When most people hear turkey hunting they generally associate it with a strutting tom and the beautiful sound of a gobble during the spring. Learning the art of fall turkey hunting not only increases your chances of putting a bird in the freezer for Thanksgiving, it allows you to learn more about turkeys and how they live throughout the year, not solely during the mating season. This can benefit the spring turkey hunter as well. By having more knowledge of your quarry, such as their vernacular, social structure and how to locate them, you can add more to your book of strategies. Fall hunting requires more woodsmanship than calling ability. One of the most important tasks at hand is locating birds in the fall. They have a more broad range during this time of the year due to diminishing food sources.

The Basics:

There are two basic angles to hunting fall turkeys. Hunting bachelor flocks and hunting what I call brood flocks. Bachelor flocks consist of mature gobblers and brood flocks consist of the adult hens and their offspring. During the fall, a hunter has to realize that he is capitalizing on a turkey’s urge for companionship, their need to establish a pecking order and just overall curiosity. He is also putting his woods skills to the test by finding his birds. Finding a viable food source and water is essential to finding your birds. Patterning birds in the fall can be quite challenging but putting food and water on the top of your scouting list will pay dividends. Turkeys will continue to use a food source until it is exhausted and will water in the same areas if available. Use this to your advantage. Traditional roosting sites out west are a sure bet to finding your fall birds but, here in the southeast I don’t feel are as common. This is due to the variety of roosting areas that are available. Put your time in the woods scouting for sign very similar to the methods used in the spring. Look for tracks, dusting areas, and scratching. Keep in mind your more likely to find flocks of birds and not single birds, although finding a lone gobbler is not all that uncommon. More often when you find one, you will find multiple birds, whether bachelor flocks or brood flocks. Spend time in the woods and frequent areas that birds are likely to be feeding and you’ll find your turkeys. How many times have you heard deer hunters say “You should have seen all the turkeys I saw on the stand!!” Use this knowledge to your advantage.

Bachelor Flocks:

During the spring we all know that generally you’ll have your dominant gobbler and your subordinate gobblers in any given area that holds birds. During the fall, take away that breeding urge and your left with the same gobblers. These gobblers will often flock together, I feel for companionship. Do not be confused. There is still a pecking order established between these birds. Now once you’ve conducted reconnaissance on the birds in your area, your safest bet is to set up and blind call or move and call.

Blind calling is referred to as sitting in one area and just calling randomly, not engaged in a conversation with a bird. Use gobbler yelps and clucks and call sparingly, but with enough frequency for a bird to not pass your position without hearing your calling. Basically every 10 to 15 minutes. Gobbler yelping is very similar to hen yelping but with a slower rhythm and a deeper tone. On paper it would appear as “yawk”—-”yawk”—-”yawk”—-“yawk”—-”yawk”—-”yawk”. As opposed to hen yelping, yelp-yelp-yelp-yelp-yelp. Gobbler clucking again is similar to hens clucking but with a noticeably deeper tone. Throw in some deeper purring just to add realism. Once you get a response, call them just enough to pique there interest. Hopefully they will come to investigate the newcomer. Hunting these birds takes an enormous amount of patience. Its almost as if your still hunting but adding some vocalizations into the mix.

Running and gunning can be effective but, be mindful of your surroundings. Less foliage on the trees and the birds not being as vocally responsive can be a challenge. Without the birds giving away their location the chance of spooking them is much greater walking through the open timber. Remember patterning these birds and hunting near feeding areas is going to put you in their living room. You can even build a blind to gain comfort and conceal movement.

Brood Flocks:

