Thanks to a recent allocation from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partners, the cumulative amount of funding for 2021-2024 forest restoration work exceeds $10 million across the West.

As of August 1, approximately 28,000 wildfires scorched more than 4.2 million acres since the beginning of 2024, with nearly 100 large fires actively burning. RMEF is a long-standing proponent of active forest management for the benefit of wildlife and riparian habitat, wildfire mitigation and overall forest health.

“Wildfires not only threaten human lives and property, but they have devastating consequences for our forests and the elk, mule deer, moose, turkey, upland birds and a myriad of other fish and wildlife species that live there,” said RMEF President/CEO Kyle Weaver. “We thank our partners, members, volunteers and others for this funding that helps restore and enhance wildlife habitat on landscapes impacted by wildfires.”

The 2024 treatments (see list below) span work in Arizona, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. RMEF allotted $381,371 to help leverage more funding from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other participating organizations.

Since 2021, RMEF and its partners set aside $10,697,215 for 50 wildfire rehabilitation efforts in the previously mentioned six western states as well as Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico and Washington. RMEF volunteers assisted in several of the projects.

2024 projects as of August 1, 2024: Read more

New method will replace the camera-based estimates done since 2019

Idaho Fish and Game researchers have developed a new genetics-based method of estimating the state’s wolf population. The method uses genetic and age information taken from every harvested wolf checked by Fish and Game. Researchers then use that genetic information to understand relatedness among the harvested wolves and a computer modeling process that uses the pattern of relatedness to estimate the total number of wolves that produced that pattern.

The estimated wolf population for summer of 2023, after the breeding season, was 1,150 wolves. That estimate is near the high-end of the annually fluctuating population because wolf litters are born in the spring, then mortality from hunting, trapping and other causes occurs throughout the fall and winter, which typically cuts the statewide population by nearly half before the next breeding cycle. Read more

The Cabela Family Foundation (CFF) and International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR) recently announced a new conservation initiative they’re embarking on together as part of their recently launched partnership. The organizations will combine efforts and funding for a research project on plains bison on an island off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska.

“The history of the American Bison and Teddy Roosevelt go hand in hand, as he was largely responsible for saving them from extinction,” said Dan Cabela, Executive Director of the Cabela Family Foundation. “Once I learned about the work being done here toward conservation and community projects, I knew IOTR would want to roll up their sleeves and help.”

“We are committed to working with the Cabela Family Foundation to tackle these strategic conservation initiatives across North America,” said Luke Hilgemann, Executive Director of the International Order of T. Roosevelt. “The buffalo is a crucial part of America’s heritage, and we are proud to be part of such an important effort – an effort that our organization’s namesake would wholeheartedly support.”

In 2017, the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor, Alaska, acquired plains bison, which were subsequently introduced on a large, remote, privately-owned island named Sitkalidak located off the coast of Kodiak. This wild, free-ranging herd coexists with brown bears and has been strictly managed for hunting as a food resource in the remote village community.

Local community leaders, biologists, and researchers recently made an effort to learn more about these bison as they look to expand the herd in years to come. The Cabela Family Foundation and IOTR have stepped in to fund this crucial research as part of a multi-year partnership the two organizations launched in March 2024. Read more

How hunting is key for responsible wildlife management

Many states throughout the continental U.S. are seeing a rise in black bear populations. Population growth pushes bears into human-dominated areas that are unsuitable for wildlife, precipitating a comparable increase in dangerous conflicts with humans, pets, and livestock.

Undoubtedly, this warrants a wholesale reevaluation of population management strategies. Bears play an essential and unique place in our ecosystem, but they must be managed at a level coincident with human populations.

Only feasible tool

Regulated hunting is the only feasible tool for this aspect of wildlife management. While most U.S. states have implemented regulated bear seasons, some have not and should strongly consider this as an option.

The state of Louisiana recently approved its first black bear hunting season in 40 years, a move supported by the SCI Foundation. Maria Davidson, SCIF’s Large Carnivore Program Manager,(pictured) has been instrumental in this decision, having previously worked for the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Department on black bear recovery. Read more