This Kid’s All Heart

February 20, 2014, 1:53 pm

≫ Next: Why RMEF Volunteers Do What They Do

In early October 2013, the Palouse Whitepine Chapter in Moscow, Idaho, hosted a young man from Farmington, Utah, on an Outdoor Dream hunt. The Outdoor Dream Foundation is a non-profit organization that grants outdoor adventures to children who have been diagnosed with terminal or life-threatening illnesses. Josh Pace, 12 years old, was born with only three chambers in his heart instead of four. His dream was to hunt a bull moose.

Josh Pace & friends

Josh and his father Chad arrived the afternoon of October 2. The chapter had already pitched camp on Bennett Lumber Company land. After a dinner of burgers and hot dogs around the campfire, the group made plans for the next morning’s hunt.

Among the volunteers was a special young man from Brevard, North Carolina. Justin Turner was a guest of the Palouse Whitepine Chapter three years ago on his own Outdoor Dream moose hunt while battling a rare form of bone cancer. Justin, now 19, has been in remission ever since. He has graduated from Northwest Lineman College in Meridian and is now working in New Jersey. When he heard that we were hosting another hunt for the Outdoor Dream Foundation, he bought his own plane ticket and flew out to Idaho to help out. Justin is a true inspiration to everyone that has met him. He truly knows the ups and downs of Josh’s situation and wants to give back in any way that he can to help others in similar situations.

That first morning the hunting party was able to spot several moose feeding in clearcuts, including one fine bull. Unfortunately by the time Josh and his dad decided that they wanted to kill this moose, the bull walked into the woods and out of sight. They spotted a few more moose over the next few days, but nothing of the caliber of that first one.

On Saturday, the third day of hunting, the group took the morning off to go bear hunting with hounds. After a slow start the hounds finally struck a hot trail mid-morning and the chase was on! After an exciting chase, the bear was treed and Josh was able to kill his first big game animal.

Sunday morning dawned with a heavy frost. The group left camp well before daylight to make it to the clearcuts before the moose slipped away. The group walked out into a massive clearcut just at sunup and immediately spotted a good bull. As Josh was getting set up, someone noticed two more bulls in the same clearcut, and one was very impressive. After repositioning, Josh was able to kill his moose at 185 yards. Ironically, after comparing photos of the moose that walked off the first day, they confirmed that this was the same animal.

Sponsoring an Outdoor Dream Foundation hunt is a massive undertaking that only comes together when you have a solid group of dedicated volunteers. The reward for all the time and effort is the smile of a child and the satisfaction of bringing such happiness to those who deserve it. Well done, Palouse Whitepine Chapter, well done.

-Wayne Brood, Idaho State Chair

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Why RMEF Volunteers Do What They Do

February 20, 2014, 2:01 pm

≫ Next: A Trip Down Memory Lane for RMEF Volunteers

≪ Previous: This Kid’s All Heart

Nine-year-old Kate Deklerk has attended the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's Peoria, Illinois, banquet for five years with her father Tony. Regional chair Terry McLaughlin emcees the event and gets youths involved by having them draw raffle winners. Kate was just 5 years old when Terry asked her to help at the 2010 banquet. After the drawing, Kate returned to her table, but before reaching it she dashed back up and gave Terry the biggest hug imaginable. The hug caught Terry totally off-guard and touched him deeply. Every year since, Kate always greets Terry at the banquet with a great big hug.

Kate Deklerk and her new rifle

In 2013, every RMEF chapter received a Weatherby youth rifle package underwritten by the MidwayUSA Foundation. The Peoria committee decided the live auction was the best place for the rifle. Banquet night arrived, and soon it was time to draw raffle winners. When it was time for the “Pick of the Herd” raffle (where the winner gets to choose an item from the live auction), Terry had the auctioneer’s son draw the winning ticket. When nobody claimed the prize, Terry, who’d purchased four chances, checked his tickets and realized that he was the winner!

While he looked over the items, Terry wondered if he should choose the banquet rifle or one of the prints. Then he spotted the youth rifle and had an idea. Remembering that awesome hug from Kate in 2010, and valuing the friendship he had built with Tony since, Terry approached Tony and asked if Kate was going to be shooting or hunting with him. Tony said yes, she had already started to shoot and had been afield with him. Terry asked Kate to come up front with him, and announced that he was selecting the youth rifle package from the live auction and giving it to Kate! Terry’s generosity stirred the crowd and resulted in a record night for the Peoria Chapter’s banquet. And to top it off, Tony became a life member!

A little later, Kate approached Terry at the podium and handed him a piece of paper. She had listened to Terry tell the crowd that he had been ill recently, and she had torn a piece of paper off the banquet program and written, “Get well soon. Sorry I did not know,” and added hearts and a couple dozen Xs and Os. Kate had once again deeply touched Terry’s heart. He saved that scrap of paper and had it nicely framed.

The note, the smile on Kate’s face when handed the new youth rifle, and the special friendship between Terry, Tony and Kate have all helped solidify the reasons why Terry is an RMEF volunteer. Kate and all the youths like her are why we do what we do!
-Kurt Flack, Regional Director, Southern Wisconsin & Illinois

Go here to learn how to become an RMEF volunteer.

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A Trip Down Memory Lane for RMEF Volunteers

February 20, 2014, 2:15 pm

≫ Next: “Gamesmanship” Kicks off RMEF Habitat Council’s Arizona Meeting

≪ Previous: Why RMEF Volunteers Do What They Do

Royal Teton Ranch

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation volunteers are renowned for their ingenuity when it comes to fundraising. But every once in awhile they outdo even themselves—and leave an impression that lasts a lifetime.

The year was 1997, and some of the best conservation news in a long time had just hit Montana's Yellowstone country. In September, the RMEF had struck a deal with the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT) to protect 7,300 acres of the most critical winter ranges and migration corridors on CUT's Royal Teton Ranch (RTR) through an acquisition, land exchanges and conservation easements.

Overlooking the Yellowstone River just north of Yellowstone National Park, the RTR was purchased in 1981 by the southern California-based fellowship, who eventually came to see it as a refuge from the pending apocalypse: a place to survive nuclear war, financial collapse or famine.

But for an amazing variety of wildlife, the RTR is a refuge of a different sort. Much of Yellowstone's northern elk herd winters there; grizzly bears give birth and raise cubs there; lynx and wolverines prowl its dark woods; and mule deer, bison and pronghorns graze its lower meadows.

By the mid-1990s, the church had come under new leadership and was also struggling financially. After a close review of its situation, the church decided it would have better luck being headquartered in an urban center. With support from a variety of other conservation groups, RMEF began courting the church to sell its land for conservation purposes.

When word of a deal reached Montana's lead volunteers, they began brainstorming on how they could help raise funds for the RTR. Together, they came up with a program they called "Adopt-A-Project," and encouraged every chapter in the country to jump on board. The incentive? For every Habitat Partnership they brought in to help raise money for the RTR, participating chapters were entered into a raffle that would grant up to eight volunteers from the winning committee a trip out West for five days touring the RTR and the Yellowstone area, compliments of Montana's lead volunteers.

"The Montana volunteers took fundraising to a whole new level with Adopt-A-Project," says regional director Scott Westphal, who was Montana's state chair at the time. Besides being the brains behind the program, Westphal says the volunteers also did all the legwork, handling the logistics of compiling and mailing the package, promoting the project, tracking the dollars raised by the chapters, issuing raffle tickets, and planning the reward.

In the end, more than 30 chapters sold raffle tickets, recruited new Habitat Partners and brought in cash donations, raising more than $227,000 that covered most of the upfront purchase costs of the $13 million deal.

Montana volunteers meet up with the
Tulsa Chapter at the Royal Teton Ranch in 2000

Oklahoma's Tulsa Chapter—whose committee members had pooled their money toward a Habitat Partnership—won the drawing. In August 2000, seven lucky volunteers traveled to Gardiner, Montana, where they enjoyed top-notch hospitality, experienced a "behind-the-scenes" tour of Yellowstone Park, fished spectacular rivers, savored nightly barbeques and shared memorable evenings around the campfire—all the while building lifelong friendships with their Montana counterparts.

The pinnacle of the trip for the group came on the final day when they stood together on the RTR, looking over the ground they helped protect, some with tears in their eyes.

"It wasn't real until we got there," Floyd Luck, then-Oklahoma state chair, said later. "I didn't understand and put it together until I actually stood on the land. It came to life for us."

Today, Westphal echoes these sentiments. "Standing there together on the RTR, knowing that this group of "Joe Citizens" had helped make something extraordinary happen for wildlife, is something I will never forget," Westphal says. "That moment is one of the highlights of my time with the foundation."