These birds have a very tight knit social grouping. They live each day, all day together. You’re going to have to act upon this to bag your fall bird. Very similar to hunting bachelor flocks there are two basic methods. Blind calling and moving and calling. The type of calling employed is quite different than what is used to call bachelor flocks. While trying to locate or communicate with a brood flock, I’m going to conduct some assembly yelping , lost yelping and kee-kee running. Assembly or lost yelping is the same basic call. They are both 15-20 note yelps given with inflection. The assembly yelp is given by the brood hen when a flock is scattered. She emits these long series of yelps soon after the flock is broken apart. This is how she gathers her brood. The lost yelp, is when a bird is all alone by itself and is looking for companionship. I don’t feel a turkey is ever lost. I feel its more of a locating call. When giving these yelps just remember to visualize a turkey looking for company and pleading to gain there acquaintance. Kee-keeing is the whistle of the young birds. Long before a poult’s voice has developed enough to produce yelps, they can only whistle. As they become more mature their voice will allow them to yelp. They will then combine kee-keeing in conjunction with yelping, producing the kee-kee run. The kee-kee sounds like its spelled on paper. Kee kee kee—–kee kee kee kee. Kee kee running would appear as Kee kee kee —– kee kee kee kee – yelp yelp. Produce a series of this call ending with two to four yelps, with three or four complete sets in a series. Kee Keeing is best performed with a mouth call. For the beginner, I would highly suggest a Quaker Boy Kee Kee diaphragm. It is a clear call that has two thin reeds with no cut and will whistle with ease. For the more advanced caller I would prefer a World Champ mouth. You can attain the same realistic whistle with a raspy yelp.

When blind calling your trying to lure the birds in by piquing their curiosity. The flock will hopefully move into your position because they are investigating the new comer. Mix up your calling with several series of assembly/lost yelps starting each series with clucking and adding clucking in between your series. The next calling sequence, give a chorus of kee-kee runs. Call quite often and even call with multiple calls. Again, we’re trying to use a turkey’s curiosity and need for companionship to coax them into gun range.

Scattering the flocks:

This is an age old tradition when hunting fall turkeys. I feel this is definitely best accomplished by two hunters. Many times a hunter will get close enough to flush a flock only to have them fly off in the same direction and regroup before a hunter has a chance to set up and call them. If you’ve spotted a flock, have you and a buddy come in from different directions, then running in spooking them. Hopefully they will scatter in different directions. Once you’ve scattered a brood flock wait and quietly listen for them to start yelping and kee-keeing. If the birds did not flush too far from where you scattered them and you start hearing multiple birds, set up right there and begin your calling. Call very often. Assembly yelping and kee-kee running will be your best bet. At this point do not be afraid to call.

If the birds have flushed too far to set up where the flush occurred, then reposition to where the majority of the flock escaped your ambush and again wait and listen for them to start calling. Then begin your calling. In my opinion it is imperative that you do not start calling until the birds start calling. I feel this way you know the birds are calm enough to start the regrouping process.

If you’ve busted a bachelor flock, rely on your gobbler yelps and deep gobbler clucks, but calling more sparingly. A bachelor flock has much less urge to regroup than a brood flock. Many times the gobblers will not regroup, hence seeing lone long beards sometimes in the fall. But, its definitely worthy of a valiant effort.

Just remember scouting is going to be your main key to success. Fall turkey hunting can be productive with or without calling. You have to know where the turkeys are frequenting and put yourself in these areas. Many times I’ve had fall flocks never respond to a call, but my knowledge and patterning of the birds put me in a position to fill my tag. Other times the calling is what made the difference and definitely made the hunt more exciting. Fall turkey hunting generally doesn’t involve gobbling and strutting but hearing a bird kee-kee can be equally satisfying. It’s a sound that many hunters will never hear unless they put their time in the woods. Just know bagging a long beard, a jake, or even a hen in the fall is a great accomplishment. Many old timers will tell you spring hunting is great fun but the real test is harvesting a bird in the fall.

Scott Ellis
Woodhaven Custom Calls -Sting Team

Prostaff:
Tru-Glo Fiber Optics
Therma-Cell
Field Expert-Ol’ Tom Technical Gear

Member: Florida Outdoor Writer’s Assoc.

By Blaine Cardilli

New Reality Hunting Show Focuses on Everyday Hunters

There’s a new guy on the block and his name is Devin Juel… creator, chief executive manager, and host of the new reality-based hunting program, “Average Joe’s Huntin’ Show”. Devin’s “baby” is “Headbone Productions” and he created it because he, (like many of us), was tired of the same old hype that was circulating throughout the outdoor television industry and he decided to make a bold change by stepping up to the plate and creating the “Average Joe’s Huntin’ Show”. In the “About Us” section of his website, (www.averagejoeshuntinshow.com), Devin relates the following about his goals for the show compared to what he currently sees…

“The market is flooded with professional hunters who have all the money, time, land and equipment to go anywhere on earth to hunt. This show will showcase the average American [hunter] who doesn’t have many of those luxuries….blue-collar American guys and girls who hunt on a budget- with time and constraints like most people. We want to illustrate great hunts, a lot on public lands, and then budget for one “big hunt” a year. For average Americans like us, getting tags and a license out of state, time off from work, booking a hunt, or hunting public grounds and staying at a hotel, with transportation to and from, are for the most part, things that have to be budgeted and saved for. “Average Joe’s Huntin’ Show” will return to a focus on the hunt, and not the hype”.

