Kentucky is home to the largest elk population east of the Mississippi. More than 11,000-strong roam their native home range among the reclaimed strip mines in the eastern part of the state.
the 15,00-acre Fishtrap Lake Wildlife Management Area lies in the heart of Kentucky Elk country.
It is here that the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation provided funding for on-the-ground work designed to enhance wildlife habitat.
Crews carried out a combination of forest thinning, herbicide and prescribed fire treatments to increase the amount of sunlight reaching the forest floor which, in turn, helps trigger the growth of grass and forbs more palatable for elk, wild turkey and other birds and animals.
On top of that, the funding purchased waterproof wetland liners to be placed underneath newly-constructed woodland waterholes in an area that is generally sandy, rocky and does not hold water on the surface.
More than 95 percent of RMEF’s 227,000 members are hunters.
Funded and supported by hunters, projects like this one highlight how Hunting Is conservation.