Traversing the Big Belt Mountains of west-central Montana, you’ll find a series of impressive crags known as Devil’s Kitchen.
It is here in 2015 the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation worked with conservation-minded landowners and several other partners to permanently protect and open access to more than 2,800 acres of year-round wildlife habitat.
The landscape is home to elk, mule and whitetail deer, bear, mountain lions and a variety of other non-game and bird species.
Whitetail Prairie, as it’s called, ranges in elevation from 5,000 to 7,000 feet.
It features grassland covered with wildflowers, aspens and mixed pine forests teaming with wildlife, and offers sweeping mountain views.
It also includes portions of three tributaries of the Missouri River and provides pristine spawning and rearing habitat for native westslope cutthroat trout.
But plain and simple, this is elk country.
A recent survey counted more than 1,600 elk in the immediate area.
This tract of land expanded the 32,000-plus acre Beartooth Wildlife Management Area by almost 10 percent.
Whitetail Prairie and its thriving wildlife and wildlife habitat stand as a proven example of ranchers who steward the land to benefit both elk and their livestock.
It is also yet another testimony to RMEF’s commitment to conserving wild places and highlights how Hunting Is Conservation.