I say “Amen” to that as I feel exactly the same way, Devin. You know, I love to watch outdoor television and we’re definitely not down-playing it here but there comes a point when most hunts just seem to be focusing on the biggest bucks and the trophy animals and though fun to watch, most of us can only imagine about such hunts, classifying them as “dream hunts” or “hunt of a lifetime” opportunities most will never be able to afford. The “professional hunters”…guys and gals who get paid to travel and hunt…might have started out the way we did, struggling to put even a doe in the freezer to provide meat for the family, but it appears some of the focus has been lost in favor of today’s scoring system. Of course I, like you, also dream of that monster buck walking by my stand and would never turn down the chance to take one, mount him for the wall, and enjoy the status that comes from such a hunt…that’s not the point here. The point is this… Many hunters of today, the little guys or “average Joe’s”, have been screaming for a show that would focus on their way of hunting and since it’s debut here in the summer of 2010, “Average Joe’s Huntin’ Show” has indeed received great reviews from the public already. This is a show that finally allows the filming and taking of game…no matter the size and no matter what it is…be it a squirrel hunt with your kids or the spikehorn you ended up harvesting after x-amount of days on stand in the November cold. If you were happy to have taken it, Devin Juel wants to hear about it because it was a successful hunt from you..the true “Average Joe”.

I, for one, know what it’s like to try and schedule in time off to go hunting here in Maine, let alone another state, having to scout all my own spots and put in enough shoe-leather to find just the right spot to hang that stand or set up that ground blind. And sometimes, especially on public lands, other hunters just trying to do the same thing, inadvertently blow your set up and that just makes it tougher. It’s already hard enough to drop a decent deer or a big mature gobbler without the hassles, so imagine planning all your time off as if it were gold, only to have it get busted. Yup, I’m an “average Joe” and I can certainly relate!

I’m far from a “professional hunter” myself, though I have over 35 years experience in the field. Most of what I do is “promotional”, not “professional” when it comes to hunting, and by that I refer to my annual seminars and floor-walking expeditions where I promote outdoor products for manufacturers at outdoor expos and shows. I receive reimbursement for my time on ‘Field Prostaffs’ and some decent product discounts but when it comes to hunting, it falls solely on my shoulders alone to research my hunts, map out my strategies, gain landowner permission, hang my own stands, and pay for all licenses, tags, gas, expenses, etc. I like the idea of a hunting show that focuses on the “non-professional” hunters and not only does “Average Joe’s” portray us in the light of true reality hunters, they also film with no out-takes, no re-takes, no cut-aways, and no unnatural angles; When filming, they show every aspect of the hunt, as it unfolds….THAT’S reality hunting!

Proud To Be On-Board

I “met” Devin Juel on Facebook some time ago and we developed a friendship based on being hunters who share a common belief system and set of goals so when he approached me to see if I would consider joining the show and his “crew”, I agreed. Having broken the Crew into specific geographic locations, there are now seven separate “regions” designated for the crew in that area and each region will have it’s own ‘Crew Leader’. I was recently appointed Vice Executive Crew Leader for the Northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada and am proud to be a part of what many are calling a truly ground-breaking and innovative new show and one that is taking the outdoor television industry by storm. A man with true business sense and intuition, I believe Devin Juel is in this for the American hunter’s best interest….and in it for the long haul. If you would like to become part of the Crew, go to the website at www.averagejoeshuntinshow.com, and hit the “contact us” button. Devin is interested in promoting the great sport of hunting from a brand new perspective…your perspective…and he wants you to share your hunting stories with him!

Currently, “Average Joe’s Huntin’ Show” is airing on The Pursuit Channel, (608 HUNT), on Direct TV. As far as I’m concerned, it’s about time such a show came to air and by the sounds of public support, it’s here to stay. If you like hunting, like to film your hunts, and consider yourself an “Average Joe”, this is a great new voice and opportunity for you…the American hunter.

