Arizona’s Wildlife Habitat, Hunting Heritage Get $3.7 Million Upgrade

Posted on: Oct 12, 2023

MISSOULA, Mont. — The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partners allocated $3,754,957 in grant funding to enhance nearly 5,000 acres of habitat for elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, turkey and a host of other wildlife species.

“Arizona is home to a healthy elk herd but some of its range is not so healthy. Two habitat enhancement projects improve forage in northcentral Arizona by removing encroaching juniper and pinyon growth,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “To highlight two other projects, one of them expands water sources for wildlife while another safely removes unauthorized feral horses from tens of thousands of acres to help restore vital wildlife and riparian habitat.”

Four additional projects provide financial support for youth clay target shooting and archery groups.

RMEF supplied $314,962 funding which helped leverage $3,439,995 in partner dollars.

“We salute and thank our RMEF volunteers across Arizona. Thanks to their dedicated fundraising efforts, we are able to put these dollars back on the ground for the benefit of elk, other wildlife, hunting and conservation,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO.

Arizona is home to more than 6,000 RMEF members and eight chapters.

Dating back to 1986, RMEF and its partners completed 534 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Arizona with a combined value of more than $38.7 million. These projects conserved and enhanced 468,065 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 21,585 acres.

Click here to view the complete project list.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:

Founded more than 39 years ago and fueled by hunters, RMEF maintains more than 225,000 members and has conserved more than 8.7 million acres for elk and other wildlife. RMEF also works to open and improve public access, fund and advocate for science-based resource management, and ensure the future of America’s hunting heritage. Discover why “Hunting Is Conservation™” at rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.