-Lee Lamb

Go here if you are interested in becoming an RMEF volunteer.

↧

“Gamesmanship” Kicks off RMEF Habitat Council’s Arizona Meeting

February 23, 2014, 1:31 pm

≫ Next: Stepping Up Even More to Help Elk

≪ Previous: A Trip Down Memory Lane for RMEF Volunteers

RMEF comes up a winner on the stadium scoreboard

It doesn’t take much to bring out the boy in the man. All he needs is an audience to play to and the opportunity to recall, reminisce, maybe stretch the truth a hair and then let the punch lines fly.

Two characters from America’s past-time shared center stage at an evening reception at the February meeting of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Habitat Council.

David Allen

Truth be told, the common denominator or key cog in what was more accurately a three-ring circus was RMEF President/CEO David Allen. Allen is a long-time friend of former major league pitcher Rick Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe, for his part, brought along current San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

Rick Sutcliffe
(via Sports Illustrated)

Fittingly enough, the setting was the pavilion of Camelback Ranch Stadium in suburban Phoenix, Spring Training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. Allen was first to take to the microphone. One-liners led to punch lines and story after story about Sutcliffe’s past, both off and on the field. Sutcliffe revved up the roast by returning fire on Allen and then immediately taking pot shots at his friend, Bochy.

Bochy, ever the diplomat, used a strategic game plan to chart his course of action, something definitely not foreign to the man who led the Giants to World Series championships in both 2010 and 2012. He worked the larger RMEF crowd that, in addition to Habitat Council members, also included RMEF board members, staffers and others.

Bruce Bochy
(via Hardballtimes.com)

“My passion is hunting. A former teammate of mine, Goose Gossage, had a ranch in Colorado. We used it as therapy for after the season,” said Bochy. “In my office in San Francisco, I’m the only manager with an elk head hanging in his office. I applaud you for what you do. It’s really an honor for me to be here.”

With the onlookers clearly on his side, Bochy then recalibrated his tactics, put Sutcliffe in the crosshairs and went in for the kill.

Bochy (left) unleashes a zinger at Sutcliffe

“There was a story in Cincinnati where Rick was having a tough day on the mound. Back then when a hitter hit a home run, all these fireworks would go off. He was getting the ball up that day and a hitter named Paul O’Neill hits a home run and all the fireworks are going off, ‘Boom! Boom!’ Then the next hitter, the next pitch, Eric Davis. He hits a home run and they’re just going off, ‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’ Smoke everywhere! You can’t hardly see! Here comes Don Zimmer, the manager. He comes out there (to the mound). He’s a competitor. Rick doesn’t want to hear it from his manager so he says, ‘What in the hell are you going to tell me now?’ ‘I’m not here to tell you anything,’ said Zimmer. ‘I’m trying to give these guys a chance to reload out there!’”

Sutcliffe, a fellow lover of the outdoors, closed with a story about the late Harry Caray. And then, looking out to the RMEF crowd and with a simple acknowledgement of gratitude, he concluded by saying, “Thank you for all you do.”

All's well that ends well

↧

Stepping Up Even More to Help Elk

February 23, 2014, 3:25 pm

≫ Next: New RMEF Member, Racer Shows his True Colors

≪ Previous: “Gamesmanship” Kicks off RMEF Habitat Council’s Arizona Meeting

The mission of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage. If you are a hunter, you already contribute to the cause via the purchase of supplies, licenses and fees that raise funds for land and wildlife conservation. If you are an RMEF member, you further contribute through membership dues. If you are an RMEF volunteer, you contribute even more because of your dedication of time and effort on top of that. But what if you want to do more?

As of December 31, 2013, RMEF had a record 203,703 members with varying participatory levels ranging from a $20 youth member to a $1,500 life member. RMEF volunteers arrange and carry out big game banquets and work projects, seek new members through fundraising drives and serve on committees in more than 500 chapters nationwide. President and CEO David Allen calls those volunteers “rock stars.” They keep the organization firing on all cylinders. But there’s another segment of membership that powers RMEF into a higher, more effective gear. Numbering 3,034 strong or roughly 1.5 percent of RMEF’s total membership, they are RMEF’s Habitat Partners.

RMEF’s Habitat Partnership program recognizes major donors who make a minimum gift of $2,500 and tracks their cumulative philanthropic giving total. Habitat Partners are welcome to attend the Friends of the Foundation Breakfast at Elk Camp, RMEF’s annual convention. There are varying Habitat Partner contribution levels:

Once a Habitat Partner reaches the Imperial level of $10,000, he or she is invited to join the Habitat Council. Originally established in 1992, Habitat Council members work together to raise funds with a goal of seizing more opportunities for RMEF’s mission. The Habitat Council usually meets twice a year, at Elk Camp and a second summer gathering, to give input to the RMEF Board of Directors and executive staff on fundraising, membership and wildlife habitat issues. The summer meeting includes a site tour where members learn more about how their investments are working for wildlife.

Hatfield Knob, Tennessee

For example, in June of 2013, the Habitat Council met in Knoxville, Tennessee. The three-day gathering included a private viewing of synchronous fireflies and glow worms, reception at Café 4 at the historic Knoxville Market House, private acoustic concert by Daryle Singletary, strategy sessions, Volunteer Princess dinner cruise on the Tennessee River and a trip to the Hatfield Knob viewing area to personally witness the fruits of elk restoration efforts. Looking ahead, the 2014 summer meeting will take place in Vancouver, Washington, and the 2015 gathering is scheduled for Park City, Utah.

Some Habitat Council members also choose to hold smaller informational gatherings in more intimate settings for friends and other like-minded folks. In 2013, such gatherings took place in southern California, Colorado, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Individuals who include RMEF in their estate planning become members of the Trails Society. Their gift will make an impact on elk country and help leave a legacy for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. Planned gifts can generate a retirement income stream, produce income tax deductions and reduce future estate tax liability. Such methods include wills, life insurance policies, retirement accounts, life estate arrangements, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts.

John Day Headwaters, Oregon

So there are many different available steps to help ensure the future of elk and elk country. It just depends on how many steps you want to climb. The higher you go, the better the view.

For more information, send an email to legacy@rmef.org or call 800-CALL-ELK and ask for the Development Department.

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New RMEF Member, Racer Shows his True Colors

February 26, 2014, 11:58 am

≫ Next: What’s After ‘Life?’ Habitat Council Members Provide the Proof

≪ Previous: Stepping Up Even More to Help Elk

Casey Delp loves to go fast! The faster, the better. But it’s not just the speed and raw horsepower that catches your eye. It’s his pink camo paint scheme with a large Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation logo emblazoned on both sides of his race car that really grab your attention.

“It feels good having that logo on the side of my car because I know what it’s about, you know. It’s about conservation,” said Delp. “It just makes me happy to be a part of it.”

And Casey walks the walk, too. He recently signed up to become an RMEF member at the big game banquet hosted by his hometown Sweetwater Chapter in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

What’s somewhat ironic is Casey did not grow up a hunter or a racer. As a teenager, he was a bull rider but suffered a broken leg when a bull stepped on him. A steel plate and nine screws in his shin closed the door on any rodeo aspirations but opened the door to a life in the fast lane. He promptly got together with a couple of buddies to build his first car –broken leg and all– and then won his first race.

That checkered flag was the first step to winning four straight track championships. It also helped paved the way to his current partnership with RMEF. During a recent visit to the four-day party in Grand Junction, Colorado, popularly known as Country Jam USA, he stopped to talk elk and racing with the RMEF. One handshake later and Casey had a new partner.

Casey's first bull

Delp started hunting about a decade ago. He shot his first bull, a nice one, in 2012. He would like to go on a week-long elk hunt in 2014 but the demands of his job as a pipeline welder and his responsibilities as a husband and father to a two-year-old daughter also come into play.

And then there’s that whole racing obsession. As a member of the International Motor Contest Association Wild West Modified Tour, his racing team visits Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Idaho and Nevada. He would also like to hit Arizona and possibly Montana. And that takes us back to the paint scheme—an outward display of an internal drive of the love and deep feelings he holds for his family.

“I lost my grandma five years ago to cancer and my family has a long history to cancer and we’ve lost quite a few family members from it. When I lost my grandma I told myself from here on out I’m going to dedicate my racing and everything to cancer,” said Delp. “That’s how I got my pink scheme and I got hooked up with guys who do wraps in Rock Springs. It’s amazing. It’s good looking stuff. They put pink camo in there with everything. I love hunting and love racing and have pink in there for the cancer issue.”

