The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) continued its long-time support of restoring elk to their historic eastern range by helping the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) expand the state’s active elk range.
RMEF provided volunteer assistance as well as $130,000 for the helicopter contract and GPS collars to move 50 elk to Daniel Boone National Forest lands in McCreary County from elsewhere within the state’s elk zone where numbers are much higher.* To date, RMEF contributed more than $2.5 million for wildlife management, research and habitat enhancement in the Kentucky elk zone.
“This has been on Kentucky’s radar as a priority to benefit its overall elk population for quite some time,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “The effort creates a new population of elk on publicly-owned land that also provides both future economic boost and hunting opportunity to this part of the state. We greatly appreciate and salute our partners at KDFWR and the Daniel Boone National Forest for making it happen.”
KDFWR and RMEF’s Torstenson Family Endowment provided funding for the effort. RMEF also acquired a grant from Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Outdoor Fund for additional support.
A humble homesteader based in an undisclosed location, Lars Drecker splits his time between tending his little slice of self-sustaining heaven, and bothering his neighbors to do his work for him. This is mainly the fault of a debilitating predilection for fishing, hunting, camping and all other things outdoors. When not engaged in any of the above activities, you can normally find him broken down on the side of the road, in some piece of junk he just “fixed-up.”
