Rainold and Mace, the Summit County co-chairs, are two of those volunteers.Ī New Orleans native, Rainold came to the Rocky Mountains for family and “everything else that brings everybody else up here - all the fun things in life,” he said.īefore he’d arrived, the Summit County chapter had a full, thriving membership, but it had eventually dropped off. The Summit County chapter, like most of the foundation’s chapters, is made up entirely of volunteers. In Colorado, the foundation purports to have conserved more than 415,706 acres over the past 30 years in support of its mission.ĭonations, and money raised through events like Saturday’s banquet in Summit, go mostly toward projects (90 percent), with a small percentage routed back into administrative costs (6 percent) and fundraising events (4 percent). The foundation, according to its website, follows a mission of “conserving, restoring and enhancing natural habitats promoting the sound management of wild elk, which may be hunted or otherwise enjoyed restoring elk to their native ranges and educating members and the public about habitat conservation and our hunting heritage.” Since then, the organization has grown tremendously, with a membership of more than 205,000 spread across 500 chapters in the United States. In 1985 they funded their first habitat project on Elk Creek on the Kootenai National Forest near Libby, Montana. The group created the foundation to help elk and other wildlife maintain their habitat in a way that any member of the public could take advantage of, from hunters to hikers and campers. The foundation itself came into being in 1984, when a handful of hunters in Missoula, Montana, decided that big game animals - namely elk - needed the same treatment as the fowl did through organizations such as Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever. The fundraising banquet, held every spring, will acknowledge its quarter century birthday with a special auction item - a gold inlaid Marlin. This Saturday, the chapter will be celebrating its 25th anniversary, coming just on the heels of the national organization’s 30th anniversary last year. It didn’t take much for them to get involved with the nationwide nonprofit. They brought those values to Summit County, where they came into contact with the Summit County chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Along with camping and other outdoor pursuits, hunting was a big part of family tradition, including strengthening the bond between father and son. Jesse Mace and Anton Rainold grew up hunting - Mace in the forests of the Midwest and Rainold in the waterways of Louisiana. Tickets are limited, and walk-ins will be an additional $10. Tickets: To register go to !NNU or email. Location: Warren Station, 164 Ida Belle Dr., Keystone Time: Doors open at 4:30 p.m., dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation 25th annual banquet
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