Seeking to force an environmental group to follow existing federal law in line with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit case, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project (GCWRP) v. Burgum.

More than 25 years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) reintroduced the Mexican gray wolf in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico as a “nonessential experimental population” under Section 10(j) of the ESA, which authorized a more relaxed and flexible approach to regulating reintroduced populations to mitigate conflict and build goodwill with cooperating states and landowners. Today, the population tops 300.

As a result of that growth, GCWRP filed a lawsuit calling on USFWS and the State of Arizona to reclassify the population as “essential,” meaning tighter regulations and heavier government oversight at a time when Mexican wolves are nearing recovery levels that could lead to delisting.

“Changing the regulatory ground rules originally agreed upon by states and communities would punish progress, undermine cooperation and greatly delay management opportunities for state wildlife agencies in line with other wildlife species,” said Blake Henning, RMEF chief conservation officer. “It would also jeopardize positive results for any future 10(j) reintroduction actions.”

H2C agrees with RMEF and PERC that 10(j) rules should be followed for the benefit of wildlife management.

Click here to read the brief.

RMEF has a long conservation history in the Southwest, supporting nearly 100 research projects that concern or could benefit Mexican gray wolf recovery efforts, at a cost exceeding $1.3 million. Since 2020, RMEF contributed nearly $100,000 to support research assessing the impacts of the Mexican wolf reintroduction on elk. RMEF has also been involved in wildlife management and other efforts associated with nonessential experimental populations under 10(j) of the ESA, including gray wolf recovery in parts of the Northern Rocky Mountains, grizzly bear recovery in the Northern Continental Divide, Greater Yellowstone and Bitterroot Ecosystems, and the forced introduction of gray wolves into Colorado.

Who is GCWRP?

The Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project is an environmentalist group that claims “state-level wolf management is a bad idea.” It is an alignment with more well-known anti-hunting, environmental groups like the Sierra Club, Western Watersheds, WildEarth Guardians and Defenders of Wildlife. It also supports another such group, the Center for Biological Diversity, in its quest to create a national wolf recovery plan, which biologists and professional wildlife managers ruled is not necessary. GCWRP refers to wolves as “sentient beings,” a popular talking point for animal rights groups, and consistently seeks to personify wolves by applying human traits to them. It also promotes outdated research, like the presence of wolves automatically trigger widespread trophic cascade effects that exaggerate benefits for vegetation, landscapes and other wildlife – propaganda dispelled via scientific, rigorous research many times over recent years, including in 2025.

About Hunt 2 Conserve

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.

(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)

If proponents have their way, hunters, anglers and trappers in Delaware, New Hampshire and Ohio will not have to look over their shoulders to continue to participate in their traditional American recreational activities. Three distinctive legislative proposals seek to protect hunting, fishing and trapping in their respective state constitutions.

Why is there a need? Anti-hunting and animal rights groups across the country continue efforts to limit or even ban hunting, fishing and trapping. Activists placed a citizen initiative on Colorado’s 2024 ballot seeking to outlaw mountain lion and bobcat hunting. Voters rejected it. Several states have trapping restrictions, including New Mexico which has prohibitions on most of its public land.

An animal rights activist told WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio, the measure would “lock cruel and unpopular practices into our state constitution.” While another claimed, “There is no demonstrated threat to these privileges.”

The exact opposite is true. In Oregon, radical extremists are trying for a third time to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that would make it a crime to hunt, fish or trap. Their goal, in addition to passage in Oregon, is to create a grassroots protest that forces votes for state constitutional amendments and potentially a federal constitutional amendment to permanently ban hunting, fishing and trapping.

Lawmakers in Delaware want to protect hunting, fishing and trapping from future legal challenges, while also highlighting how hunting supports land and wildlife conservation.

“All I’m looking at is, guaranteed, the right for future generations to do something that for the last 250 years we’ve been able to do and nobody ever questioned it,” State Sen. Dave Wilson told Spotlight Delaware. 

