Receiving a gift is even better when you can share it with everyone.
Located near the Idaho-Oregon border, high above the Salmon River near the small town of White Bird lies a 1,300-acre property known as the Joseph Plains Wildlife Habitat Area.
An anonymous donor gifted it to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in 1998 with a stipulation it remain protected under a conservation easement and then conveyed to the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, an organization that seeks to sustain Idaho’s hunting, habitat, public access and conservation values.
If the group ever seeks to dispose of the property, it contractually returns to RMEF, which will ensure it remains open to public access.
It is wedged between lands managed by the state of Idaho and the Bureau of Land Management, with Forest Service land nearby, and provides quality habitat for elk, mule and whitetail deer, black bears, grouse, turkey and other species.
A trailhead takes hunters close to the top of a main ridge with a scenic view of a series of finger ridges and basins below.
Since 1984, RMEF and its partners opened or improved public access to more than 1.3 million acres of land.
To learn more about the sites and boundaries of RMEF access projects near you or your favorite hunting area, turn on the RMEF layer in the onX Hunt App.
Plus, use the code R-M-E-F when you sign up for your new onX subscription to receive a 20 percent discount, and a portion of the proceeds benefit RMEF’s mission.