RMEF Helps Fund Elk Restoration in Wisconsin [YouTube]

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has awarded more than $440,000 in grants to fund 42 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects, including continuing elk restoration efforts, in the state of Wisconsin.

Public Information Director Mark Holyoak said it's important for sportsmen to note that the RMEF helps to fund similar projects in many parts of the world.

"This is an exciting opportunity over there," Holyoak said. "It's actually an opportunity to work with those folks over in Kentucky in conjunction with the wildlife agencies in both states. Kentucky has rounded up some elk and shipped them over to Wisconsin and they're currently on the ground in a holding pen where they're checking them out and making sure they're OK, and they'll run tests to make sure they're disease free."

Holyoak said the purpose is to augment a herd that already exists in Wisconsin.

"They want to augment one herd and then eventually establish a different herd in another part of the state," he said. "We're excited to see the growth of the wild elk herds in Wisconsin."

Holyoak said several hundred thousand dollars have been committed to the project.

"We've provided more than $300,000 in funding," Holyoak said. "A lot of these funds are generated by our members and volunteers all around the country. We're a little spoiled here in Montana, but if you could imagine being in Wisconsin, someone who's an RMEF volunteer who works hard to raise funds and see some of those funds put back on the ground for an effort such as this."

Since 1990, RMEF and its partners have completed 322 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Wisconsin with a combined value of more than $6.9 million.