring forest management legislation including the FIR Act to reverse the impacts of the Cottonwood decision, the Root and Stem Act to empower partners and stakeholders to execute projects expeditiously, and the Treating Tribes and Counties as Good Neighbors Act.
  • Authoring and co-sponsoring wildlife migration corridor legislation including the Habitat Connectivity on Public Lands Act, the Wildlife Road Crossings Program Reauthorization Act and the Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act.
  • Founding and co-chairing the Public Lands Caucus with Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico.
  • Co-sponsoring America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act, which would improve the management of federally protected listed species and specifically provide greater flexibility in tools to manage predator species such as wolves and grizzly bears.
  • Advancing hunting interests by supporting legislation removing barriers to purchasing firearm silencers, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act and legislation prohibiting the regulation of lead ammo and tackle.

The Excellence in Advocacy Award was established by the RMEF Board of Directors in 2021. The previous recipient was Kentucky state Sen. Robin Webb in 2024.