(Photo credit: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation helped the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) add two tracts totaling 1,322 acres to the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
The Laurel Fork project lies in the heart of the Southern Appalachian elk range just south of the Tennessee-Kentucky border about 55 miles north of Knoxville.
“This effort meets key RMEF mission priorities across the board including bolstering the eastern elk population by protecting elk range, opening the door to future habitat enhancement work and expanding public hunting access,” said RMEF President and CEO Kyle Weaver. “We salute our partners at TWRA and a landowner who recognized the value of conservation and access.”
“The acquisition of these tracts further expands the largest corridor of protected elk habitat in Tennessee. The lands have been added to the North Cumberland WMA, an area rich in biodiversity that supports federally and state-listed wildlife and plant species,” said TWRA Real Estate Manager Daniel Chuquin.
The transaction links together the Ed Carter and Highcliff Units giving TWRA a much greater ability to manage the area to improve habitat for elk, whitetail deer, black bears, wild turkey, grouse and many other wildlife species.
“Joel Pearman is the sole trustee of the Mildred C. Edwards Foundation and supported a generous donation of $200,000 to help with the project. Overall, the foundation has supported RMEF for nearly two decades, totaling $500,000 while making a sizable positive impact in Tennessee and the Southern Appalachians for elk and other wildlife,” added Weaver.
RMEF chipped in $100,000 from its 2024 eastern elk allocation and has a lengthy history in the region. In 2002, two years after helping successfully restore elk to Tennessee, RMEF worked alongside partners to purchase and convey a 74,000-acre block of habitat to TWRA that is now a major part of the WMA. In 2021, RMEF helped partners add 850 acres to the same landscape.
In December 2023, just across the border in Kentucky, RMEF and partners completed the Ataya-Cumberland Forest Wildlife Management Area project that conserved and opened public access to 54,636 acres of private land.
About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Now in its fifth decade of conservation accomplishment and fueled by hunters, RMEF has conserved more than 9.1 million acres for elk and other wildlife. RMEF also works to open and improve public access, fund and advocate for science-based resource management, and ensure the future of America’s hunting heritage. Discover why “Hunting Is Conservation” ® at rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.