Elk and other big game now have more access to water thanks to two projects recently completed with RMEF grants in California and Arizona. Installing (and in some cases, repairing) guzzlers or wildlife drinkers that collect and hold water is an effective way to provide this vital resource to wildlife in arid areas.
Tule elk roaming Camp Roberts Military Base (CRMB) in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties in central California struggle to find water during the summer. This forces them to linger near rivers—which often interferes with training on the base—and wander onto nearby private lands.
To encourage the elk to stay on and dispersed throughout the base, CRMB installed three 5,000-gallon guzzlers in areas without year-round water that are away from training facilities. RMEF granted more than $22,000 to the effort, which also provides water to black bears, mule deer and wild turkeys.
The Inner Basin Waterline in north-central Arizona supplies drinking water to the City of Flagstaff from springs located within the San Francisco Peaks. In 2022, flooding after the Pipeline wildfire damaged much of the 10-mile waterline, including two wildlife drinkers.
RMEF granted more than $73,000 to the Arizona Game and Fish Department to rebuild drinkers and add three more within key elk calving areas. The new and restored water sources, completed in 2025, also benefit mule deer, black bears, pronghorns and grouse.