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Foundation holds fundraiser to benefit wildlife conservation
Members of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation want everyone to know that “hunting is conservation.”
“Our mantra is all about ensuring the future of elk,” says James Lucero, chairman of the New Mexico chapter of RMEF.
According to the foundation’s website, the group has conserved more than 6 million acres of prime elk country nationwide, opened more than 650,000 acres of previously off-limits land to public access and helped restore elk to six states.
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If you go What: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation dinner and benefit auction When: March 23; doors open at 4:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. followed by a live auction Where: Sandia Resort & Casino, I-25 and Tramway NE Tickets: Online at events.rmef.org/!AQ2 there are several ticket options beginning at $55 |
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Locally, the organization works with agencies such as the New Mexico Game & Fish, the Bureau of Land Management and with other game-focused nonprofit organizations to restore and improve wildlife habitat in the state.
The foundation’s annual banquet and auction, scheduled for March 23, is the group’s largest fundraiser. It benefits habitat restoration, hunter education and support of school sport shooting programs. The nonprofit foundation is proud that it spends 90 percent of the money it raises to further its mission, according to Lucero.
“There are miles and miles of old fences across the state,” Lucero said recently in a phone interview. “Much of it interferes with the natural migration patterns of elk herds.”
In addition, the five-strand barbwire and rotting fence posts are a health hazard for the elk.
One of those areas which gets regular attention from RMEF volunteers is the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The former Baca Ranch, an 89,000-acre portion of the Valles Caldera was purchased by the federal government in 2000, protecting it from development and making it available to the public.
But the practice of grazing left behind miles of fences, creating hazards, Lucero said. Animals can get entangled in the wires and can die from their injuries.
On Father’s Day weekend of June 2012, the organization gathered a crew to work in the backcountry of the Valles Caldera National Preserve to remove a mile and a half of fencing and posts.
And while the work was hot and tiring, Dan Fouts, RMEF Albuquerque chapter co-chariman, said the eight-person crew came away with a strong feeling of improving the land for elk and other wildlife.
The organization also is involved with youth programs in New Mexico, including firearm safety projects, hunter education and school shooting programs. A half-dozen schools in the state have been selected for grants for shooting sports from the Scholastic Shooting Trust Fund, in part because of help from the RMEF. GO! WILDLIFE
