‘Leave it better than you found it’ is an old Boy Scouts of America mantra. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation volunteers take the same, but even more elevated approach.

“From planning and hosting fundraising banquets to participating in on-the-ground habitat enhancement projects and other events, our volunteers just go, go, go! We salute and thank them for their dedication to the mission, for their never-ending enthusiasm and for all the good work they do,” said Kirk Murphy, RMEF managing director of field operations.

Below are just a few of many volunteer projects that took place during the spring and summer of 2025.

Idaho

Volunteers from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, RMEF and the community of Osburn gathered near an abandoned overpass but soon-to-be wildlife crossing in North Idaho. They removed old t-posts, barbed wire and woven wire fencing to prepare the way for construction of two miles of new fencing and 10 one-way gates that will funnel wildlife away from I-90 traffic to the bridge and over the busy highway. The project is the vision of late RMEF member Carl Wilson and will be featured in an upcoming RMEF Films production.

Montana

About 70 volunteers of all ages from nine RMEF chapters gathered on a private ranch that is open to public access during hunting season in the western part of the state. They removed two miles of old fencing including barbed wire and aging t-posts. The result is an easier and safer way for elk, moose, mule and white-tailed deer, and other wildlife to easily cross the land.

New Mexico

A hardy group of six RMEF volunteers joined New Mexico Department of Game and Fish employees to remove 1.1 miles of barbed wire fencing and two miles of t-posts from the Marquez/La Bar Wildlife Management Area. The continuation of last year’s project improves movement for elk calves and other wildlife.

Oklahoma

RMEF helped generate funding support in 2023 and 2024 for the Oklahoma Youth Hunting Program (OYHP) and its mission to pass on the state’s hunting heritage and develop independence, self-reliance and self-confidence to participants ages 10 to 17. In 2024 alone, OYHP sent 66 youth hunters to eight different ranches for their first-ever deer hunts. Approximately 135 volunteers, RMEF reps among them, served as outfitters, guides, cooks, educators, photographers and butchers.

Oregon

More than 100 volunteers from a handful of organizations, including RMEF, gathered in the Ochoco National Forest for the annual “All Hands All Brands” event. Participants pulled invasive weeds, removed fencing, built structures that mimic beaver dams, removed encroaching conifers from aspen stands and installed new signage and reinforced barriers to guide responsible recreation. Organized under the banner of the Blue Mountains Elk Initiative, the work benefits everything from elk and mule deer to birds, fish, amphibians and pollinators.

Washington

Though attractive to the eye, Scotch broom overtakes natural grass and vegetation. RMEF volunteers spent two weekends in late spring within the Mount St. Helens Wildlife Area Mud Flow Unit cutting the invasive, unpalatable plant and dobbing its stumps with herbicide to prevent regrowth. One month later, volunteers from two RMEF chapters removed more than a mile of barbed wire and dilapidated electric boundary fence that posed a threat to elk, deer and raptors on the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge near Cheney.

Wisconsin

RMEF volunteers worked alongside state workers to remove young aspen, maple and other woody shrubs across four acres that were too large from a 2018 oak-planting effort. They used hand and power tools to reduce woody competition because poor conditions did not allow the implementation of prescribed fire. The project took place in a retired elk acclimation pen just half a mile from a 2024 RMEF workday that featured installation of a rubber liner for a wildlife pond.

(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)