According to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, 24 states previously enacted legislation to protect the rights of citizens to hunt, fish and trap with Vermont the first in 1777 and Florida the most recent in 2024. The others are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)

A conflict between a coyote and a woman highlights one of the many dangers of a potential ballot initiative in the signature-gathering process in Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) reports a coyote bit a woman on a walking trail just outside the city limits of West Salem in the northwest part of the state. She suffered minor injuries and received medical treatment before being released. The Pole County Sheriff’s Office and ODFW spread the word and contacted nearby residents and schools, urging parents to keep an eye on young children and pets.

Initiative Petition 28 is an effort by radical anti-hunting and animal rights activists to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that would make it a crime for anyone to carry out trapping or pest control. It would also criminalize hunting, fishing and raising animals like livestock, poultry and others for food.

Proponents unsuccessfully tried to gather enough signatures to qualify similar measures for both the 2022 and 2024 elections. They have until early July to gather and submit enough signatures to make the 2026 ballot.

Hunt 2 Conserve strongly opposes IP 28 as its passage would endanger public safety, contribute to food insecurity, frustrate prove wildlife management, close businesses and cause others leave the state, and negatively affect the state economy and recreational activities on multiple fronts.

West Salem is about 55 miles southwest of Portland.

Click here to read more about IP 28.

About Hunt 2 Conserve

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.

(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)

Despite strong recommendations from the director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and its biologists and game managers to deny it, and an overwhelmingly large in-person turnout of hunters, ranchers and trappers, the CPW Commission apparently approved a petition from anti-hunters and animal rights advocates to institute a ban on the sale, barter or trade of wild fur in Colorado. Commissioners voted 6-to-4 in favor of the measure. However, there was a great deal of confusion what commissioners actually voted on during the vote.

“The vote does not mean the entirety of the citizen petition has been approved,” said CPW Director Laura Clellan. “In the coming months, CPW staff will draft a proposed rule to initiate our rulemaking process, along with an issue paper or draft regulations outlining any proposed exceptions that may be necessary or appropriate.”

“It’s both highly disappointing and sad that commissioners sided with an emotional ploy by activists with accusations and no scientific justification to further their goal of undermining hunting and trapping,” said Blake Henning, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation chief conservation officer. “This apparent decision to ignore and alienate the input of Colorado’s wildlife professionals will undermine the state’s proven wildlife management practices and have negative impacts on business, consumers and citizens.”

More than 1,000 RMEF members in Colorado joined RMEF’s statement in opposition to the petition. Justin Nolan, who lives in Colorado and serves as RMEF’s state advocacy manager, testified in person at the hearing.

“Colorado’s furbearer populations are healthy and well-managed. There is no biological justification for this proposed ban,” said Nolan. “Removing regulated lawful use, absent of a biological need, threatens the framework of the North American Model and sets a dangerous precedent for the future of wildlife management programs.”

Nolan also said a “yes” vote for the petition would diminish landowner tolerance, create more burdens for CPW and present real harm to rural communities. His comments were in line with CPW’s five-page recommendation to reject the measure.

Samantha Miller of the Center for Biological Diversity, a well-known anti-hunting and animal rights organization, sponsored the petition. She was also behind a 2024 ballot initiative that tried to ban the hunting of mountain lions and bobcats. Colorado voters decisively rejected it as well as a proposed fur ban in Denver in that same election.

Prior to the commission hearing, Miller issued an online video plea calling for supporters to attend. “We have been directed from the governor’s office. Don’t let us be shown up in Denver. The next meeting will be in Grand Junction, but you guys are in Denver. Don’t let them show you up in Denver.”

According to CPW, an overflow crowd of approximately 400 people attended the hearing, but the vast majority, estimated to be a 5-to-1 ratio, were hunters, ranchers and others who opposed the petition, five dozen of whom shared their thoughts.

