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Hulett, Wyoming Becomes a Boomtown During the Old West Invitational Turkey Shoot

This group is all smiles in anticipation of the great turkey hunting northeastern Wyoming has to offer. Left to right: Jim Moore, president of Remington Outdoor Foundation; Scott Talbott, director of Wyoming Game and Fish Department; Wyoming Governor Matt Mead; and Mitch King, Remington Outdoor Foundation, government affairs.

Old West Invitational Turkey Shoot

Hulett, Wyo – -(Ammoland.com)- The tiny town of Hulett, Wyo., population 516, sprang to life May 12-14 as 325 turkey hunters, guides, landowners, volunteers and sponsors packed the tent each night in celebration of the 2nd Annual Old West Invitational Turkey Shoot.

Not only did this northeastern Wyoming town jump in size, those who poured into Hulett for the event pushed fundraising to the six-figure mark.

“Though it will be some time before final numbers are available, preliminary totals show we are well on the way to meeting our goal of raising $100,000 to support Wyoming’s wildlife and the Greater Hulett Community,” said Craig Showalter, president and CEO of the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of Wyoming (WHFW).

Event co-hosts, the WHFW and the Greater Hulett Community Center, welcomed celebrities and special guests for a weekend of turkey hunting. Showalter said the second annual Invitational Turkey Shoot was even bigger and more successful than the first.

“We saw an increase in hunters, sponsors and local volunteers who worked tirelessly during the three-day event to assure that everyone had a good time,” Showalter said. “We had over 50 guides, 40 ranchers and landowners, and 70 hunters participating. About a third of the town turned out to volunteer for the event.”

Many celebrities and dignitaries also attended the event, including three of Wyoming’s governors. Former Wyoming Governors, Dave Freudenthal and Mike Sullivan participated in the hunt. Current Governor Matt Mead was on hand the first evening of the event to welcome hunters and present donated shotguns to the five youth hunters who were invited to participate in this year’s event. Other celebrity guests included nationally known sports figures, outdoor television show hosts and more.

The event was generously supported by sponsors and partners including the event’s signature sponsor Remington Outdoor Foundation (ROF) and its fundraising and event management group, Outdoor Roadmap. Outdoor Roadmap is focused on assisting state wildlife agencies and nonprofit organizations in raising money for conservation and hunter recruitment and retention. They played a key role at the Wyoming event by providing funding, products and operational support.

“Without question, one of the key factors that enabled us to make this event a success was the commitment of our signature sponsor, Remington Outdoor Foundation. They helped us launch this event, and their substantial financial support and product contributions enabled us to host a truly first-class event in one of the more remote areas of Wyoming,” said Showalter. “Their support also allowed us to leverage their contributions to attract numerous local and national sponsors for the event. There is no question that without the support of ROF, it simply would not have been possible to make the Old West Invitational Turkey Shoot a reality.”

A portion of the proceeds from this event will be used to help fund research, education and habitat projects that benefit Wyoming’s more than 600 game and nongame species.

Visit the Old West Invitational Turkey Shoot website for more information.

To learn more about organizations ROF is teaming up with, visit their website, OutdoorRoadmap.com, which is poised to become the leading online source of training, information and services for hunters, target shooters, archers, and conservationists.

Celebrity Participants

Visit the 2011 Celebrity Participants web page for more detailed profiles.

• Randy Birdsong, who plays a major role on the #1 rated TV show Whitetail Freaks
• Country musician Paul Bogart
• Tom Buchanan, President of the University of Wyoming
• Bill, Matt and Ryan Busbice, hosts of the TV show, Wildgame Nation
• Competitive turkey caller, game call maker and TV show host Mark Drury
• Turkey hunting guru and outdoor communicator Ray Eye
• Dave Freudenthal, former Governor of Wyoming
• Former MLB pitcher and host of Hunting with the Pros, Kevin Gross
• Member of Bass Pro Shop’s RedHead Pro Team and former CEO of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Rob Keck
• Jon Koncak, former NBA center
• Rick and Julie Kreuter, hosts of the TV show Beyond the Hunt
• George Kunz, former offensive lineman for the NFL
• Michael J. Sullivan, former Governor of Wyoming
• Scott Talbott, director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Michael Tilleman, former defensive tackle for the NFL
• Bone Collector host Michael Waddell
• NFL player John Wendling, Detroit Lions
• Reggie Gordon, Bowling Green, FL
• Tim Wells, Relentless Pursuit TV

Event Sponsors and Partners

Signature Sponsor

• · Remington Outdoor Foundation

Royal Slam Sponsors

• · Mike and Pam Schmid, Solitude Ranch & Outfitters
• · Mike Schmid, Intrepid Outdoors
• · Neiman Enterprises, Inc.
• · Golf Club at Devils Tower
• · Forest Product Distributing
• · Kennedy Oil
• · T Cross T Ranch
• · Joe Scott Foundation