And with that dedication and determination, Delp will hit the track with a goal of taking yet another checkered flag.

“I’m real thankful for RMEF to be a part of our D& F Racing Team,” said Delp.

One glance at his sweet ride offers plenty evidence of that.

Go here to become a member of the RMEF.

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What’s After ‘Life?’ Habitat Council Members Provide the Proof

February 26, 2014, 3:45 pm

≫ Next: RMEF's Comment to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Regarding Elk Management in Brucellosis Areas

≪ Previous: New RMEF Member, Racer Shows his True Colors

The question was a simple one: “What’s after life?” It came from a relatively new member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. His status as a supporting (or annual) member was not enough so he donated $1,500 to become a Life Member. But still, he wanted to do more, much more. He stated a desire to magnify his membership and make a significant investment in helping to carry out RMEF’s mission to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.

That true tale is one of many such success stories scattered among members of RMEF’s Habitat Council. As co-chair Nancy Holland recently stated, “We are the investors of the RMEF.” Her words ring true. All RMEF members, regardless of their membership level, certainly have a stake in supporting conservation work to benefit elk and elk country, but for members of the Habitat Council it truly is an investment. They reach that level by contributing a minimum of $10,000 to the organization.

Their donations are matched and even exceeded by their passion and dedication. Several Habitat Council members, at a recent three-day outing designed specifically for them in Phoenix, shared their sentiments after being asked, “Why are you here?” Here are some of their words:

“I put this note at the bottom of the sheet (at his first RMEF banquet years ago),’If you need any help, call me.’ I got a call the next morning and have been involved ever since. This is the organization I have chosen because our beliefs are very similar. I think it’s necessary we protect the land and animals. It’s wonderful what we’ve done to bring kids outside. That’s my testimony.”

“Tomorrow, you’ll have the privilege to meet the smallest Life Member of the RMEF, and that’s my now eight year old grandson. He was one pound, seven ounces at birth. And that’s why.”

“I want to touch the life of a child. I want them to know what God has done for them. The Lord spoke to my heart.”

"There’s a wonderful group of people that instilled in me a passion to take care of the land for our children and take care of the critters. I have come to love RMEF.”

“This is family and we do this for the future. We have put our hard-earned money into this. This is an investment into the future for what is near and dear to us.”

The Habitat Council Meeting & Retreat in Phoenix, Arizona, was one of several annual gatherings arranged for members of the Habitat Council. Another takes place at Elk Camp, RMEF’s annual convention, scheduled for December 4-7, 2014, in Las Vegas. Those on hand in Phoenix came together from all over the country—Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming, along with RMEF staffers from California, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina and Washington.

Saturday:

Welcome reception and dinner at Camelback Ranch Stadium, Spring Training home of the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. Speakers included RMEF President/CEO David Allen, RMEF Chairman of the Board Lee Swanson and Habitat Council co-chairs Nancy and Howard Holland. Former major league pitcher Rick Sutcliffe and San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy were special guests who shared baseball stories and took part in a good-hearted roast.

Sunday:

Habitat Council meeting

Mission Update
State of the RMEF
Q & A
Testimonials
Discussion of upcoming events
Presentation and discussion of Habitat Council strategic plan
Reports on smaller Habitat Council events in California, Colorado, Missouri and Wisconsin

Lunch on the patio via Palm Court Restaurant
Reception and dinner at LON’s at The Hermosa

Monday:

Desert Jeep tour at the Tonto National Forest

Golf at the TPC Scottsdale

Dinner at the Desert Botanical Garden

The Habitat Council’s 2014 Summer Meeting and Retreat will take place in Vancouver, Washington, while the 2015 summer gathering is scheduled for Park City, Utah.

To become an RMEF member, go here. For more information about the Habitat Council, call 800-CALL-ELK.

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RMEF's Comment to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Regarding Elk Management in Brucellosis Areas

March 3, 2014, 10:42 am

≫ Next: 'Moved' to Make a Difference

≪ Previous: What’s After ‘Life?’ Habitat Council Members Provide the Proof

February 26, 2014

Dan Vermillion, Chairman

Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission

PO Box 668

Livingston, MT 59047

Re: RMEF comments related to Elk Management in Areas with Brucellosis

2014 Work Plan – Local Modifications

Dear Chairman Vermillion,

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) maintains that the issue of elk management in areas with Brucellosis must be addressed in a cooperative manner with active input from state and federal wildlife managers, ranchers and other affected stakeholders.

For more than a decade the RMEF has been engaged in this complex issue that covers multiple states and interests. RMEF actively participates in state agency planning and program efforts directed at Brucellosis management and containment. RMEF is aware of the increased incidence of Brucellosis exposure in wild elk herds of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the increasing importance Brucellosis policy has on elk and other wildlife.

In 2008, RMEF hosted a Brucellosis symposium in Billings, Montana. It brought together state wildlife agency representatives from Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, as well as state veterinarians, sportsmen, livestock owners and other stakeholders in an effort to generate solutions. Discussions resulted in no consensus due to the divisive nature of this topic and the complex implications of possible management policies.

Brucellosis is not detrimental to elk populations as it is not “population-limiting,” yet it imposes significant operating costs on agricultural producers in the endemic area. RMEF, in the past and today, advocates for policies that preserve traditional ranching operations and the benefits that come with keeping working ranches on the landscape.

RMEF seeks to work with ranchers, state agencies and other partners by supporting research and other mitigation actions to reduce Brucellosis transmission in livestock. RMEF would like to see state and federal agencies, elected officials, livestock owners and other stakeholders work together to address this complex issue. RMEF is committed to helping with that effort.

More specifically:

RMEF calls for research that could lead to livestock vaccines with increased effectiveness
RMEF does not believe it is possible to eradicate brucellosis in wildlife
RMEF does not believe it is feasible or practical to vaccinate free-ranging wildlife
RMEF does not support hunting cow elk during the third trimester, which begins on or about February 15
RMEF supports the efforts of state and federal agencies to enhance elk habitat on public lands, including wildlife management areas, to provide better forage for elk off of private lands
RMEF does not support the testing and slaughter of elk as a means of managing Brucellosis
RMEF supports cooperative approaches to keeping elk and livestock separate; however, we have concerns about the use of game proof fencing that could cut off natural migration corridors.

RMEF is interested in helping solve this wildlife conservation issue and would particularly like to see much greater emphasis on the development of an effective livestock vaccine. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,

M. David Allen

RMEF President/CEO

cc: Montana Governor Steve Bullock
Montana Fish & Wildlife Commissioners

↧

'Moved' to Make a Difference

March 11, 2014, 3:27 pm

≫ Next: RMEF Rolls Out Red Carpet for Secretary of Interior Jewell

≪ Previous: RMEF's Comment to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Regarding Elk Management in Brucellosis Areas

We recently received the letter below from a couple in Texas.

Dear Mr. Allen and all of the RMEF staff,

We sat down tonight to write you a check for $500. Then I read the story A Green Light for Red Hill in the Jan/Feb 2014 of Bugle magazine. I have been a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for three or four years or so. We are not elk hunters, deer hunters nor any other kind of recent hunter, but the stories in Bugle show us time and again the character and integrity of your organization and the principled people who love the hunt that are featured in your magazine. (Not to mention that your well-written magazine is a FUN read.)

My wife and I first visited Montana, Missoula specifically in 1992, and immediately fell in love. We were blessed to consult at the Stone, later Smurfit-Stone mill, for about ten years. In that time we made some fast friends in Montana, visited your headquarters (both the old and the new facilities), bought a few Bugle issues off of the newsstand, and eventually joined RMEF because we support a few organizations that support preserving both our precious land and its beautiful creatures. Reading every issue of Bugle since joining has given me a good feeling about your organization and its principles. Thank you for those principles and for what you do for all of us who love our wild lands.

Red Hill Project/Lewis & Clark National Forest

While we are not hunters, we fiercely love the backcountry areas in Montana and in other (especially western) states where we've visited. Even though your emphasis is understandably on preserving elk lands, your work, as stated in the Red Hill article, "Bertelotti points out that it's not just hunters who have reason to celebrate. He thinks Red Hill will also be a popular launch for birdwatchers, campers (us), hikers (us), horse packers (love that) and backcountry skiers…"

Efforts by you and RMEF members help to save our wonderful, scenic, wild lands for us all. What a magnificent idea it was to buy a little 40-acre tract that opened up a permanent access to an 18,000 acre piece of public lands. BRAVO! Thank you and other dedicated RMEF members like Col. Kepler for your hard work (and to the Longs and people like them for their cooperation) and a job WELL DONE!