“The fur ban isn’t science. It’s ideology,” said Jerry Apkar, retired CPW carnivore and furbearer biologist. “The justification is mostly smoke and mirrors, and nothing more than that.”

“I encourage you to remember...we are under statutory obligation to pursue the mission of Colorado Parks and Wildlife for the benefit of all,” said Gaspar Perricone, former CPW commissioner.

“By not taking staff and the director’s recommendations to deny the petition, you’re basically slapping them in the face,” said former CPW commissioner Marie Haskett. “Today represents a sad state of affairs that this governor’s personal agenda has put CPW in. Wildlife should not be political. Scienced-based management works.”

The CPW Commission is comprised of 11 voting members, each of them Colorado citizens hand-picked and appointed by Governor Jared Polis, which sets regulations and policies for CPW.

The commission’s actions are reminiscent of those taken by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission when it intentionally ignored the scientific data and recommendations of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists and game managers and voted to suspend the 2022 spring black bear hunt. Since then, different investigations, including one by the new governor, have been examining the commission's day-to-day dealings and actions.

“This fight is not over. CPW commissioners are expected to begin the rulemaking procedure for the fur ban May 6-7 in Grand Junction. We will be there and urge Coloradans to show up in force as well,” said Henning.

About Hunt 2 Conserve

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.

Some of the same anti-hunters behind the failed 2024 Colorado ballot initiative to ban mountain lion and bobcat hunting filed a petition for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to outlaw the sale, barter and trade of wildlife fur.  

“As the latest effort to undermine hunting and trapping by activists, this is nothing more than an emotional ploy aimed at a commission with little connection to or understanding of hunting and trapping,” said Blake Henning, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation chief conservation officer. “If passed, it would both frustrate Colorado’s proven wildlife management practices and have negative impacts on business and consumers.” 

RMEF sent a call-to-action alert to its members in Colorado to both keep them informed about the situation and urge them to jointly submit comments to commission members. More than 1,000 of them did so. The message included highlighting the lack of biological justification in the proponent petition, supporting the North American Wildlife Conservation Model and keeping the regulatory focus on biologically driven conservation priorities. 

A regularly scheduled commission hearing will take place Wednesday, March 4, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Denver (8773 Yates Drive in Westminster). Hunters, trappers and other outdoorsmen and women are encouraged to attend and provide public comment. A live stream will also be available. 

Colorado’s furbearer population is healthy and well managed under current regulations, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) assessments do not show conservation concerns. CPW biologists are currently reviewing furbearer regulations through an established, data-driven process; however, this petition bypasses the scientific and public process. 

Voters affirmed their support for science-based wildlife management less than two years ago by rejecting statewide bans on mountain lion and bobcat hunting 55 to 45 percent and rejecting a similar fur ban in urban Denver County 58 to 42 percent.  

Hunt 2 Conserve strongly opposes the petition and stands in support of hunting, trapping, wildlife management and conservation. 

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org. 

Below is a joint news release from the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the New Mexico Department of Wildlife.

The Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team has completed the annual population count and documented the population increased to a minimum of 319 at the end of 2025, which is up from the minimum count of 286 in 2024. This is a consistent growth pattern for more than a decade. 

The importance of this data is that this moves the recovery program one step closer to getting to the point that will support the downlisting of the Mexican wolf and development of a 4(d) rule under the ESA (Endangered Species Act). Implementation of a 4(d) rule would add greater flexibility in implementing management actions intended to reduce conflict while continuing recovery of the subspecies to the point of delisting.

The goal of every recovery program is to use the best scientific criteria to recover a species, so the species is no longer in need of protection under the ESA. The recovery criteria to support downlisting the Mexican wolf is an average of 320 wolves documented per year over a four-year period. Although that average has not been obtained, this number does trigger the timing where a downlisting would be justified. With a 4(d) rule, the states of New Mexico and Arizona would have more management authority than they currently have.

