MISSOULA, Mont. — During a year when public land took center stage in discussions from legislative floors and courtrooms to hunting camps and social media pages, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supported 10 land conservation and access projects in 2025 that, when complete, will open or improve public access to nearly 145,000 acres in 11 states. Working cooperatively with private and public partners, RMEF added acres to public land and established points of entry to existing public properties that were landlocked by private land or difficult to access.
Support from Access Elk Country sponsors throughout 2025 helped RMEF continue to expand public access to big game habitat. RMEF thanks presenting sponsor onX Hunt and sponsors ALPS OutdoorZ, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, Davis Tent, Fiocchi, Kenetrek, Kimber, Warne Scope Mounts and Yamaha for their commitment to fostering additional opportunities to access and recreate on public land.
“RMEF works to increase public access so that hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts have more places to enjoy the activities and landscapes that define their passions,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO. “Each year, our land projects produce tangible results—more or better access—and Access Elk Country sponsors, along with conservation-minded landowners, devoted members and dedicated volunteers, are important partners in achieving those successes.”
2025 RMEF-supported land conservation and access projects include:
Black River; Cheboygan and Montmorency counties, Michigan—acquisition by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Little Traverse Conservancy that adds 8,850 acres to the Pigeon River Country State Forest
Cumberland Forest—Highlands; Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Wise counties, Virginia—conservation easement transfer from The Nature Conservancy to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources that will open or improve access to 65,000 acres
Fox Peak—Keiser; Mendocino County, California—15-acre acquisition led by the Mendocino Land Trust that ensures future access to nearly 5,600 acres of land to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), adjacent to RMEF’s landscape-scale Eel River Peninsula Conservation Project
Hobble Creek; Lincoln County, Wyoming—permanent road access easement held by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department that enhances access to more than 16,000 acres of moose, mule deer and elk habitat managed by the U.S. Forest Service and BLM
Metolius Winter Range; Jefferson County, Oregon—300-acre acquisition by Portland General Electric, Oregon Wildlife Foundation and the Confederated Tribe of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation that improves access to the Deschutes National Forest, Crooked River National Grassland and other land open to public use
Pico Mountain; Daggett County, Utah—1,600-acre acquisition by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, forming the Cook Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and improving access to nearly 3,900 acres of surrounding Utah School and Institutional Trust Administration property now open to the public
South-Central Montana—50-plus-acre acquisition by RMEF that will open access to an additional 2,700 landlocked state and federal lands
Tex Creek V; Bonneville County, Idaho—acquisition by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game that adds 280 acres to the 35,218-acre Tex Creek WMA, an important winter range for migrating elk
Tualatin Mountain Forest; Multnomah County, Oregon—3,110-acre acquisition by the Trust for Public Land and Oregon State University to provide public access and serve as a university research forest
Windermere Hills; Elko County, Nevada—23,000-acre conservation easement to be managed by RMEF and access easement to be held by the Nevada Department of Wildlife that will provide public access to 43,000 acres as well as conserve a vital migration corridor for the state’s second largest mule deer herd
About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Now in its fifth decade of Conserving America’s Big Game,ä RMEF will extend its impact on habitat and public land access to 10 million acres by 2030. RMEF conserves and enhances habitat for elk and all big game, opens and improves access for hunting and other outdoor recreation, conducts science-based wildlife research and ensures the future of our hunting heritage through advocacy, outreach and education. Members, volunteers and supporters nationwide help RMEF further its mission. Find out more and join the movement at rmef.org or 800-CALL-ELK.