Not this year

[Guest Colorado Bob]

RMEF banquet is this weekend. $105 for my wife & me just to get thru the doors----then the same old rubber chicken & fixins. Then add the raffle tickets, drinks, auctions & the rest of the Chinese knick-knacks. Too much IMO.

I'll take the money & buy a preference point in WY, maybe apply for a Gila tag in NM.

Money's getting tite---better off trying to get a tag---doing a hunt--than giving it away.

[OJR]

I have to agree with you! RMEF have priced themselves right out of me going to any banquet! Sad news for sure!

[stevebeilgard]

i'm shying away a bit myself. just too high.

[toddyboman]

WOW!! They better be careful or no one will be able to attend

[silvertip_co]

This often happens with groups like the RMEF who basically do good work It's part of a concerted total program to price hunters with low to average incomes totally out of the hunting game. Hunting is, sadly, becoming a rich mans game. And I dont know what we can do to stop that.But we must.

[Tecumseh]

The DU and NWTF banquet's around where I live are getting the same way.

[elkoholic]

Well, to begin with, our RMEF banquet/auction here is February 2nd and I do not plan on missing it. While I do not know what kind of facility your banquet is at, I can assure you that most of the cost for tickets is directly related to cost of renting the facility and providing the meal. The major portion of the money raised for habitat protection/procurement comes from the auction itself and the raffle tickets purchased. No other organization puts a larger percentage of money obtained towards meeting its mission statement. Wildlife winter range and travel corridors are disappearing at an alarming rate, and the need for protecting as much of what is left is overwhelming. I understand that many people are under a financial strain and deciding where to spend their limited funds is an important decision. One thing to remember is that without habitat protection more than just elk will suffer the consequences. If you decide not to attend the banquet I would hope that you could at least make a small donation to help in maintaining valuable wildlife habitat. As an aside, if you can not afford to attend a banquet there is always the opportunity to join an organizing committee and donate time and energy to a good cause with the ability to also attend the banquet on the working side of it. Good luck in drawing that tag!

[Guest Zirkel]

Elkoholic,

+1

I was a Grand Junction commitee member for 7 years, just one of the little fish. The banquets weren't fun for me to work but they generated a large amount of money for the RMEF. The banquets are geared for the well heeled because they are the ones who drop the big money and that is what the banquet is all about. It's still going big time in Grand Junction and I am very proud of those guy's. You have to keep in mind what it is all for and that is raising money for wildlife. In you can't or won't afford the banquet (I haven't gone in a few years and I don't blame anyone for not attending) then just be a member. The magazine is good, the cause is better.

If for some reason you have decided you don't like the RMEF then I hope that you join or donate to one of the other great wildlife groups. Keep your eye on what is important and that is saving habitat because it is vanishing quickly in some areas and we need to save as much of it as possible and time is not on our side.

Zirkel

[Guest Zirkel]

Monster 2007 Propels Elk Foundation to 5.2 Million Acres

MISSOULA, Mont.—If a year’s accomplishments were scored like antlers, 2007 would be a trophy-class wallhanger for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The conservation group last year helped to enhance more acres of elk habitat and complete more land protection projects than anytime in its history.

In all, the Elk Foundation impacted 366,206 acres—a monster conservation effort that will benefit hunters and wildlife enthusiasts for generations to come.

Habitat enhancement projects were completed in 20 states. Work included invasive and noxious plant control, water developments, prescribed burns, riparian restoration, various research projects and more.

In 13 states, elk habitat was permanently protected from urban development via conservation easements and acquisitions from willing sellers.

“Highlights of 2007 included a new aspen restoration project along the Wyoming front, our organization’s first conservation easements in Arizona and Arkansas, our first easement on reclaimed mine lands, and a leading role in permanently protecting the largest remaining remnant of Theodore Roosevelt’s historic Elkhorn Ranch—a special place considered by many to be the birthplace of America’s conservation movement,” said David Allen, president and CEO of the Elk Foundation.

The Elk Foundation also logged 190 conservation education projects last year.

Allen credited all of these successes to the Elk Foundation’s more than 150,000 members and 10,000 active volunteers, donors, partners and staff.

Since launching in 1984, the Elk Foundation has helped complete 5,740 conservation projects across 49 states and 8 provinces. The cumulative impact now tops 5.2 million acres, or 8,125 square miles—a land area larger than Connecticut, Delaware and District of Columbia combined.

Additionally, more than 500,000 acres previously closed to public access are now open for hunting, fishing and other recreation.

Headquartered in Missoula, Mont., the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat. For more information, visit www.elkfoundation.org or call 800-CALL-ELK.