Elk Foundation surpasses 9 million acres of conservation work

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation enters the new year having just eclipsed the nine-million-acre mark of conserved or enhanced habitat over its 40-year history, including some memorable and noteworthy 2024 accomplishments.

“Nine million acres equates to almost one square mile of habitat conserved every day by RMEF over our four-decade existence, and all for the benefit of elk, mule deer, moose, other wildlife species, hunting and conservation,” said RMEF President and CEO Kyle Weaver. “That is a remarkable achievement with immense credit going to our members, volunteers, partners and all of our other supporters.”

In 2024 alone, RMEF conserved or enhanced more than 203,000 acres of wildlife habitat, opened or improved public access to nearly 22,000 acres, advocated for mission priorities and supported wildlife management and research, while promoting hunting across the nation.

Notable 2024 Accomplishments

California – conserved/opened access to 3,384 acres of tule elk habitat;

Pennsylvania – completed two-phase project conserving/opening access to 2,380 acres; 

Colorado – supplied significant funding and outreach effort to defeat an anti-hunting, anti-wildlife management ballot initiative; 

Oregon – completed three-phase project conserving/opening access to 16,646 acres;

Utah – covered $1.3 million funding gap to conserve/open access to 2,600 acres; 

Wyoming – conserved/opened access to 6,600 acres;

Appalachian Mountains – collaborated with partners to allocate $2.4 million to benefit wildlife in Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee; 

Western U.S. – allocated funding with partners amounting to $10 million+ from 2021-2024 for wildfire forest rehabilitation work.