Cheers and God Bless,

Dean & Kathe Miller

Kilgore, Texas

By way of information, the Millers are now RMEF Life Members. You can donate to or join the RMEF in its mission to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.

Nearby elk herd spotted shortly after the Red Hill dedication ceremony

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RMEF Rolls Out Red Carpet for Secretary of Interior Jewell

March 17, 2014, 1:36 pm

≫ Next: Hunting Is Conservation: How Wildlife is Thriving Because of Guns & Hunting

≪ Previous: 'Moved' to Make a Difference

Secretary Sally Jewell

It was another busy Saturday afternoon at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Elk Country Visitor Center. Wildlife lovers of all ages made their way through the various displays, watched video presentations, shopped, and made a loop around the interpretative trail outside. Just down the hall, young hunters jammed a meeting room to take part in a hunter education course so they could be ready to hit the field this fall.

But this was no ordinary March afternoon. Just after two o’clock an SUV pulled up to the RMEF entrance and out stepped Secretary Sally Jewell, the head of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and a few of her staffers along with Montana Senator Jon Tester. Members of various wildlife and conservation organizations and sportsmen also arrived to take part in a roundtable discussion.

“I'm here with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation hearing about what's important to them, about the conservation of public lands, our management of the public lands for the long term health of wildlife as well as the people that live here and the people that come and recreate here,” Jewell told a television reporter.

Though relatively small in stature, Jewell has a big influence regarding outdoor issues. Formerly the CEO of REI, Jewell is 11 months into the job as secretary of the Interior and fills one of 15 seats on President Obama’s Cabinet.

Much of the roundtable discussion also focused on the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a federal program that provides funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of easements to protect vital landscapes. LWCF was recently reallocated back into the president’s latest budget proposal. RMEF has been and remains a staunch proponent of LWCF as it provides funding to help ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.

Below are a few of the comments offered during the 60-minute discussion.

Secretary Jewell:

“It’s heartening to see organizations like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation working with landowners.”

“I appreciate the advocacy of this organization for the LWCF. Conservation easements kept a lot of ranchers ranching rather than turn their land over for development.”

“We’re in the forever business and you want us to be in the forever business.”

“You’re all probably elk hunters which I think is great. Fishermen and bird watchers are great. We all have to work together.”

David Allen welcoming participants

RMEF President/CEO David Allen:

“Our state agencies are at a critical point in terms of their fiscal health—certainly the western states are. It’s extremely concerning. Our wildlife system crumbles if they’re not healthy because state-based management is how it works.”

“Access is one of our mission priorities but kind of the 800-pound gorilla in the room is the private landowner. If we’re going to crack the code we have to consider the private landowner and work with them.”

Secretary Jewell:

“Private land ownership and conservation can be done in harmony.”

“Managing the lands for multiple use means it’s the Bureau of Land Management’s job to think about how the lands are used, how they’re developed and how they’re not developed.”

“People have wanted to pay less to support government at every level for decades now. Running a federal agency that’s cut and cut…you have to do less with less.”

“There is a role for government especially in managing our landscapes and parks that will keep people keep coming back. LWCF is a good example. Support for your state folks is critical.”

“Hunters and anglers, the fees you pay whether Pittman-Robertson or duck stamp or fishing licenses, those are critical monies to help the state fish and game departments to do the jobs they need to do. They need to hear from you when they’ve done something right and not just something wrong.”

Hunter education class at RMEF

Senator Jon Tester:

“We’re going to need your help to keep LWCF in the president’s budget.”

“We need to think of some creative ways to hold a carrot out there to allow private landowners to allow access.”

Secretary Jewell

“Generations of young people are increasingly urban and busy, tech-enabled and well-educated but they know little about the environment. They get very little time to roam. It’s roaming in nature where kids learn about nature.”

“If we want to have people that understand how nature works, you need an informed and engaged younger generation that not only cares but knows what to do because they’ve had exposure. ‘Play-learn-serve-work’ is a four-tier approach to make that happen. We want kids to learn in nature’s classroom. What is an invasive weed? How can you tell the difference? Service enables kids to develop a connection to the land. One-hundred-thousand jobs on public lands in the next four years is our goal. A lot of biologists need to transfer their knowledge to young biologists.”

Our thanks to Secretary Jewell for her service and for taking time to visit the RMEF.

↧

Hunting Is Conservation: How Wildlife is Thriving Because of Guns & Hunting

March 28, 2014, 2:48 pm

≫ Next: Leaders of Conservation: RMEF President/CEO David Allen

≪ Previous: RMEF Rolls Out Red Carpet for Secretary of Interior Jewell

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation maintains that Hunting Is Conservation. That mantra holds true on many different fronts and in a multitude of different ways. A few years back, RMEF unveiled 25 reasons why Hunting Is Conservation.

You can add another 760.9 million reasons to that list. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell recently announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will distribute nearly $1.1 billion in excise tax revenues to state and territorial fish and wildlife agencies. The bulk of that total, 69 percent or $760.9 million, comes directly from the pockets of hunters who willingly forked over those dollars. What are the excise taxes used for? The funds pay for fish and wildlife conservation and recreation projects across the nation. (A state-by-state breakdown is below.)

“People who enjoy hunting, fishing, boating and recreational shooting provide a strong foundation for conservation funding in this country,” Jewell said. “The taxes they pay on equipment and boating fuel support critical fish and wildlife management and conservation efforts, create access for recreational boating, and underpin education programs that help get kids outdoors.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation created a new infographic (on the right) that illustrates how the outdoor industry, sportsmen and women are the greatest contributors to wildlife conservation in America. In fact, that teamwork provided nearly $9 billion over the past 76 years. (Click here to view the infographic in full size.)

As for the $1.1 billion, the FWS apportions those funds to all 50 states and territories through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration programs. Revenues come from excise taxes generated by the sale of sporting firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing equipment and tackle, and electric outboard motors. Recreational boaters also contribute to the program through fuel taxes on motorboats and small engines.

“Anyone who enjoys our nation’s outdoor heritage should thank hunters, anglers, recreational boaters and target shooters,” said Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, these individuals have created a 75-year legacy for conservation of critical wildlife habitat and improved access to the outdoors for everyone.”

It turns out the total distributions this year are $238.4 million higher than last year because of the inclusion of funds that were not distributed last year because of the government sequester and an increase in excise tax receipts from sales of firearms and ammunition in the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund.

The FWS's Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program reimburses up to 75 percent of the cost of each eligible project, while state fish and wildlife agencies contribute a minimum of 25 percent, generally using hunting and fishing license revenues as the required non-federal match.

Funding is paid by manufacturers, producers and importers and is distributed by the Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program to each state and territory.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs generated a total of more than $15 billion since their inception – in 1937 in the case of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program and 1950 for the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Program – to conserve fish and wildlife resources. The recipient fish and wildlife agencies have matched these program funds with more than $5 billion. This funding is critical to sustaining healthy fish and wildlife populations and providing opportunities for all to connect with nature.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Final Apportionment of Wildlife Restoration Funds and Sport Fish Restoration Funds for Fiscal Year 2014

ALABAMA $24,306,075

ALASKA $48,798,100

AMERICAN SAMOA $2,353,763

ARIZONA $25,626,338

ARKANSAS $20,182,820

CALIFORNIA $41,588,102

COLORADO $26,957,671

CONNECTICUT $8,715,486

DELAWARE $7,752,281

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA $1,085,800

FLORIDA $24,404,776

GEORGIA $23,306,448

GUAM $2,353,763

HAWAII $7,773,961

IDAHO $20,286,724

ILLINOIS $22,676,138

INDIANA $17,301,752

IOWA $15,633,542

KANSAS $18,887,612

KENTUCKY $18,139,584

LOUISIANA $21,261,136

MAINE $11,420,465

MARYLAND $10,458,232

MASSACHUSETTS $10,516,201

MICHIGAN $35,244,512

MINNESOTA $35,296,856

MISSISSIPPI $14,439,942

MISSOURI $27,827,946

MONTANA $27,779,751

N. MARIANA ISLANDS $2,353,763

NEBRASKA $16,565,406

NEVADA $18,210,335

NEW HAMPSHIRE $7,752,281

NEW JERSEY $10,516,201

NEW MEXICO $20,698,851

NEW YORK $28,467,902

NORTH CAROLINA $29,553,173

NORTH DAKOTA $14,897,981

OHIO $22,464,377

OKLAHOMA $23,920,300

OREGON $24,444,659

PENNSYLVANIA $35,731,360

PUERTO RICO $6,600,639

RHODE ISLAND $7,752,281

SOUTH CAROLINA $14,857,369

SOUTH DAKOTA $17,835,269

TENNESSEE $26,002,731

TEXAS $51,562,020

UTAH $19,693,655
VERMONT $7,752,281
VIRGIN ISLANDS $2,353,763
VIRGINIA $19,046,390
WASHINGTON $21,240,210
WEST VIRGINIA $11,315,854
WISCONSIN $34,208,337
WYOMING $18,540,900

↧

Leaders of Conservation: RMEF President/CEO David Allen

March 31, 2014, 2:36 pm

≫ Next: Leon Boyd: Blazing a Trail for Elk in Virginia

≪ Previous: Hunting Is Conservation: How Wildlife is Thriving Because of Guns & Hunting

Below is a reprint of an article posted on OutdoorHub on March 25, 2014.

