A nonprofit organization with a goal to connect people to the benefits and joys of the outdoors highlighted the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for its work to support and safeguard public federal lands.
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) released a report titled “America Needs More Public Lands, Not Less.” Within it, TPL praises RMEF for its longtime focus on conserving landscapes and working to open and improve public access to them. It also pointed out RMEF’s longtime opposition against the unrestricted transfer of federal lands to the states.
“We don’t think the states have the resources to manage public lands. And that’s important to us,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer.
Since its establishment in 1984, RMEF worked alongside partners to conserve or enhance more than 9.1 million acres of habitat while opening or improving public access to 1.6 million acres.
As part of that effort, RMEF helped create more than 500,000 acres of wildlife management areas and enhanced more than one million acres of that critical habitat through more than 750 projects in 25 states.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)