Grand Slam Sponsors

• · Powder River Energy Coop/Foundation
• · Basin Electric
• · Local Ford Dealerships
• · First Interstate Bank, Casper, WY
• · Wildlife Management Services, LLC, Dave and Janet Lockman
• · Keyhole Technologies, LLC, Mills, WY
• · Ed Mignery, President, Game & Fish Commission
• · Brunton Outdoors, Riverton, WY
• · National Wild Turkey Federation, Wyoming Chapter
• · Fathers in the Field
• · Croell Redi- Mix
• · A-Double J LLC, John & Judy Andrikopoulos, WHFW Board Member
• · Rimfire Ranch LLC, Andrikopoulos Family
• · NRA of America
• · RDO Equipment/John Deere

Jake Sponsors

• · Earth Work Solutions, E.O. Sowerwine IV
• · Mike Schmid, SOS Well Service, LaBarge, WY
• · Ed and Barb Mignery, Wyoming Game & Fish Commission, Sundance, WY
• · Green Bit & Tool, Inc., Casper, WY
• · Budweiser, Fremont Distributing, Riverton, WY
• · Wildgame Nation, Reality Hunting TV
• · Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy

Friend of the Shoot

• · Wildlife Energy Drinks
• · Crazy Woman Realty, Will & Missy McAmis, Hulett, WY
• · Crazy Rainbow Fly Fishing & Wing Shooting, Ugly Bug Fly Shop, Casper, WY
• · Deer Creek Taxidermy, Hulett, WY
• · Black Hills Chemical, SD
• · Hunter’s Specialties
• · Dri-Duck Trading
• · Bar D Sign, Casper, WY
• · Out West Custom Embroidery, Hulett, WY
• · Summit National Bank, Hulett, WY
• · Hulett Motel, Hulett, WY
• · Quaker Boy Turkey Calls
• · Trophy Plus Outfitters, MT
• · Crook County Promotion Board, WY
• · Rocky Mountain Discount Sports, Gillette, WY
• · McAvoy’s Grille, Hulett, WY
• · Alta Enterprises, Dick Staiger, WHFW Board Member, Alta, WY
• · Craig and Carmen Showalter, Cheyenne, WY
• · Hugh Vogel, Casper, WY
• · Russell Stinson & George White, Hulett, WY
• · Matt & Kathy Driskill, Devils Tower, WY
• · Ben & Jamie Jenkins, Big Piney, WY
• · Beavercreek Homemakers, Hulett, WY
• · Cindy B’s, Aladdin, WY
• · The Feed Bunk, Hulett, WY
• · Belle Laundry, Belle Fourche, SD
• · Senator Ogden Driskill, Devils Tower, WY
• · Acker Electric, Hulett, WY
• · Ballard Funeral Home
• · Yellowstone Sports Medicine
• · Elec-Tech, Hulett, WY
• · Farm Credit Services of America
• · Greg Gordon, Bowling Green, F

About Wildlife Heritage Foundation of Wyoming
The mission of the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of Wyoming is to create an enduring legacy for future generations through stewardship of all Wyoming’s wildlife. For more information, visit www.whfw.org.

About OutdoorRoadmap.com
OutdoorRoadmap.com is expected to become the single online source of training, information and services related to hunting, target shooting, archery and conservation. By teaming with interested participants, OutdoorRoadmap.com offers online hunter education and firearms safety training, interactive maps and tools, event listings, social media, licensing resources, and a wealth of outdoor information. For more information about this state-of-the-art platform, visit www.OutdoorRoadmap.com.

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Wyoming Habitat & Research Projects Earn Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Grants

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- Conserving and enhancing wildlife habitat, plus research on the combined impacts of wolves and drought on elk populations, headline a list of Wyoming projects slated to receive 2011 grants from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The new RMEF funding totals $344,078 and affects 16 counties: Albany, Big Horn, Carbon, Converse, Fremont, Johnson, Lincoln, Natrona, Park, Platte, Sheridan, Sublette, Sweetwater, Teton, Washakie and Weston counties.

Several projects have statewide interest and one extends beyond Wyoming borders and across the northwestern U.S.

“We’re especially pleased to support several large conservation easements in Wyoming this year, including several that secure hunting access on both private and public lands,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “The habitat projects that we’re funding this year could add well over 60,000 acres to the 954,612 acres that we’ve previously helped to conserve or enhance for wildlife in Wyoming.”

Nationally, RMEF hopes to impact about 100,000 acres in 2011 to reach the 6 million-acre lifetime mark in lands conserved or enhanced for elk and other wildlife.

Allen thanked RMEF volunteers and fundraiser attendees for building the organization’s grant coffers in Wyoming, saying, “Because of their amazing passion and generous support, a major conservation milestone is within reach.”

