RMEF Water Projects Add Big Game Water in California and Arizona

Water is habitat, especially in dry country. Two recently completed projects backed by Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation grants are putting that truth on the ground for elk and other big game in California and Arizona.

At Camp Roberts Military Base in central California, tule elk have struggled during summer when water gets scarce. That can push elk toward rivers, training areas, and nearby private lands. The base installed three 5,000-gallon guzzlers in areas without year-round water and away from training facilities. RMEF put more than $22,000 into the project, and the water also helps black bears, mule deer, and wild turkeys.

In north-central Arizona, flooding after the 2022 Pipeline Fire damaged much of the Inner Basin Waterline near the San Francisco Peaks, including two wildlife drinkers. RMEF granted more than $73,000 to Arizona Game and Fish to rebuild those drinkers and add three more in key elk calving areas. The completed work also benefits mule deer, black bears, pronghorns, and grouse.

This is the kind of conservation that does not need a slogan. Build the infrastructure, fix what burned or washed out, spread animals across the landscape, and reduce conflicts where possible.

Hunters understand this better than most because we see the dry tanks, the hammered springs, and the places where one reliable water source can change how wildlife uses a whole drainage. Habitat work is not theory. Sometimes it is steel, pipe, concrete, sweat, and enough water to get animals through the hard months.