Yes, there is a very familiar look on the cover of the 2025 Washington Big Game Hunting Regulations. The man pulling and rolling up old fencing did so as part of a recent Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation volunteer project in Washington.
The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife liked the photo and chose it for the cover. Just inside the booklet is a summary (see below) of the annual Asotin RMEF Volunteer Work Project and a brief description of RMEF, its history, accomplishments and mission.
RMEF volunteer and life member Leonard Shotwell came up with the idea of the Asotin project and was the driving force for making it happen year after year. A longtime member of the Tri-Cities Chapter, he also served RMEF as Eastern Washington state chair and on the Washington State Resource Team.
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On the Cover – Hunters Contributing to Conservation
In 2024, volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) gathered in the southeast corner of the state to continue a longstanding tradition by collaborating with WDFW to complete the 21st annual Asotin RMEF Volunteer Work Project. It took place on the Smoothing Iron Ranch within the Asotin Wildlife Area. Forty-two RMEF volunteers of all ages participated. They replaced water troughs and repaired water guzzlers damaged by the 2021 Lick Creek Fire that burned more than 80,000 acres of wildlife habitat. These guzzlers supply life-sustaining water to species ranging from elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep to small mammals, wild turkeys and songbirds. Additionally, RMEF volunteers removed more than four miles of old barbed wire fencing so wildlife can more easily and safely travel across the landscape.
Founded in 1984 by four elk hunters, RMEF’s mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage. Over that time, RMEF worked with partners to conserve or enhance 9.1 million acres of habitat and open or improve public access to 1.6 million acres all across elk country. In Washington alone, RMEF has about 11,000 members across 23 statewide chapters where the organization helped protect or enhance more than 518,00 acres of habitat and opened or improved access to nearly 131,000 acres. The combined value of that and other projects supporting wildlife management and hunting is more than $135.8 million.
Volunteers play a vital role in RMEF’s fundraising efforts and can participate in a variety of hands-on volunteer projects in Washington throughout the year. Membership is not required to get involved. For more information, go to www.rmef.org/volunteer.
(Photo credit: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife)