Mount St. Helens casts a large shadow over the southwestern Washington landscape and its wildlife below. Its presence also formed many permanent geographical features.
For example, an ancient lava flow plugged up a stream valley creating Merrill Lake – a 283-acre body of water now home to waterfowl, raptors, songbirds, trout, salmon and steelhead.
It also serves as an important water source for elk, blacktail deer, mountain lions, black bears and other wildlife.
In 2015 and ‘16, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation completed a two-phase project with Merrill Lake LLC and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife that conserved and opened access to 1,453 acres of wildlife and riparian habitat.
The property features both early seral vegetation and old growth rainforests that supply winter range and year-round habitat for Roosevelt elk, including two miles of Merrill Lake shoreline and nearly three miles of the Kalama River.
To this day, the transaction continues to provide public access benefits as it greatly improves landscape-scale connectivity with nearby national forest and state land, enhancing hunting, fishing, hiking and other activities.
Over the years, RMEF worked with various partners in the immediate region to complete eight conservation and access projects that conserved and opened public access to more than 9,400 acres of Washington wildlife habitat.
Since 1984, RMEF has opened or improved public access to 1.6 million acres.
To view the sites and boundaries of RMEF land conservation and access projects, turn on the RMEF layer and use the code RMEF when you sign up for your onX subscription to receive a 20% discount.