<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0yRaT3_0wHCWwoQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0yRaT3_0wHCWwoQ00" width="1275" height="791" ></figure>The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supports a new memorandum by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to maintain and strengthen connectivity of wildlife habitat through the management of national forests and voluntary conservation efforts by private landowners. “Big game migration corridors have been a policy and investment focus of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for many years, and we have been pleased by the strong bipartisan support for the issue across administrations and in Congress,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “This USDA Secretarial Memo aligns with the existing Department of Interior Secretarial Order 3362 and will help leverage private lands conservation programs to bolster habitat across the landscape in coordination with state-led action plans. RMEF appreciates that USDA recognizes the leadership that hunters have played in this and other conservation successes in America.” In the memorandum, Vilsack directs a collaborative of federal agency programs to: <ul><li>Incorporate consideration of terrestrial wildlife habitat connectivity and corridors into relevant planning processes, programs and assessments </li></ul><ul><li>Improve the coordination, compatibility and delivery of USDA planning processes and programs to improve outcomes for terrestrial wildlife connectivity </li></ul><ul><li>Increase inter-jurisdictional coordination with states, tribes and other federal departments </li></ul><ul><li>Coordinate within USDA to implement the actions outlined in this memo, with the goal of improved delivery of USDA programs and outcomes for terrestrial connectivity </li></ul>“Most wildlife in America, from sage grouse to bobwhite and elk to waterfowl, depend on vast swaths of connected habitat, much of which is provided thanks to the stewardship of U.S. farmers, ranchers and forest owners,” said Robert Bonnie, USDA under secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. “We’re partnering with farmers, ranchers and forest owners to help conserve a connected mosaic of wildlife habitat across America’s public and private lands through incentives that reward them for their stewardship activities.” RMEF has a lengthy conservation history of successfully working with state and federal agencies, private landowners and others to conserve, protect and enhance wildlife habitat, including shoring up connectivity and wildlife migration corridors for elk, mule deer, moose, pronghorn antelope and other species. Over the last seven years, RMEF allocated more than $3.5 million, which leveraged $29.5 million in partner funding, to identify and conserve migration corridors. That includes $250,000 from December 2023 for the latest round of mapping western migration routes and $1.2 million allocated by RMEF and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies one month earlier to accelerate migration corridor conservation. (Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

RMEF Supports Heightened Focus on Wildlife Connectivity, Migration Corridors

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supports a new memorandum by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to maintain and strengthen connectivity of wildlife habitat through the management of national forests and voluntary conservation efforts by private landowners. “Big game migration corridors have been a policy and investment focus...