May 2, 2017
RMEF Grants Benefit Oregon Elk Habitat, Research
MISSOULA, Mont.—The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation awarded $269,750 in grant funding to assist with habitat stewardship projects and elk research in the state of Oregon.
The grants benefit 9,106 acres across Baker, Crook, Douglas, Grant, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Morrow, Tillamook, Union, Wallowa and Yamhill Counties.
“The Starkey Experimental Forest and Range offers a unique opportunity to study elk behavior, nutrition, population densities, habitat conditions and other elements that can benefit at-large elk populations,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “Additional grant funding will enhance elk habitat through a variety of hands-on stewardship work across Oregon.”
Since 1986, RMEF and its partners completed 856 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Oregon with a combined value of more than $56.9 million. These projects conserved or enhanced 792,276 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 90,703 acres.
Volunteers in Oregon raised the funding by hosting chapter banquets, membership drives and other events.
Here is a sampling of the 2017 projects, listed by county:
Grant County—Provide funding to place radio collars on five elk on the Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area so researchers can better understand elk migration from winter to summer range in order to guide future collaring projects and management decisions including harvest timing and allocation.
Lane County—Enhance 299 acres of Roosevelt elk habitat on the Willamette National Forest through a combination of prescribed burning and noxious weed treatment followed by mulching, inoculation with fungi, seeding and planting burned and sprayed areas, and installation of three wildlife water guzzlers.
Union County—Thin 820 acres from the Starkey Wildlife Management Unit on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest to create a mosaic of cover and open area to increase forage quantity and quality as a benefit to elk habitat, increase forest resiliency to insect outbreaks and fire, and help restore ecological functions within the watershed (also benefits Baker County); and provide funding for research at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range to determine if elk population performance increases at lower densities which will assist managers to more effectively set population management objectives in order to maximize population performance, hunter opportunity and increase understanding of the nutritional and habitat requirements of mule deer.
Go here for a complete project listing.
Oregon project partners include the Deschutes, Fremont, Malheur, Ochoco, Siuslaw, Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman, and Willamette National Forests, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and private landowners as well as sportsmen, government, civic and other organizations.