(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)

Below is a news release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The operation is part of ongoing predator-prey and population monitoring research in a part of the state dealing with livestock depredations. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is supplying funding for additional research evaluating the impacts of wolves on elk and deer in the region.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently completed helicopter capture operations resulting in the satellite collaring of five gray wolves in northern California. 

Operations occurred between Jan. 12 and 20 in Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties. The wolves collared were associated with the Whaleback and Harvey packs. 

Immediately after capture, each wolf was flown to a nearby field processing site and fitted with a satellite/VHF collar. CDFW veterinary and biological staff also collected standard biological data, including body measurements, DNA and blood samples. This data allows CDFW to monitor wolf health, screen for disease and assess genetic relatedness among individuals and packs. After collaring, each wolf was released on public land as close as practical to its capture location. 

The five wolves collared during the operation included: 

An adult male captured in northern Lassen County that was born into the Whaleback pack. Following release, collar data showed that the wolf returned to its natal Whaleback pack. 

A previously collared, dispersing adult male from the Harvey pack that was captured in Modoc County. Its collar was replaced. 

A Harvey pack female born in 2024 and captured in northwestern Lassen County. 

Two Harvey pack females born in 2025 and captured in northeastern Shasta County. 

Wildlife capture operations inherently carry risk to captured animals. During this operation, a sixth wolf – an adult female from the Harvey pack – died after capture. Factors contributing to its death are being investigated. 

Satellite collaring is a critical management and research tool that helps CDFW monitor wolf populations, better understand landscape use and movement patterns and reduce the risk of wolf–livestock conflict. The collars do not provide real-time data; instead, they collect multiple location points per day and generally transmit those stored locations to CDFW once a day. Each collar has an expected battery life of approximately two to three years and is programmed to drop off the animal before the battery is depleted. 

Over the past decade, CDFW has successfully captured 38 gray wolves statewide for the purpose of collaring. Presently, there are 13 wolves carrying active collars. Within days of capture, the approximate locations of the newly collared wolves began showing on CDFW’s Wolf Tracker mapping tool.

(Photo credit: California Department of Fish and Wildlife) 

Below is a news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced over $1.2 billion in Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration apportionments to support states, commonwealths and territories in their efforts to fund conservation and outdoor opportunities. This program aligns with President Donald J. Trump’s strong support for state-led conservation and access to public lands.

This critical funding is generated by manufacturers who paid federal excise taxes last year on ammunition, firearms, archery and angling equipment, and a fuel and small engine tax. The funds are disbursed to partner with fish and wildlife agencies through grants by the Service’s Office of Conservation Investment.

This state-industry-federal partnership, commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson/Wallop-Breaux Acts, was established almost a century ago with the support of concerned conservation organizations, firearms manufacturers and conservation professionals who recognized the need to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitat. Since 1937, more than $31 billion has been distributed through annual apportionments to monitor and manage our nation’s fish and wildlife resources, support hunter, trapper and aquatic education, and improve access for outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing and boating.

“State wildlife agencies are critical partners who are on the front lines of wildlife management and conservation. They provide expertise and leadership in our shared conservation efforts,” said Service Director Brian Nesvik. “Through this partnership, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration funding helps states to improve access to wildlife and wild places through one of the most effective conservation tools in the world.”

Along with the more than $31 billion distributed through annual apportionments, partner fish and wildlife agencies have contributed over $10 billion in investments throughout the program’s history. Through these combined funds, agencies have supported monitoring and management of over 800 species of wild mammals and birds, annual stocking of over 1 billion fish, operations of fish and wildlife disease laboratories around the country, and provided hunter, trapper and aquatic education to millions of students. These funds have also supported operations and maintenance of over 800 target ranges, over 9,000 fishing access areas and the opening of over 36 million acres of state land to hunting and angling.

