JEEP STILL BEING GIVEN AWAY

FESTIVAL CANCELLED

FESTIVAL CANCELLED, JEEP STILL BEING GIVEN AWAY

The 3rd Annual Mansface Mountain Music Festival organized by the Muley Fanatic Foundation that was scheduled for July 17 and 18 on historic Expedition Island in Green River has been cancelled due to concerns over COVID-19 and the on-going restrictions on social gatherings.

“Much like many others, we are disappointed to have to cancel the festival, the risks are just too high and the unknowns too great,” said Joshua Coursey, MFF President/CEO.

Coursey added, “We held out as long as we possibly could hoping we would see a gainful stride of progress to allow for the event to continue. The booking of the 11 acts of entertainment, venue, stage, sound and lighting were all in place by mid-January so we were able to hang on as long as we could before having to make this unfortunate decision.”

Headquartered in Green River, MFF is a mule deer-based conversation group with 16 Chapters across Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Virginia. The bulk of their support is primarily made up of sportsmen and sportswomen. The music festival idea originated as an effort to bring others to the fold that aren’t necessarily sportsmen or sportswomen but recognize that conservation is far more than hunting.

“Truth be known, the non-consumptive user of our beloved resources exceeds the consumptive user, or those that hunt. That being said, both share an appreciation and admiration for our cherished wild things and wild places. By bringing consumptive users and non-consumptive users together in something that we can all appreciate, live music and good wholesome fun, we aimed to create an opportunity to share our efforts for conservation for both demographics. The cancellation certainly stings as the event was growing with great momentum from its inception in 2018,” said Coursey.

Effective conservation in the 21st Century requires a broad base of support from various stakeholders. In addition to great music, the festival has also been the platform to announce the drawing for great prizes that support the MFF mission and the 5-year PhD Deer Elk Ecology Research project that started in 2015 in partnership with the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. This year’s big raffle is a tricked out 2020 Jeep Gladiator as well as a 2020 Wyoming Commissioner’s license that allows the winner to choose elk, deer or pronghorn and any hunt area within Wyoming.

Coursey noted despite the festival being cancelled the raffle will still happen and the winners will still be drawn on July 18th. Folks can get tickets online at muleyfanatic.org or by stopping by MFF Headquarters at 5 East Railroad Avenue in Green River.

The Muley Fanatic Foundation was established in 2012 by Wyoming natives and Sweetwater County locals Joshua Coursey and Joseph Faigl. Operating under the MFF mission of: To ensure the conservation of mule deer and their habitat and to provide such supporting services to further the sport of hunting and sound wildlife management.

Wyoming Range

Mule Deer Project

Photo – MFF presents the University of Wyoming Co-op Unit, led by Kevin Monteith (left), with a check in the amount of $170,000 for the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Project on December 14, 2013. This allocation allowed this project to be initiated and NOT canceled

In recent decades, mule deer abundance throughout the West has struggled to reach historic numbers, and Wyoming is no exception to the nearly ubiquitous trend of population declines. In response to concerns of mule deer populations in Wyoming, in 2007, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission adopted the Wyoming Mule Deer Initiative (MDI) with the intent to develop individual management plans for key populations. Of particular concern was the Wyoming Range mule deer population in western Wyoming—one of the largest mule deer herds in the state and a premier destination for mule deer hunting in the country. The Wyoming Range mule deer population has undergone dynamic changes in recent decades from a population high of >50,000 in the late 1980s, to a sustained population of ~30,000 during much of the last decade. Consequently, the Wyoming Range mule deer population was identified as a top priority for the development of a management plan according to the MDI. The first of the population specific management plans, the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Initiative (WRMDI), was finalized in 2011 following a collaborative public input process. To direct development of an effective management plan, it was recognized by the Mule Deer Working Group (2007) that the “Success and implementation of these plans will depend upon our ability to identify limiting factors to mule deer populations and their habitats”. Accordingly, the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Project was initiated 2013 to address the need for research in identifying the factors that regulate the Wyoming Range mule deer population.

