California is prime elk country.
In fact, it’s the only place in the United States where you will find tule elk.
It is here, some 100 miles from Sacramento where 15 volunteers from Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation rolled up their sleeves to remove and replace old, rotted planks from a dilapidated bridge. They also installed a sturdy handrail.
Now, the bridge is safe and secure and stands as the only public access point into more than 1,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land for hunting, fishing, hiking and other activities.
The project took place on 371 acres previously purchased by RMEF which later conveyed the property to the BLM.
That prime elk habitat is permanently protected and now falls within the Cache Creek Natural Area and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.
More than 95 percent of RMEF’s 227,000 members are hunters.
Funded and supported by hunters, projects like this one highlight how Hunting Is Conservation.