January 12, 2016
RMEF Records All-Time Membership High
MISSOULA, Mont.—The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation marked its seventh consecutive year of record growth by announcing a new membership total of 219,750 as of December 31, 2015.
“We are grateful for so many men and women who support and value conservation and our mission,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “We don’t take this influx of new members lightly. We will continue to do all in our power to conserve and enhance elk habitat, create new and improved access opportunities for hunters and remain active in issues impacting the future of wildlife and our hunting heritage.”
The new figure represents a seven percent increase from just a year ago and highlights the largest single year of membership growth since 2010.
Since its founding in 1984, RMEF has carried out more than 9,800 lifetime projects that protected or enhanced more than 6.7 million acres of vital elk habitat. RMEF has also assisted in restoring wild, free-ranging elk herds to their native range in Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Missouri and Virginia, and is an integral part of on-going efforts in West Virginia. The total value of RMEF’s all-time conservation work recently topped the $1 billion milestone.
“We especially need to recognize and commend our volunteers from coast-to-coast for their work with RMEF banquets, membership drives and other events,” added Allen.
RMEF has more than 11,000 active volunteers serving in 500 chapters spread across the United States. They take part in conservation projects and raise funds that are put back on the ground in their backyards to bolster RMEF’s mission of ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is also gaining a greater following through its social media platforms. Facebook recently topped 400,000 likes while the RMEF blog Elk Tracks has approximately 860,000 page views and YouTube has nearly one million views. RMEF is also growing on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.