In 2012, the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s budget was cut tremendously and would NOT be able to be a funding partner for the project. This would have resulted in the canceling of the project, except the Muley Fanatic Foundation with only one fundraising event in 2012 under their belt, stepped up and committed the $170,000 to help the project be initiated. 

This project continues today and has discovered great information of many generations of mule deer, discovered what the impact of a record breaking winter of 2016/2017 can do, and added many components, such as, collaring male mule deer to find the differences in their migration and winter habits compared to females.

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The Muley Fanatic Foundation RAFFLES are the main fundraising mechanism. It isn’t to giveaway a great prize, it’s the importance that the funding continues for the projects. These efforts help continue to educate us about the mule deer and finding out the solutions behind the loss of their populations.

If you are willing to help support these efforts please participate in any of the MFF Raffles.

Project Gains New Insights into

Mule Deer Declines

Mountain lion predation on adult mule deer, coyote predation on fawn, along with elk populations

consuming deer food and prolonged drought have made it increasingly difficult for

mule deer in the Greater Little Mountain Area to find their own place. (NPS)

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GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — Five years of comprehensive research into why mule deer populations have declined dramatically over the past few decades is nearing the finish line.

Kevin Monteith, associate professor at the University of Wyoming, has been studying the impacts of drought, coyote and mountain lion predation, and competition with elk for food in the Greater Little Mountain Area in southwestern Wyoming.

“We’re working really hard to understand to what degree each one of those players is operating so that we can know better which one of those we can push or pull on from a management perspective to create a better scenario for deer in that system,” Monteith said.

Unlike other habitat fractured by human development, mule deer in this mostly untouched high-desert system are able to access summer and winter ranges, but they still have not been able to thrive. Monteith said he hopes what his team can learn in this pristine setting will help wildlife managers take steps necessary to accommodate deer in other parts of the mountain West.

Technological advancements not available even five years ago have given Monteith’s team detailed data to work with. GPS satellite tracking helps researchers find and collar fawn in the field just hours after birth. DNA of fecal samples have identified some 200 different food types foraged by elk, compared with less than two dozen by mule deer.

Monteith said the new tools have revealed a multitude of previously unseen events, which helps paint a clearer picture of each deer’s unique story.

“So this gives us the power to expose some of those pieces, connect the dots,” he said. “On day one, where it’s born, the condition and circumstances of its mom, and watch it grow and develop ideally all the way until it hits adulthood.”

The Deer-Elk Ecology Research Project is an exhaustive undertaking compared with other mule deer studies, and through a broad grassroots effort, supporters have so far raised all but $190,000 of the $1.3 million needed to complete the project.

Eric Galatas, Public News Service – WY

The story of the challenge coin

MFF LIFE MEMBER

Do you accept the challenge? Buy your Life Membership by CLICKING HERE!

Thank you Tyrel Bramwell for creating this great video.

Greater Little Mountain Area

The Hidden Gem of Southwest Wyoming

Muley Fanatic Foundation Awards

Inaugural Conservation Scholarship

Pictured left to right, Joey Faigl and Josh Coursey (MFF Founders), Kolbi Hester (Scholarship recipient),

Christine Thomas (Kolbi’s proud Mother), Brian Taylor (Scholarship Chair).

 

For others who may be interested in applying for the scholarship, there are up to five additional
scholarships available. Qualification requirements are noted in this press release, or contact the Muley
Fanatic Foundation in Green River at (307) 875-3133 or e-mail scholarshipshoot@yahoo.com or
josh@muleyfanatic.org for more details

COVID-19

Due to the Covid-19 circumstances, the Muley Fanatic Foundation has cancelled or postponed all upcoming events until further notice. If you would still like to support the efforts of MFF, please become a member or make any kind donation.

Thank you all for understanding and please be safe and healthy.

The list is too long to display all projects

Featured Projects

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Blue Ridge Chapter in Virginia allocates $16,750 to three projects.

The Muley Fanatic Foundation’s Blue Ridge Chapter is one of the few chapters that were able to have their fundraising banquet in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Following their Inaugural Banquet on February 29th, the chapter gathered and made their decisions to allocate to the three projects below.

