The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage. RMEF’s habitat stewardship and granting efforts benefit a wide range of wildlife outside the wapiti. For example, take this protect in New Mexico.
RMEF teamed up with the U.S. Forest Service and several other partners to construct nesting platforms for osprey above Grindstone Reservoir as well as interpretative signs for nearby onlookers.
“We’ve never actually had any nesting osprey that we know of here in southern New Mexico other than the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge near Socorro,” said Larry Cordova, wildlife biologist with the Smokey Bear Ranger District, told the Ruidoso News. “They come in March and spend all this time here, but never nested. I thought let’s see if we have the perfect structure for a nest if they will stay.”
The platforms went up in 2015 thanks to RMEF volunteers but now there is a pair of osprey nesting. The hope is approximately 35 days later one or more chicks will hatch and make a little history.
“Now that the lake is full and it is stocked, they have an ample food supply. Knowing that was going to happen, we think this is a body of water that can sustain a nesting pair. I’m hoping that’s the case,” said Cordova.
(Photo source: John Montoya/U.S. Forest Service)