Conservation groups do more than banquets

Conservation organizations do more than just put on banquets and give folks chances to win or buy guns, art and other gear. They hold those banquets and online auctions and sell memberships in order to protect our wildlife and wild places.

We should all be members of every conservation group you can think of – Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Muley Fanatics Foundation and others. And yesterday, I told you what you get if you get a lifetime membership with Muley Fanatics. But what does the wildlife get from your membership fees?

There are a lot of conservation organizations out there, and they all do fantastic work for wildlife. The group that’s probably the most active in Wyoming right now, though, is Muley Fanatics Foundation. They’ve done tons of work to get the Wildlife Conservation license plates passed through the Wyoming legislature, and the sales and renewals of those plates fund wildlife conservation, including the wildlife crossings WYDOT is putting in along migration corridors. Muley Fanatics has done extra fundraising and lobbying for those crossings, too.

They don’t just fund projects, although they do spend a lot of money on conservation projects. In 2019, they spent just short of a half a million dollars for on-the-ground projects involving habitat, water, research and wildlife connectivity. But they also get their gloves dirty and actually pitch in and do some of that on-the-ground work. They’ve done fencing projects, invasive species removal, and more. They’re not the only group doing all this work and giving money to fund these projects, and they’re doing work in other states outside Wyoming, too. But they’re headquartered in Green River, and they are doing a whole lot for Wyoming’s wildlife and wild places. So if you’re not a member yet, get on it. And while you’re at it, sign up for several other organizations, too.