This interview with Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation President David Allen is the first in OutdoorHub’s Leaders of Conservation series, in which we sit down with leaders of the North American conservation movement to learn more about the stories behind their organizations.

David Allen

Nearly 30 years ago, four hunters in northwest Montana met and pondered a question: why wasn’t there an organization dedicated to protecting the elk, one of North America’s grandest animals? The four men—a pastor, a realtor, a logger, and a drive-in owner—decided to take it upon themselves to form such an organization: the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF). Now the RMEF stands as one of the largest and most respected conservation groups on the continent. Current RMEF President and CEO David Allen is the heir to a long legacy of protecting North America’s elk and elk habitat. He told me in an interview that in many ways, the organization has both vastly changed and stayed the same since its founding.

Earlier this year, the organization surpassed 200,000 members and 500 chapters—a far cry from its original brotherhood of 2,500 hunters back in 1984. Some things, however, never change. Since the organization began raising money for their first habitat project in 1985 (to fund a prescribed burn in Kootenai National Forest), the RMEF has been working diligently to preserve elk.

“What we’re doing today at RMEF is leaving something behind and giving something back,” David said at the outset of our conversation. ”The RMEF has four main priorities. One is permanent land protection. The second is habitat enhancement and improvement. The third is hunting heritage and access to public land. The fourth is elk reintroduction programs.”

David grew up in a hunting family from the Black Hills of South Dakota. He said that the harvesting of an animal and preserving that right for future generations is part of the culture he was raised in. When not hunting elk in the rut, David can be found chasing after mule deer or turkeys in the spring. He insisted that he has a passion for elk not just because of what’s expected of him as the head of the RMEF, but because it gives him the greatest adrenaline rush he’s ever felt. Working to preserve the species for the future furnishes a similar feeling.

Although a lifelong hunter and conservationist, David said his journey to the helm of the RMEF happened in a roundabout way. He initially studied journalism at the University of Wyoming and embarked upon a marketing career with NASCAR and the Pro Bull Riders Tour. How David ended up working with the RMEF can be chalked up to serendipity.

“Richard Childress, who was a NASCAR team owner and one of my clients for about 25 years, is a major donor to the RMEF,” David explained. “One time he volunteered me to help the foundation with some marketing projects and that ended up with me on the Board of Directors, which led to my current position.”

Leading a major conservation group was a whole new ballgame for David and not without its own challenges, but he said that his training as a journalist made him stick to the facts.

“As CEO I wear a lot of hats,” David shared. “I guess I see my first and foremost responsibility is to our staff in terms of making sure that they have all the resources and support that they need to do their job properly. Then I get out of their way and let them do their jobs.”

David took over the RMEF in 2007, when the organization was struggling financially and losing members. His first goal was to stabilize the group’s finances and bring the RMEF back in line with its founders’ vision.

“This is our 30th year, starting in May,” David said. “The RMEF was founded by four elk hunters from Montana who had a vision of forming an advocacy group for big game and primarily elk. Somewhere along the lines, the organization’s senior management evolved and changed [to the point that] they got away from the hunter conservation model and got a little too far off into an environmental focus. That hurt the organization for a number of years and frankly caused a drop in membership and loss in revenue. Since then, we have purposely focused on bringing the organization back to the hunter-based conservation model. Our membership today is the largest it’s ever been, at 205,000. We have more resources and support than ever before, and I think that the organization is healthier than it’s ever been.”

David stated that he has a tremendous amount of respect for the RMEF’s founders—Bob Munson, Bill Munson, Dan Bull, and Charlie Decker—and directs the organization in line with their wishes. He knows two of the founders (Charlie and Bob) well, being that they are Honorary Directors of the RMEF.

“I make it a point to stay in close contact with them. I have a huge amount of respect for the blood, sweat, and tears that they put into the organization and I try to honor that.”

David said he already achieved one of his major goals with the RMEF, which was to turn the organization’s financial situation around and get the RMEF back on the front line of elk restoration. But his job isn’t done yet.

“I hope to lay down a foundation so that the organization never wanders back to that time,” he continued. “My other major goal is to continue to be more and more of a voice for the future of hunting as it is and as it relates to conservation. I want to connect to the younger demographic of hunters, young adults, and have them buy into the belief that hunting is conservation.”

You can watch a video from RMEF on why “Hunting is Conservation.”

Perhaps the most telling of David’s successes at the RMEF is that this year, Charity Navigator awarded the organization its sixth consecutive four-star rating. The four-star rating is the highest available from the Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities based on their efficiency, transparency, and ethics. For every dollar sent into the RMEF, 90 cents go directly to its programs. For David and the RMEF’s staff, it makes all their hard work worthwhile.

“We’re very proud of it,” David said. “What makes me feel the best is that it is a major reflection of the work that our staff does. They show up and they do their job for the right reasons, and they’re focused. When we are recognized by organizations such as Charity Navigator, it makes me feel proud for our staff’s sake, and the work that they do.”

Although David has fond memories of NASCAR, he said that his work in conservation is entirely more satisfying.

“What we’re doing today at RMEF is leaving something behind and giving something back,” he repeated. “When you’re in a sport like NASCAR, everything is focused on the moment. It gets down to, ‘what have you done for me today?’ In the world of wildlife conservation, the question is ‘what have you done for the future?’”

Daniel Xu

OutdoorHub

↧

Leon Boyd: Blazing a Trail for Elk in Virginia

March 31, 2014, 6:33 pm

≫ Next: Michigan Governor Recognizes Outstanding RMEF Volunteers

≪ Previous: Leaders of Conservation: RMEF President/CEO David Allen

Leon Boyd

Leon Boyd, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Virginia district chair and chair of the Southwest Virginia Coalfields Chapter, says one of the things he enjoys most about elk reintroduction is sharing it with others, like when he takes school groups out to view the elk. He loves being able to pass on a fascination with elk to others.

"It's priceless for me," Boyd says.

Boyd’s involvement with RMEF and elk restoration began in 2010, when Buchanan County officials approached him to represent southwest Virginia at a Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries meeting to discuss potentially restoring elk to the state. After seeing his enthusiasm about elk at the meeting, RMEF representatives asked Boyd and others if they would consider creating a new chapter.

From there, Boyd and his committee members searched for locations in southwest Virginia that would be suitable for elk restorations. They also worked to improve habitat in some areas, many of which were reclaimed mine sites. They cleared brush, fertilized, and planted native grasses. They also talked and worked with landowners. When the state was ready to start seriously looking for an elk restoration area, Boyd and his fellow volunteers had several ideas for good places ready to put on the table.

“The state was overjoyed,” says Kathy Funk, RMEF’s Virginia state chair.

Boyd remained active in every aspect of the restoration, from selecting release sites to actually putting elk on the ground in 2012 and 2013. The vice president of communications at Noah Horn Well Drilling, Boyd owns his own side business that services and maintains gas wells. His connections to local gas and mining companies helped him develop partnerships for the elk restoration project, and many of those companies became RMEF Habitat Partners, or donated time, money and equipment.

“Leon doesn’t see problems,” Funk says. “He sees challenges, opportunities.”

Last summer,Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries honored Boyd for his outstanding contribution to the restoration of elk in the state. And in January, former Gov. Bob McDonnell appointed him to the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries, a position Funk calls one of the most sought after in the state.

Boyd is humble, and quick to brush aside his accomplishments, seeming surprised that a self-proclaimed country boy would be appointed to the board.

“I’m a pretty simple guy,” Boyd says.

He grew up and still resides in Grundy, located in Buchanan County, where elk were restored. He married his wife, Nita, at 17 and has four sons. Boyd’s work with elk is a family affair. His wife and oldest son are both RMEF committee members, and his other sons help him with habitat work.

