One of the hallmark characteristics of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is it does not just check a box, call a project complete, turn its back for good and move down the road. In RMEF’s eyes, conservation is everything. When it comes to land conservation, that means carrying out the planned management of a natural resource to both maintain and improve its wildlife values.
Here’s a perfect example. In late 2024, RMEF, Manulife Investment Timber and Agriculture, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) completed a two-phase project that conserved and opened public access to the 15,573-acre Minam River Acquisition. The landscape-scale conservation project was decades in the making and is being managed by ODFW, so it is in the public’s hands and stands a tremendous boon going forward for elk, mule deer, wild turkey, fish, other wildlife species, wildlife management, hunters, anglers, hikers and others who enjoy the outdoors.
Not even five months later, about 85 volunteers from different groups and organizations, including a couple dozen from RMEF, gathered on the project site for a two-day, hands-on habitat enhancement project.
On the first day, volunteers thinned several acres of precommercial timber for forest health and wildlife forage, planted a couple hundred bitterbrush and four-wing saltbush shrubs for forage, and removed encroaching conifers from an aspen stand. ODFW hosted a dinner that night to thank participants and share future landscape plans.
The following day, the work force shifted to the nearby Bear Creek Access Area, enrolled in an ODFW program keeping it open for hunting and recreation. Crews removed more than 3.5 miles of wire fencing, including posts and wire ties before hauling it away.
“Both days were excellent,” said Bill Richardson, RMEF senior conservation program manager – western. “This was a great event filled with camaraderie, fun and mission accomplishment. Volunteers came from as far away as Virginia to touch the Minam and we all made new RMEF family friends while we were working for wildlife!”
One month later, RMEF joined its partners for an official project celebration. Click here to read about it.
Looking ahead, RMEF is working with its partners on a third phase of the Minam project.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)