RMEF grants will help fund the following 2011 projects, listed by county:

• Albany County–Improve habitat for elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep by prescribe burning and/or masticating 2,907 acres in the Iron Mountain area (also affects Platte and Laramie counties).
• Big Horn County--Prescribe burn 500 acres of juniper and sagebrush, and chemically treat 200 acres of cheatgrass, as part of an ongoing project to improve elk habitat in the Devil’s Canyon area of BLM lands; remove encroaching conifer to enhance a 25-acre aspen stand in the Brokenback drainage of the Bighorn Mountains.
• Carbon County–Improve forage quality for elk and other wildlife by prescribe burning up to 5,000 acres in the Ferris Mountains area of BLM lands; prescribe burn up to 9,000 acres of public and private rangelands needed to support a regional elk herd in the Seminoe Mountains area; install wildlife friendly fencing and livestock watering troughs to enhance riparian areas important to elk in the Dry Cow Reservoir area of BLM lands; mow 400 acres of sagebrush, remove juniper from 100 acres, treat 100 acres of noxious weeds and install fencing to improve livestock grazing rotation and enhance habitat to support a regional elk herd in the Platte Valley; thin conifer encroachment to enhance 400 acres of habitat in the Sierra Madre/Little Snake River area of BLM lands.
• Fremont County–Replace 17.8 miles of woven wire with wildlife friendly fencing, develop water sources and other enhancements to control livestock in elk habitat in the Red Canyon Ranch area of the Shoshone National Forest; install pipeline to improve irrigation efficiency for habitat management at Red Canyon Wildlife Management Area.
• Lincoln County–Continue ongoing project to treat noxious weeds, using herbicides and bio-controls (insects) to improve 405 acres of habitat for elk in the Greys River area of Bridger-Teton National Forest; treat noxious weeds along 28 miles of backcountry trails in Bridger-Teton National Forest, assist Wyoming Game and Fish Department in acquiring a conservation easement to protect wildlife habitat on 2,200 acres and secure access to large tracts of public lands near Fontenelle Creek.
• Natrona County--Assist partners in purchasing a conservation easement to permanently protect 19,000 acres of private land and secure hunting access on 20,000 acres of public land (also affects Fremont County).
• Park County–Mechanically treat or prescribe burn 70 acres of juniper, Douglas fir and sagebrush to improve forage for elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, sage grouse and other species in the Breteche Creek area of BLM lands; continue ongoing research project to study effects of wolf predation on elk nutrition, fat gain and pregnancy rates in the Absaroka area; conduct aerial surveys of elk calf recruitment between migratory and non-migratory elk herds in the Cody area.
• Sheridan County–As part of an ongoing project to improve habitat for elk, deer and pronghorn antelope on state lands on the east slope of the Bighorn Mountains, prescribe burn 200 acres in the Amsden Creek, Bud Love, Ed O. Taylor or Kerns wildlife habitat management areas (also affects Johnson County).
• Statewide–Provide support for a research project to evaluate influence of drought and predation on elk survival across the northwestern U.S.; provide support for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department annual expo, Sept. 8-10, 2011, to build public understanding of conservation; provide support for the Wyoming 4-H Shooting Sports Program, with emphasis on volunteer training in Converse County, to introduce youths and families to outdoor recreation; sponsor Wyoming Game and Fish Department “Access Yes” program to secure access for hunters and anglers on private lands; provide support for purchasing training tools for Wyoming Game and Fish Department hunter education activities.
• Sublette County–Continue Wyoming Front Aspen Restoration project to improve wildlife habitat on public and timber company lands; assist Wyoming Game and Fish Department in purchasing a conservation easement to ensure the future of wildlife habitat on 10,000 acres near Big Piney; evaluate the influence of supplemental feeding on elk migration timing, foraging and habitat selection.
• Sweetwater County–Build 8.25 miles of wildlife friendly fencing to manage livestock grazing in riparian and other areas of concern for elk, deer and Colorado River cutthroat in the Currant Creek area of BLM lands.
• Teton County–Cut and skid conifers to improve forest health, reduce fuels and increase aspen cover in elk range near Dry Quad area of Bridger-Teton National Forest; prescribe burn 2,201 acres to enhance forest health in the Hill Creek area of Caribou-Targhee National Forest; prescribe burn 100 acres of lodgepole pine and Douglas fir to improve aspen, grass and shrub habitat in the Buffalo Valley area of Bridger-Teton National Forest; provide support for an RMEF-award winning public education campaign regarding elk winter ranges and public closures (also affects Lincoln County).
• Washakie County–Prescribe burn 300 acres to improve winter range that supports a regional elk herd on the west slope of the Bighorn Mountains.
• Weston County–Assist Wyoming Game and Fish in purchasing a conservation easement to protect 3,036 acres of habitat for elk, turkeys, deer, mountain lions, raptors and songbirds in the Black Hills area.

Projects are selected for grants using science-based criteria and a committee of RMEF volunteers and staff along with representatives from partnering agencies and universities.

Partners for 2011 projects in Wyoming include the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, University of Wyoming, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition, Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, other agencies, tribes, organizations, corporations and landowners.

Since 1985, RMEF and its partners have completed 454 different conservation and education projects in Wyoming with a combined value of more than $87.7 million.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Snowy peaks, dark timber basins and grassy meadows. RMEF is leading an elk country initiative that has conserved or enhanced habitat on over 5.9 million acres–a land area equivalent to a swath three miles wide and stretching along the entire Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. RMEF also works to open, secure and improve public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. Get involved at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

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