“Growing up my dad spent a lot of time with me in the outdoors. I have four sons. I just enjoy being outdoors with them,” Boyd says. “It gives us a lot of time to get out and enjoy each other.”

He jokes that he hasn’t been elk hunting since 2010, because he’s too busy being involved with elk in an entirely new way.

“I’ve donated most of my free time to this project,” Boyd says, laughing. “I have more fun with this project than I ever did hunting.”

It’s that kind of dedication, determination and joy that has helped Boyd play such a pivotal role in restoring elk to the Old Dominion State.

By Kasey Rahn, Bugle Intern

↧

Michigan Governor Recognizes Outstanding RMEF Volunteers

April 2, 2014, 9:48 am

≫ Next: Conservation at Work in Washington State

≪ Previous: Leon Boyd: Blazing a Trail for Elk in Virginia

Dan Johnson, RMEF Michigan state chair;

Judith Robinson, aide to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder;

Bruce Mach, Southeast Michigan Chapter;

Tim Johnson, Saginaw Valley Chapter;

Larry Bialobrezeski, Saginaw Valley

and Thunder Bay chapters; and

Doug Doherty, RMEF Michigan regional director.

(left to right)

On Saturday, January 11, the Michigan State Leadership Team held its meeting at the Michigan Department of Natural Resource’s Ralph A. MacMullen Center on the north shore of pristine Higgins Lake. Our focus was to bring all 14 Lower Michigan chapters together to discuss banquets, provide updates on RMEF nationally and recognize outstanding volunteers.

This year, state chair Dan Johnson wanted to do a little something extra by recognizing volunteers who raised the bar in 2013. It was not an easy task, but we chose three people to receive a special award for their time and effort in volunteering for events and projects outside of RMEF big game banquets: Bruce Mach, Southeast Michigan Chapter; Tim Johnson, Saginaw Valley Chapter; and Larry Bialobrezeski, Saginaw Valley and Thunder Bay chapters.

Ironically, right after we decided who would receive the awards, an email from Gov. Rick Snyder’s office showed up in my inbox stating the governor had moved forward with a bill to recognize Michigan’s outstanding conservation volunteers. Judy Robinson, aide to Gov. Snyder, called shortly after to inquire about RMEF and our volunteers. The timing couldn’t have been better.

We collaborated to have Robinson present a special certificate to Mach, Johnson and Bialobrezeski at the State Leadership Team meeting, along with their awards from RMEF. All three were surprised and honored to have received recognition from both the governor’s office and the State Leadership Team.

We also presented an award for best performing chapter with best net to gross. The West Michigan Chapter out of Grand Rapids received the honor. All in all, it was a proud day for Michigan’s RMEF volunteers.

Doug Doherty

Michigan Regional Director

↧

Conservation at Work in Washington State

April 2, 2014, 10:33 am

≫ Next: Partnership Pays Off for Wyoming Youth

≪ Previous: Michigan Governor Recognizes Outstanding RMEF Volunteers

The 640-acre Pine Canyon property is a recent addition to a long list of critical elk country the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has helped conserve in Washington.

Another hunting season had gone by, and again I was not able to enjoy the pursuit of the great wapiti and all the sights and sounds that define elk country. Initially, I was a bit depressed, then angry, then frustrated.

Then I thought of my life in the forests of Washington. I am a hunter and conservationist, born and raised in this state, and have walked many of the lands that have been touched by the RMEF. I have volunteered with the organization for more than 20 years, and have made many friends across this great nation because of it. I am blessed.

Pine Canyon, Washington.

Over the years, our friends in the timber industry have given the citizens and guardians of our state opportunities of a lifetime. Through a series of acquisitions and land exchanges, epic land protection efforts have set aside almost 117,000 acres of wildlife habitat. Through the efforts of RMEF volunteers and staff, and many partners, some of the most valuable habitat in Washington State can now be managed by landscape and not by parcel—meaning safer migration routes for elk, better winter ranges for deer, cleaner water for fish—the list goes on. I don't believe I will see the opportunities for land protection like that again on the East Slope of the Cascades. Land, forest and wildlife managers have suggested this was the best opportunity for public lands to continue as productive wildlife habitat in the long term. As an RMEF volunteer, I can't agree more.

Not only have we protected these lands for wildlife, but for us as well. We can be sure that each of us, our children and, most importantly, those yet unborn, will have the opportunity to hear, see and feel the wild forest awaken. People need places where they can go to hear a chattering squirrel and the footfalls and wing beats of creatures big and small. In this hectic world of ever-changing technology, people need wild places to spend time contemplating whatever they want to contemplate. They need places to hunt, fish, hike and ride horses. Protected wild places create opportunities for all of our citizens.

RMEF is filled with visionaries. I’m so proud to be among the many staff, volunteers and members who give of their time, talent and treasure to help provide my descendants the same opportunities that I have had.

Did I miss hunting season last year? A little bit. But then, thanks to the RMEF, there will always be this year!

Frank McMahon

RMEF Mt. Rainier Chapter

↧

Partnership Pays Off for Wyoming Youth

April 2, 2014, 10:45 am

≫ Next: My Obligation: Be the Best Hunter I Can Be

≪ Previous: Conservation at Work in Washington State

Ryan Mauck (left) and Cole Benton

Thirty years ago, you’d have been hard pressed to find an elk in north-central Wyoming and just over the border in south-central Montana. Today, hundreds of elk now roam this area. Hunters love the abundance of elk, but some private landowners aren’t such huge fans after dealing with wandering, hungry elk that tend to mow down fences and raid haystacks.

As the elk herd grew, so did opportunities to hunt cow elk. After talking to a few local landowners, we decided that guided cow hunts had to become one of our priorities. One way to do that was to donate hunts to kids. We spread the word, and it wasn’t long until different wildlife organizations in Wyoming—along with a Montana game warden from just over the state line—started sending young hunters our way. Jeff Shelley, the owner of Big Horn Meat in Buffalo, processes the meat for the youths free of charge. This fall will be our eighth year working with our many partners to help give more than 60 kids the chance to take their first elk.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Buffalo Chapter has been involved in our program for several years. They reach out to their local community (schools, companies, youth organizations, etc.) asking them to recommend in writing a youth 12 to 17 years old who would be a great candidate for an elk hunt, but doesn’t have the means to do it on their own. The chapter reads through the submissions and selects one boy and one girl for a hunt. Then, the chapter signs them up as RMEF members, enlists them in a hunter safety course, purchases their hunting licenses, and invites them and one parent or guardian to be special guests at their big game banquet. The chapter’s goal is to introduce these youths not only to hunting, but to the importance of ethics and conservation as well.

We follow those same ideals while guiding them on hunts. Our hunts typically involve very long stalks on elk. Not only do the kids get an opportunity to experience what hunting is all about, but their adult guest also gets the chance to learn about and enjoy the thrill of the hunt and the beauty and solitude of the outdoors. Are all of these long stalks successful? Not hardly, but we’re teaching these kids that hunting is about more than the kill.

The excitement felt by these kids as we crawl up on a herd of elk is unbelievable. The stories we could tell and the experiences we have had would fill a book. One young boy, as a herd of elk stood up in front of him, laid his gun down on the ground and exclaimed, “Look at all those elk!” Needless to say, they all got away. Another time we got a 13-year-old girl close to several elk that were about to move out of range. I asked her if she thought she could still make the shot. “I can,” she said, “but I don’t think this gun can!” I assured her it could, and one shot and she had her elk!

We never ask questions about the background of any of the youths that hunt with us. Many of these kids come from troubled families or broken homes. Our goal is to offer a young person who may never have had an opportunity to hunt the chance to do something he or she will remember for the rest of their lives.

So far about 25 percent of the young hunters we’ve taken into the field have been girls, which is something we’ve really focused on in the program. Another very important part of the hunts is our Border collie Cody. This fall will be his 12th season accompanying us on hunts. He is never in the way, makes no mistakes, and keeps the kids entertained when hunting is slow. We run into kids years later who always ask, “How’s Cody doing?”

All of our youth hunts would not have been possible without the cooperation of two very generous ranchers: the Scott family, owner of the Padlock Ranch Co. in Wyoming, and Jim Guercio, owner of the OW Ranch in Montana. Thanks to these folks and many partners, the tradition of introducing youth to hunting in Wyoming and Montana will continue for many years to come.