(Blaine Cardilli is a freelance outdoor writer from Maine who enjoys giving seminars and product demonstrations throughout New England on deer & turkey hunting)

You should remember that MSSA v. Holder is our lawsuit to validate the principles of the Montana Firearms Freedom Act.

We don’t know yet which courtroom in the federal courthouse in Missoula will be used. Whatever one is used it would be great for the spectator area to be fully occupied. It should be an interesting day.

Several folks have asked if cameras or video recorders are allowed. I’m told that no recording devices are allowed in a federal courtroom (at least in Missoula).

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Update: June 1, 2010

It has been brought to my attention that commercial guides and outfitters who plan to use the National Forests are required to obtain special use permits from the National Forest Service.

“Under the circumstances, we feel the defendant acted out of fear instead of self-defense,” the verdict said.

Whether or not the jury was given a “legal” definition of self defense, I don’t know. However, according to Dictionary.com, we are provided with 3 definitions of what self defense is.

noun
1.
the act of defending one’s person when physically attacked, as by countering blows or overcoming an assailant: the art of self-defense.
2.
a claim or plea that the use of force or injuring or killing another was necessary in defending one’s own person from physical attack: He shot the man who was trying to stab him and pleaded self-defense at the murder trial.
3.
an act or instance of defending or protecting one’s own interests, property, ideas, etc., as by argument or strategy.

I think it safe to say that Westmoreland was not practicing the “art” of self defense. If you look at the other two definitions we see that there exists a certain gray area in which one’s perception of the danger comes into play. How can we determine that? The jury claims Westmoreland acted out of fear. Isn’t it fear that would drive virtually every human who encountered a grizzly bear to react in some fashion?

But I’m not here exactly to argue the verdict rendered by this jury. What I did want to point out is what I see as a huge contradiction on the part of a witness which I’m sure played a significant role in influencing the decision of the jury.

Mark Bruscino, bear management program supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, was an “expert” witness in the trial who explained how bears act and react when encountering humans. As is always the case in predator attacks on humans, the so-called “experts” throw out the claim that this occurrence is “rare”. Such was the case here and Bruscino goes on to explain that it is the responsibility of anyone going into grizzly country to understand bear behavior and act accordingly. Frankly, I find this bovine excrement, at least to the extent this was carried out in this case.

“This whole thing adds up to that people need to make sure they are in a self-defense situation,” Bruscino said in an interview after the trial. “You can’t kill wildlife based on an undemonstrated fear of an unrealistic threat.”

When a person is driving in their car on ice and snow and they feel the car begin to fishtail. Out of fear they will slam on the brakes, sending them into a skid and ultimately wrecking the car. Had they however kept their cool and implemented all the proper defensive maneuvers to apply while driving on snow, they might have avoided an accident. Do we criminally charge someone who “should have known” how to react and failed to do so? Heck no! They reacted out of FEAR! To them the brake will save them. Are you going to have the kahunas to “look big” and “make noise” in hopes a bear will retreat? Some will. Most won’t.

But here’s the contradiction that I’m sure few, if any, will pick up on. Bruscino goes on to make this claim:

During the trial, Bruscino described a continuum of bear behavior. A grizzly that encounters a human will flee 99 percent of the time, he said. After that, bear behavior might include disinterest in a human, curiosity followed by a retreat, stress behaviors such as excessive salivation and panting, bluff behavior such as false charges and finally an attack. (emphasis added)

Are we to believe bears flee 99% of the time? This is “expert” testimony. This is what may or may not result in charging a man of illegally killing a grizzly he thought would attack him. You can’t just willy-nilly toss out numbers when the conviction of a man is at stake. Or maybe some are just more concerned about the grizzly bears.

If we go back a bit further in the article, we find this interesting tidbit of information.

Last year, seven grizzly bears were killed by hunters and hikers in self-defense situations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Let’s disregard any notion that any of these people who killed grizzlies did so illegally. They must not have been driven by fear and clearly acted in self defense. Having said that, seven grizzlies were killed last year alone in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Wow! If 99% of bear/human encounters end up with the bear running away, then there must have been something in the order of 700 or more human/grizzly bear encounters. I would have to assume that these were only hunters and hikers as is stated being the ones who killed grizzlies IN SELF DEFENSE. How many hunters and hikers do we have to put in the woods in order to get that rare occurrence of 700 or more grizzly bear encounters?

