#PROJECTELK is the story of the origins, science, and evolution behind conservation, and the question around whether hunters are the earth’s true conservationists. Mark Holyoak with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation said this one-hour television documentary looks to help North America continue an on-going dialogue about the benefits of hunting and its positive impact on conservation.

"We're excited about it," Holyoak said. "It's produced by a man named Jason Matzinger who has worked with us for a while now. He's as good a hunter as he is a cinematographer and he's put this together. He's taken clips over six hunting seasons and put it together. Basically, his message is he wants to show people and help them understand how hunting is conservation."

Holyoak said Matzinger’s goal is to help even the non-hunting population as understand why hunting is exactly that: conservation.  Matzinger said he wants people to understand how that works and why that's okay.

"I understand that not everyone was brought up in a hunting household and can see why the killing of an animal to save a wildlife population may be confusing," Matzinger said. "I would also like those who do hunt to better understand our shared role as stewards of the land as we share the conservation message with others."

"This is just of course one benefit of hunting is the financial aspect, how it funds conservation, but there's just so many other things," Holyoak said. "Getting together, being in the outdoors, and strengthening our connections with the waters and the landscapes, all of those sorts of things as well as the relationships between family and friends. Hunting, for many of us and myself included, is about putting meat in the freezer and feeding our families, but it's really much more than that."

#PROJECTELK will air at 7 p.m. EST on August 15 and again at 7 p.m. on October 31 on the Sportsman Channel.

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