Cole and Elaine Benton

Grizzly Outfitters, LLC

↧

My Obligation: Be the Best Hunter I Can Be

April 2, 2014, 3:31 pm

≫ Next: Meeting the Visionaries Face-to-Face

≪ Previous: Partnership Pays Off for Wyoming Youth

Have you ever entered a contest or drawing and wondered what happened to whoever was lucky enough to win? Below is such a true tale. We'll tag along with new RMEF Life Member Tim Lovern--from the day he received the lucky email in his in-box to his planned elk hunt this fall.

Tim Lovern on the practice range

The gear started arriving, and for a while, every day was like Christmas! I was floating on clouds. Life was beautiful! I was looking forward to each day and the package that would arrive. The delivery man was my personal Santa Claus. Then something interesting happened. Reality set in. I had been given something very special, something that carried a responsibility I had not foreseen.

Start of a Journey

It started with a small thing. It was an email, one of dozens I had gotten that day. Reading the subject line: “You won the Trembling Giant Sweepstakes." Great – more junk mail. Then I decided to open the message and see what the deal was. Evidently I had won some contest. It looked legitimate but the spammers are getting pretty clever. It did have a phone number and a link to the contest web page. But still I wasn’t sure.

Eventually, I gave in and called the number and sure enough, I had won something I hadn’t thought possible. I really was the grand prize winner of the Trembling Giant Sweepstakes. I never believed that real people actually won these contests. It was always someone in another state, some anonymous name. But this time it wasn’t a stranger. It was me!

I was about to receive a ton of fantastic gear: a pair of East Ridge boots from Danner, Cascade binoculars, an RX-FullDraw archery specific rangefinder from Leupold, a Tundra 65 cooler from Yeti, a set of hunting clothing from Sitka Gear, a caper and skinner set of knives from Lone Wolf Knives, a Motive 6 Compound Bow from Bear Archery, a life membership from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and a fully guided elk hunt from Winterhawk Outfitters.

Then something interesting happened. Reality set in. I had been given something very special, something that carried a responsibility I had not foreseen. I was going on a guided hunt. An item on my bucket list had been given to me. This was serious stuff: I have an obligation to be the best I possibly can be on this hunt. I owed it to all the hunters who dreamed of wining but didn’t. I owed it to the countless people that put this contest together. I owed it to the outfitters to show up ready to hunt. I especially owed it to the elk I hope to tag. This is a big deal. I need to be at my best.

This is easy to lose sight of. Hunting is about many things and carries many responsibilities. Respect is one of them. Respect for nature. Respect for the quarry. Respect for others. Respect for self. These would be easy to forget in light of being given such a fantastic prize package. The seriousness of my situation actually weighed heavily on me.

Archery hunting was something I did with my son. Boys grow to become men and my son was no exception to this rule. High school gave way to college, and college gave way to a career on the East Coast many hundreds of miles from here, leaving me without my archery hunting partner. For five years, my bow sat unused.

Now I found myself behind the curve. I had to get my bow shooting skills back up to snuff, and also get my 54-year-old self into some kind of shape for an elk hunt high in the Colorado wilderness. This is daunting stuff indeed.

First Steps

Faced with all this new-found responsibility, I devised a plan. First, I needed to get my archery skills to an acceptable level and, at the same time, learn how to shoot my brand new Motive 6 Bow. Fortunately for me, the city had opened a public archery range less than two miles from my house.

My plan was really pretty simple: go to the range at least twice a week, shoot lots of arrows at varying distances and declare victory. I got my bow sighted in at 20 yards and then at 30. The React Bow Sight is designed to automatically adjust all the pins out to 60 yards based on those two distances. Pretty slick bit of technology.

So, following my plan, I shot a lot. I shot often. But for some reason I couldn’t make it work. Tight groups failed to materialize. In fact, I found that my shooting appeared to be worsening. My frustration grew. My muscles ached. This hunt is going to be a disaster! What was I doing wrong? How can I fix this?

I researched online everything I could find on sighting in a bow and proper technique. Nothing seemed even remotely helpful. In one article, which I wish I had kept so I could properly credit the author, I stumbled across a single paragraph that suggested not shooting too many arrows at a time, to rest between strings of shots. This sounded exactly like what I needed! I would change my plan accordingly.

With my new plan in mind, I deliberately took a week off from shooting my bow to allow me to start fresh. By the second trip to the range, I saw dramatic improvement. By limiting the number of arrows I shot in a group, I rested more often while waiting for the line to clear so I could go retrieve my arrows. I settled on strings of four arrows. Concentrating on the shorter ranges has allowed me to focus on technique: consistent anchor point, consistent sight alignment, and follow-through on release. I still drop my bow more than I should, but I’m aware of when I do it and am working on it.

I started at the 20 yard line, working basics. It took me a while, but I quickly saw dramatic improvement. Groups were tightening and more than one arrow was lost from being hit by a following shot. I’m not ready for any tournaments but I now have a base to build upon. More importantly, I think, the confidence from this led to reinforcement of positive results.

The 30 yard line brought a larger group, as now the flaws and inconsistencies are magnified by the distance. It didn’t take me too long to get the 30 yard shots under control, again by taking my time and not forcing things.

Then the 40 yard line followed. After patiently working on my breathing, release and follow-through, I’m getting nice groups and am hitting my own arrows. I had one really nice Robin Hood where the second shot is nicely buried inside the shaft of the first one.

Currently, I’m focused on getting my 50 yard shots to consistently group in a 4-inch circle. That’s my goal. I’m improving but not there yet. From what I’ve read, the majority of shots on elk are at a range less than this but I want to be at least reasonable out to 50 yards. If I can make a shot at 50 yards, I can certainly make a shot at the shorter ranges.

For now, I still have a ways to go at the 50 yard line. I will get this dialed in to my personal limits. Then it will be on to the 60 yard line. The 60 yard line will do two things for me – give me the confidence at all the lower ranges and allow me to be ready for a once in a lifetime shot should everything come together perfectly.

I cannot stress the overall importance of not overdoing the shooting until you have built up to it. I find practice to be peaceful and relaxing. It was a small thing, something almost too simple to work, that turned it all around for me. I shoot small strings of arrows, wait between strings, and take my time. I work on different things at different times. Sometimes I work on holding the bow at full draw for longer periods. Sometimes it is drawing, sighting and releasing quickly. Whatever I’m working on, I keep it low key enough that I can analyze my performance, identify flaws and follow up without wearing myself out.

Once I have the archery squared away, I will focus on conditioning and getting ready for the high altitude conditions of the hunt. Then it will be back to archery from unusual positions, such as kneeling. And finally, the focus will be on combining the conditioning with shooting from a variety of positions. To this end, I have started walking to the range. It’s about a 4-mile hike from my house each way. People do give me funny looks with my bow attached to my Sitka Flash 20 Backpack, but what better way to get used to carrying my gear than to actually do it?

This will certainly be critical to any hopes for success. All the archery skills in the world won’t do me any good if I can’t hunt. This is just another challenge to hit head on.

I’d sure like to be able to post pictures from a very successful September hunt!

About the Author: Tim Lovern has lived in Arizona since 1982, moving there from the Chicago suburbs. He has hunted in Arizona extensively, from waterfowl to elk and everything in between. He is currently employed in the I.T. field as an enterprise architect for a large company based in California.

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Meeting the Visionaries Face-to-Face

April 7, 2014, 2:21 pm

≫ Next: The True Definition of Elk Hunting

≪ Previous: My Obligation: Be the Best Hunter I Can Be

I’ve had Charlie Decker and Bob Munson’s picture (The Visionaries by Larry Zabel) hanging on the wall of my den for the last six years. I feel like I know them, though until this weekend, we had never met.

Charlie is leaning with a knife over a fallen bull elk and Bob has his eye on another herd far across one of those beautiful high-mountain Montana valleys that you can only access by horseback. There is a handsome mule ground-tied and standing patiently in the background. She steals the show from the hunters and the elk in a manner that only those of us who love a good saddle mule can truly appreciate.

I suppose I enjoy the print most because of that mule. Or perhaps it is the setting and the mood of camaraderie shown on the faces of the hunters that all remind me of why I hunt. Then again there is the hypnotic beauty of northern Montana where my daughter Maggie was born. She and I shared our first hunts together there near Kalispell as she quietly stared out in awe from her baby carrier through long walks in those forests.

I’ve donated a hunt to the Denver Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for seven years now and when I heard that Charlie and Bob would be attending the banquet I decided to take my print. They along with Dan Bull and Bill Munson founded the RMEF. It is amazing what has been accomplished over the last thirty years and I thought I might have a chance to have these two of the original founders take a minute to sign that work of art that they inspired.