Isn’t that an awful lot of encounters? What are the odds of seeing a grizzly while in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says there were “more than 500″ grizzlies in the GYE in 2006. How many now? 800? 1000?

Maybe I fail to grasp the full understanding of the situation. The GYE is quite large and even if there were now 1,000 bears in the GYE and thousands of hikers and hunters covering that area in one year, that still is a lot of grizzly/human encounters and 7 bears ending up dead is a lot. Think of the number of grizzly spottings by hunters and hikers that never get reported.

Sorry, this just doesn’t add up for me. I’ve lived my whole life in the woods. For over 48 years I’ve hunted the woods of Maine, where there are far more black bears than are grizzly bears in the GYE. And some report that black bears are far more aggressive than grizzlies.

Maine is just over 21,000,000 acres in size with an estimated black bear population over 20,000. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been measured as big as 20,000,000 acres and perhaps as small as 4,000,000 acres, depending on which boundaries one uses to define the GYE, with a population of grizzlies probably around 1,000.

In my miles and miles of travel on foot in the Maine woods all these years, I’ve encountered black bears perhaps three times, all from considerable distance and none aware of my presence. (Note: I do not bear hunt)

So, I can only conclude that those people who shot seven grizzlies last year in self defense are either lying or it’s not accurate to say that 99% of the time bears will run away.

Tom Remington

We learned yesterday that Kagan was “not sympathetic” to one man fighting for his Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. According to Klukowski, as Solicitor General, Kagan did not seek oral argument time or even file a brief in the recent case of McDonald v. Chicago.

As Klukowski points out, Kagan should have at least filed a brief in this case as the crux of the entire appeal is to whether or not the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution incorporates the Second Amendment, an obvious federal issue. Instead, she remained silent. Was this a blatant attempt to stay “off record” on gun rights as Obama and Kagan had previously conspired to sterilize her record as much as possible so she could more easily fill a vacant seat on the Court? It would appear as such.

Also remember that Kagan was part of the Bill Clinton Administration that destroyed our Second Amendment rights through the Assault Weapons Ban in which they created lists of guns to ban that stretched even the wildest of imaginations as to what might constitute an “assault” weapon.

It is Klukowski’s contention that Obama intends to attack the Second Amendment right and destroy it through building a Supreme Court comprised of anti gun justices who will approve any kind of ban of guns. He was able to place Sotomayor there and we are all quite familiar with her past record on gun rights cases.

Jim Beers, former Chief of National Wildlife Refuge Operations, will address the lies, deceit and fraud employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the state wildlife agencies in Montana and Idaho and environmental groups to illegally introduce Canadian wolves where they were never native, nor endangered.

His presentation begins at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 16, 2010, at the Gran Tree Inn in Bozeman, Montana. Admission is free.

”This is the first time I have spoken exclusively on this subject of all the violations of law committed by government bureaucrats, non-governmental organizations, Washington lobbyists and political appointees who introduced and spread wolves in the West,” states Jim Beers, who worked in various capacities with USFWS for 32 years.

He is probably best known for his role in exposing the USFWS theft of up to $60 million from funds collected as excise taxes on sporting firearms, ammunition and fishing tackle. This money is to be distributed back to state wildlife agencies for habitat improvement and to provide greater outdoor opportunities for sportsmen. (In 2009, the amount divided nationwide totaled more than $700 million.) The millions embezzled by USFWS went into a slush fund used for agency appointee bonuses and for other unauthorized purposes. Beers claims one of those purposes was to provide illegal funding for reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone – funding Congress refused to provide.

Other wolf introduction issues he will address include the improper and illegal manner in which federal and state wildlife agencies justified wolf introduction, the false claims made by these agencies and how the legal intervention by environmental organizations, such as the Defenders of Wildlife, is very much to blame for the dramatic drop in elk, deer and other big game numbers.

There will be an hour long question and comment period following the presentation, followed by an hour long reception.

This presentation is wholly sponsored by Friends of the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd. Its purpose is to unify those who have been harmed by the illegal forced introduction of wolves by federal and state wildlife agencies and to fund a lawsuit to put an end to the destruction wolves are dealing our wildlife resources.