To view the Service’s final apportionment of Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration grant funds for Fiscal Year 2026 and historic funding amounts, visit https://partnerwithapayer.org/funding-sources/

For more information about the Office of Conservation Investment, visit https://www.fws.gov/program/office-conservation-investment or www.partnerwithapayer.org.

(Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

From the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest and into Alaska, 2025 was a devastating year for wildfires across the United States. The numbers bear that out. According to a new report from the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC), 77,850 fires charred 5,131,474 acres, claiming human lives and destroying thousands of structures while decimating forest stands, grasslands and important wildlife habitat.

There were roughly 10,000 more wildfires in 2025 compared to 2024 with 37,088 of them across the NICC’s 13-state Southern Geographic Area of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas and Oklahoma. Alaska had the most land burned at 1,006,158 acres while Dragon Bravo in Arizona was the single, largest wildfire at 145,504 acres.

The most destructive fires, by far, were in Southern California Geographic Area that directly resulted in 31 deaths but contributed to at least 440 more. Those fires also destroyed 12,773 residential properties, 5,116 minor structures and 496 commercial structures.

Hunt 2 Conserve is a proponent of the Fix Our Forests Act, legislation already passed by the U.S. House of Representatives but yet to receive a vote in the U.S. Senate. It is a package of reforms that improves the quality of wildlife habitat in national forests while reducing the risk of high-intensity, catastrophic fires. Those reforms include reversing the 2015 Cottonwood decision by the 9^th Circuit Court, which created a scenario for litigant environmentalist organizations to file seemingly nonstop lawsuits that frustrate or halt much-needed active forest management treatments to benefit habitat, wildlife and people. Both the Obama and Trump administrations since unsuccessfully tried to overturn it.

“Judges shouldn’t be managing our forests,” Sean Steinback, outreach forester for Sun Mountain Lumber and a former forester for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, told the Missoulian. He made that comment after a federal judge vacated a previous ruling to allow a Montana forest management project to go forward.

“The status quo with all the backlog is not acceptable. As a nation, we need to take action to benefit our public safety, forests and wildlife. The Fix Our Forests Act has bipartisan support across both chambers and helps make that possible,” said Blake Henning, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation chief conservation officer.

H2C joins RMEF in calling on the Senate to follow the lead of the House to both vote on and help pass it into law.

About Hunt 2 Conserve

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.

(Photo credit: Fishlake National Forest)

Forest management, public lands, wildfire mitigation and public access are a few of the topics highlighted during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for Stevan Pearce, current nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management and former U.S. representative for New Mexico.

“BLM manages 1.3 million acres of forestland in Montana and the Dakotas. Yet simple projects get bogged down in red tape and, sadly, endless litigation,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT). “However, we are making progress in helping to remedy that.”

Daines supports the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA), which is a set of reforms that simplify and expedite environmental reviews, promote collaboration in forest management, encourage state-of-the-art science and technologies for federal land managers, and deter frivolous litigation, including the reversal of the 9^th Circuit Court’s “Cottonwood decision.”

“In New Mexico in my district, we had a forest of about a million acres. They were cleaning up and taking out the fuels from about 500 acres a year. With a million acres, you’d never get to the end,” said Pearce. “Large-scale projects of tens of thousands of acres instead of hundreds of acres is something I visualize.”

The U.S. House passed FOFA in early 2025 by a bipartisan vote of 279 to 141. Nine months later, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry passed it 18-to-5, but it is yet to go before the full Senate.

Pearce also downplayed talk of any widespread sale or transfer of public land. Both Republican and Democrat senators pressed him on the issue, led by ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Pearce referenced policy set in the Federal Lands Policy Management Act (FLPMA) as a guide.

When asked about using the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to expand public access for hunting and fishing, Pearce agreed unequivocally.

Hunt 2 Conserve and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation are strong proponents of FOFA, LWCF and active forest management.

About Hunt 2 Conserve

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.

(Photo credit: Bureau of Land Management)