Deadwood’s own David Allen is president of the RMEF and also was in attendance. He shared a few stories about the struggles associated with founding an organization entirely on the backs and bank accounts of four individuals. They pooled their savings and mortgaged their houses and businesses for that first mailing of 43,000 brochures. It garnered them only 233 initial members. When the first copy of the foundation’s flag ship magazine, Bugle, came out, the quality was so low that they doubted that anyone would ever by it. At Saturday’s banquet, I saw a single signed copy of that initial magazine sell for over $300.00.

Most inspiring is the scope of the RMEF’s success. They have enhanced or protected from development over a square mile of habitat for wildlife for every single day of the last thirty years. Thousands of volunteers have been inspired by the idea that we all might be able to leave something better for our children and the future. South Dakota alone has garnered $35.2 million in accumulated benefits in more than 215 individual projects to save and enhance our environment here at home.

This year’s Northern Hills Chapter banquet was the first I’ve missed in over twenty years, but three of my children were there and volunteered in my absence. My father was a volunteer. So many grandfathers have been inspired by the RMEF’s vision that it is now common for the grandchildren of members to receive a life membership as one of their first birthday gifts. The association’s commitment has over 90% of monies raised being used specifically for missions that enhance or protect wild places.

As Charlie and Bob took time to sign the back of my painting, I was struck by their appreciation for all of the efforts of the more than 700 people who attended the auction and dinner in Denver. Because of the success of their dream, hunting, hunters, and the environment have a brighter future.

Bob Speirs is a columnist and proud RMEF member-outfitter from Sprearfish, South Dakota

Bob Munson (left) with Bob Speirs

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The True Definition of Elk Hunting

April 17, 2014, 1:09 pm

≫ Next: When Anti-Hunters Attack

≪ Previous: Meeting the Visionaries Face-to-Face

"Elk hunting runs deep. Not that it's always fun, because it isn't. It's a contrast in superlatives, ranging from agony to euphoria, and it will stretch your sense and your senses to the limit. It raises you higher, drops you lower, deep into your body, mind, emotions and soul. You may like elk hunting, you may not, but you definitely won't forget it."

-Dwight Schuh, Game Country, 1989

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When Anti-Hunters Attack

April 23, 2014, 3:16 pm

≫ Next: RMEF Volunteer Stewart is a Hero in our Midst

≪ Previous: The True Definition of Elk Hunting

We’ve all been there. Someone finds out that you’re a hunter and you immediately find yourself on the receiving end of a raised eyebrow, a sarcastic comment, a cutting question or, even worse, name-calling and vicious verbal or written attacks. Despite efforts to offer background information and education, some of the attacks are getting bolder, more frequent, and much more abusive—especially when it comes to women.

Waller (left) and Montana
houndsman Ben Wohlers
at the site of an elk kill

Case in point is what happened to Jana Waller, a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and popular host of the TV show Skull Bound. Waller went on a mountain lion hunt in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley in February of 2014. Shortly after daybreak, her hunting party saw a lion run down a ridge. It turns out the big tom was just finishing off an elk kill. They released the hounds which eventually treed the lion on a very steep ridge. Upon arrival, she shot it with her bow at ten yards.

After packing out the lion, Waller posted a few photos on her Facebook and Twitter pages. And that’s when it started—an avalanche of hate.

“The comments come in all forms of insults and name-calling from attacking my skull business and personal attire to threats on my life and my family's lives,” said Waller.

Waller deals with vile and harassing comments on social media by deleting and banning those who make them. Other people are much more aggressive. One man posted his intention leave his home, travel to Montana and kill her. Waller took action to deal with the physical threat. She grabbed a screen shot of her accuser, contacted Facebook and then called law enforcement.

“I had to get an attorney and the district attorney involved last year when a man from Oklahoma was continuing to harass and threaten me online. With the cooperation of the D.A., we sent this particular man a 'cease and desist' letter to end the harassment,” said Waller. “Many people don't understand that it's not very hard to track down a person hiding behind a computer. The FBI and other state agencies have the power to climb through cyberspace and get a lot of information about cyber bullies. In many cases, cyber harassment is often a federal offense and can be prosecuted if one wanted to go to that level. There are also many hunter harassment laws protecting us that can be used if the 'delete and ban' button doesn't stop the behavior.”

Argys (left) and her husband

Charisa Argys, a Colorado native, watched her horror show play out on a worldwide stage. She, too, shot a mountain lion but an animal rights activist from Germany somehow got a hold of the photo. It eventually spread to dozens of Facebook pages and Internet sites belonging to international anti-hunting organizations. The floodgates opened with specific threats targeting her physical appearance, her life and her family. These were among the comments:

“Let’s hunt her!”

“This ugly woman is an embarrassment and shame to all women around the world.”

“I hope she knows how much she’s hated. Male or female, I hope they all suffer horrible hunting accidents.”

“I have never been called so many horrible, hateful names in my life.” Argys told The Sportsmen’s Daily. “They even went as far as to post my full name, address and directions to my house.”

“This has to stop! United we stand divided we fall! We have to get the word out we are under attack!” Argys recently wrote to RMEF. “The meat from this animal fed my family. I was lucky and harvested a large tom.”

See a Denver TV report about Charisa's experience here.

“It's been my experience that predator hunting is the most misunderstood of all hunting,” said Waller. “I'm not saying the anti-hunting community condones any type of hunting but the rude, nasty, ignorant comments come out in full force when sharing predator pictures such as lions, bears, wolves and coyotes.”

That’s where the need for education comes into play. It’s obvious that there’s no educating or convincing extreme anti-hunters about why people hunt, the link between hunting and wildlife management or the connection between hunting and conservation. There needs to be at least a hint of desire to learn and understand for that to happen. There is, however, a vast segment of the population that is largely ignorant of the facts because they simply don’t know any better or they only act on or react to second-hand information.

A recent study found that 79 percent of Americans strongly or moderately approve of hunting, marking the highest level of acceptance since research began in 1995, while only 12 percent strongly or moderately disapprove of hunting. Translation: most people think that hunting is okay. But if hunters want the masses to understand why they do what they do, it is up to hunters to provide that education.

Part of that education may include what some refer to as The Great Debate: Trophy Hunting Versus Meat Hunting. At least that’s the title of a recent article written by Argys. She spells out what happened to her, why she hunts and how she honors the animals she kills. She also seeks to reach a middle ground with those that may not understand how or why hunters hunt.

“Controlling predator populations is vitally important, and most hunters understand that importance,” wrote Argys. “I have seen many online comments saying we should just let nature take care of itself. Starvation and disease are the direct result of ‘letting nature take care of itself.’ This is a very slow and painful death for any animal; I would much rather see animals managed and thriving.”

Waller cites a specific study to highlight her reasons why she hunts lions.

“We have an overpopulation of lions in the Bitterroot and thanks to a new DNA type of testing they're doing on cats, Montana's Fish, Wildlife & Parks has just released their findings that the previous cat density numbers were estimated way lower than they now believe,” said Waller. “Not only did the three year elk study (funded by RMEF) show that our cat numbers are causing a significant impact on the elk populations but this new DNA testing is concurring that there are simply too many mountain lions in this area of Montana.”

"No one would argue that cats are not beautiful, majestic creatures but they simply need to be managed like every other predator population,” Waller continued. “Another interesting fact many people don't know is that mountain lion meat is wonderful. It has the consistency of a pork chop and is simply wonderful on the grill.”

A recent forum held at the Professional Outdoor Media Association conference in Tennessee offered some key considerations for members of the outdoor media, and hunters alike, in helping non-hunting folks create a connection with hunting. People’s attitudes change as they gain a direct experience with anything else—in this case it’s hunting. Key factors include:

Knowing a hunter
Eating wild meat
Locavore movement
Emphasizing social networks and mentoring
Separating poaching from legal or regulated hunting
79% of Americans approve of hunting
97% of hunters eat the meat
Hunting has a definite and measureable role with conservation
Species do not become endangered or extinct from legal, regulated hunting

“Hunters need to stand tall and proud for protecting our herds, habitats, flocks and hunting heritage,” said Waller. “I always recommend people educate themselves on the fact that Hunting IS Conservation and we hunters are the ones giving back every year to our wildlife. Through groups like the RMEF and other conservation-based organizations, through our license and tag purchases, through the Pittman Robertson Act and so on... there are more animals and habitat because of hunters and we need to celebrate that fact.”

Steven Rinella (see video above) from the TV show MeatEater shows that patience and knowledge are the best way to offer education to those who misunderstand hunting.

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