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Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Far-sighted, conservation-minded landowners in Pennsylvania have permanently protected their 454-acre wildlife oasis through a conservation easement with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

George and Irene Windolph of Nordmont, Pa., fully donated the easement, which removes development rights on their property in perpetuity.

The move ensures the land will always be much like it is today–retired farmlands and well-managed forestlands with abundant populations of wildlife including deer, turkey and bear.

The property lies about 40 miles east of Pennsylvania’s current elk range.

RMEF will hold the easement and monitor provisions annually.

“The Windolphs love this pristine place and have entrusted RMEF to help protect it forever,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “They also have worked hard to acquire the majority of mineral rights so that poorly executed oil and gas drilling will never happen here.”

He added, “We’re grateful for George and Irene’s generous donation. Their conservation values are a reflection of our membership and what it means to belong to RMEF.”

Life members of RMEF, the Windolphs will retain control over access to their property.

Nationwide, RMEF now holds 182 conservation easements permanently protecting a combined 248,784 acres of habitat. The organization’s mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
RMEF is leading a conservation initiative that has protected or enhanced habitat on over 6 million acres–an area larger than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains national parks combined. RMEF also is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. RMEF members, partners and volunteers, working together as Team Elk, are making a difference all across elk country. Join us at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

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Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Longtime volunteers of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Keith and Linda Ward of Huson, Mont., have finalized a deal to permanently protect 1,050 acres of area ranchland that serve as important habitat for elk and other wildlife.

On Dec. 16, the Wards placed their Checkpoint Ranch, some 20 miles west of Missoula, Mont., between Ninemile and Sixmile creeks, under conservation easement with RMEF.

The legal agreement restricts development in perpetuity even if land ownership changes.
Affected acres will always be, “much as they are today–farmland, ranchland and native wetlands, meadows and forests,” said Mike Mueller, lands program manager for RMEF.

RMEF brokered the deal, assisted with the legal processes and will monitor easement provisions annually.

“Checkpoint Ranch is one of the largest remaining private parcels in the area, and since it’s connected to adjoining federal and state lands, the conservation impacts of this easement are truly on a landscape scale,” said Mueller. “Habitat fragmentation is a real concern with the increasing subdivision in the Ninemile area. By protecting this ranch, we’ve helped secure the viability of habitat across a much larger area.”

Habitat on the ranch supports an area elk herd of 150-200 animals. Elk are most abundant on the ranch during fall rut, winter and calving season–in fact, biologists say the ranch is one of the preferred calving areas in the surrounding region.

Many other game and nongame species also are commonly observed.

The easement does not provide public access. However, in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Dept. (FWP) and RMEF, the Wards have developed an elk management plan and enrolled part of their property in a special FWP program that provides the public with limited, high-quality, herd-management hunting opportunities.

The 1,050-acre tract, part of the historic Scheffer Ranch now owned for 20 years by the Ward family, is actually protected via two different easements. One 890-acre easement was partially donated by the Wards and partially funded by the Missoula County Open Space Bond Program. An adjoining 160-acre easement, which covers the original Scheffer Ranch homestead, was fully donated by the Wards.

Combined, the value of the Wards’ donations is approximately $2.7 million.

David Allen, RMEF president and CEO, thanked the Wards for their generosity and credited three RMEF partners–Missoula County Commission, Missoula County Rural Initiatives and Missoula County Open Lands Citizen Advisory Committee–for “using open space bond funds to save an incredible piece of wild country in the kind of place that’s prone to future development.”

Supporters of the project included Lolo National Forest, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Department of Transportation, Ninemile Wildlife Movement Area Working Group and Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Keith Ward, president of Bob Ward and Sons Sporting Goods, has served multiple volunteer terms on the RMEF board of directors. He is a past chairman of the board and has served a variety of leadership roles on committees. The Wards also are active in many other conservation and sporting organizations.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
RMEF is leading a conservation initiative that has protected or enhanced habitat on over 6 million acres–an area larger than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains national parks combined. RMEF also is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. RMEF members, partners and volunteers, working together as Team Elk, are making a difference all across elk country. Join us at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

Filed under: Conservation News by Ammoland No Comments »