Every sportsman who hunts, or anyone who just enjoys watching wildlife, needs to attend this presentation.

An article yesterday in the Jackson Hole News and Guide quotes Bangs as now saying 45 breeding pairs and 450 wolves will “never be threatened”. I guess Bangs doesn’t learn from his first mistake. In 1987, 30 pairs and 300 wolves would easily do the trick, why should anybody believe for one second that his statement today is any more honest than the ones he made 25 years ago?

It’s clear the feds set the rules, we play by their rules and when the rules don’t fit the game they are playing, they change the rules. Bangs admits that the first day on the job for wolf recovery he knew 30 pairs of wolves wouldn’t be enough and we should trust him now when he tells us 45 will never be threatened?

This kind of political manipulation has to end now.

The new RMEF funding, totaling $335,500, will affect Albany, Big Horn, Carbon, Converse, Fremont, Hot Springs, Lincoln, Natrona, Park, Sheridan, Sublette and Teton counties.

“These grants are possible because of the successful banquets and fundraisers staged over the past year by our Wyoming volunteers, most of whom are elk hunters as well as devoted conservationists,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “Since 1984, our annual grants have helped complete 408 different projects in Wyoming with a combined value of more than $40 million.”

RMEF grants will help fund the following projects, listed by county:

Big Horn County – Prescribe burn 500 acres of juniper and sagebrush to enhance habitat for elk, bighorn sheep and sage grouse in Devil’s Canyon area of BLM lands; thin 50 acres of conifer to restore aspen in Markum Draw area of BLM lands.

Carbon County – Restore aspen and improve forage diversity for elk by thinning 600 acres of conifer in Little Snake River area of Medicine Bow National Forest and BLM lands; assist with conservation easement on 7,003 acres to protect important wildlife habitat and 14 miles of streams and rivers; provide funding for a new wildlife underpass along Hwy. 789.

Fremont County – Rejuvenate aspen stands by removing conifers from 140 acres of elk habitat in Willow and Josh creek areas of BLM lands.

Hot Springs County – Thin 66 acres of encroaching conifer to restore aspen stands and habitat quality for elk and other wildlife in Hess Creek area on BLM lands.

Lincoln County – Prescribe burn 1,665 acres of aspen and sagebrush to restore forage quality in elk habitat in North Murphy Creek area of Bridger-Teton National Forest; treat noxious weeds on 405 acres in Greys River area of Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Natrona County – Build exclosure fencing to protect aspen stands and habitat for elk and other wildlife in south Big Horns area; continue landscape scale initiative to restore natural vegetation and enhance streamflows in Bates Creek watershed (also affects Converse and Albany counties).

Park County – Provide funding for research to determine elk migration patterns in Absaroka Mountains; remove encroaching conifer by treating 50 acres and prescribe burning 200 acres in Shoshone National Forest; modify 200 yards of livestock fencing to create a wildlife-friendly crossing area near Meeteetse, Wyo.; treat 400 acres of noxious weeds to improve forage on elk winter range near Graybull River in Shoshone National Forest and BLM lands; assist with conservation easement to protect 13,657 acres in an area being fragmented by subdivision; prescribe burn 100 acres of juniper and sagebrush to improve forage in Breteche Creek area on BLM lands.

Sheridan County – Assist with conservation easement on 1,028 acres that provides a vital corridor for wintering game herds in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains.

Sublette County – Provide funding for fourth-year operations of a Wyoming Front Aspen Restoration program to benefit habitat for elk and other wildlife; assist Wyoming Game and Fish Department with a 19,000-acre conservation easement that will include public access along five miles of the Green River; provide funding for research on seasonal elk use of feedgrounds and adjacent habitat; offer cost-free wildlife-friendly fence modifications to interested landowners in key big-game migration routes.

Teton County – Prescribe burn 1,250 acres of winter and transition range for elk, bighorn sheep and mule deer in Gros Venture watershed in Bridger-Teton National Forest; treat 300 acres of exotic plant infestations to improve habitat in Grand Teton National Park; prescribe burn 3,500 acres and slash 500 acres to improve habitat in Hill Creek area of Caribou-Targhee National Forest.

Projects are selected for grants using science-based criteria and a committee of RMEF volunteers and staff along with representatives from partnering agencies and universities.

Partners for 2010 projects in Wyoming include Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, other agencies, corporations and landowners.