Continuing a more than two-decade conservation commitment to Southern Appalachian elk country, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation worked with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency or TWRA to add two tracts totaling 1,322 acres to the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area.
The Laurel Fork Project became a reality thanks –in part- to a $200,000 donation from the Mildred C. Edwards Foundation and $100,000 more from RMEF.
It links together the Ed Carter and Highcliff Units, giving wildlife managers a greater ability to manage the area to improve habitat for elk, whitetail deer, black bears, wild turkey, grouse and many other species.
It lies in the same immediate region where RMEF worked with TWRA in the early 2000s to first restore wild elk to their historic Tennessee range and then conserve and create 74,000 acres of new public land for the animals and humans alike to roam.
In 2021, RMEF helped enlarge the same public Tennessee landscape.
And then just two years later in 2023, just a stone’s throw across the state line in Kentucky, RMEF worked with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Nature Conservancy to complete the Ataya-Cumberland Forest Wildlife Management Area project totaling more than 54,000 acres.
And all these lands are open to public access for hunting, fishing and other recreational activities.
ONE SQUARE MILE A DAY.
OVER 10 MILLION ACRES BY 2030.
At RMEF, we’re not just conserving what’s here today, we’re creating what’s possible for tomorrow. That means more access, healthier habitats and a stronger future for all big game.
Join the movement.
rmef.org