Izaak Walton League Association

$750 – Allocated to support the Winchester Youth Outdoor Sporting Activities and Conservation/Education through the Izaak Walton League

D.E.E.R. Project

$5,000 – Allocated to the Deer Elk Ecology Research Project. A $1.3 million, 5 year PhD research project in Southwest Wyoming.

Wyoming Range Mule Deer Project

$11,000 – Allocated to the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Project

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Dominion Energy partnered with the Muley Fanatic Foundation allocated $14,000 to the video project and the MFF Southeast Wyoming Chapter allocated $5,000 to the camera trap footage in this film. Those same cameras will be utilized at the Platte Valley, Woodslanding, and Sybille Canyon areas.

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The Muley Fanatic Foundation Colorado Chapters have contributed over $26,000 to the Highway 9 Project. Funds benefited a portion of construction and the monitoring in different phases each year.

Since 2013, the MFF Colorado Chapters have allocated $466,049 and of that $370,424.43 is completely paid for due to project completions.

Thank you to everyone that supported and attended the Greeley and Denver Chapter Fundraising Banquets.

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The WYldlife Fund has sent $29,000 to the Dry Piney Wildlife Crossing project!

Thank you to the Muley Fanatic Foundation and the Mule Deer Foundation for their generous gifts!

Providing safe passage across busy roadways for Wyoming’s wildlife! Also, keeping our roadways safe for drivers! 

The WYldlife Fund unites people to advance Wyoming wildlife habitat, research, and education. Our foundation strives to be a vehicle to inject donor funds on the ground to advance critical projects and initiatives which strengthen Wyoming’s wildlife. We are a home for tax deductible gifts. Our foundation accepts restricted gifts so that a donor’s particular passion is directly and transparently funded.

Our latest grant heads to the Dry Piney Wildlife Crossing project. This stretch of US-189 has one of the highest rates of mule deer vehicle collisions in Wyoming. The migrating and wintering deer impacted are part of the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s priority Wyoming Range mule deer herd. The road has existing sheep fence (woven wire) along both sides which creates a substantial movement barrier. In addition to mule deer, vehicle collisions with pronghorn and moose also occur along this stretch.

The Dry Piney project consists of underpasses and high fencing to funnel wildlife to the crossings structures and thus a safe passage across busy roadways.

Thanks to a generous $24,000 donation from the Muley Fanatic Foundation and a $5,000 donation from the Mule Deer Foundation, The WYldlife Fund is able to send $29,000 to this critical project.

In order to leverage these donor funds to the fullest The WYldlife Fund is routing these grant dollars to Dry Piney through the Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust.

Executive Director Bob Budd explains, “Governor Gordon and the Wyoming Legislature have stepped up to address critical migration issues, including matching funds for this type of project, and the WWNRT has created a separate account to aggregate funds from a variety of sources to address the need.  This contribution will generate an equal amount into the corpus of the Trust Account which will generate conservation funds long into the future.  This is truly the Wyoming way, where many hands make light lifting, and we really appreciate the leadership and commitment The WYldlife Fund has shown in this regard.” .

The $29,000 sent through the Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust will be matched dollar for dollar by the state of Wyoming. These matching dollars will stay with WWNRT to help support long term advancement of initiatives and projects for the benefit of Wyoming’s wildlife.  In addition, the WWNRT has committed $100,000.00 to the Dry Piney project to date and may have the ability to contribute more as the project develops.

The Dry Piney project will reduce vehicle collisions with mule deer and decrease mortality in this ecologically and economically important herd by improving habitat connectivity, and helping to conserve migrations in this area. Pronghorn and moose movements could also be enhanced.

The WYldlife Fund applauds all federal, state, and non-profit partners who have made this project possible! We are honored to join this great group of leaders and change agents.

http://www.thewyldlifefund.org/

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Big Piney, WY – A check was presented to Wyoming Game Commissioner Mike Schmid (center) and the WYldlife Fund from the Muley Fanatic Foundation Upper Green Chapter (left to right) Zach Key, Ray Alexander, and Mitch Kannier. The check was for the amount of $24,000 and will be allocated to the Dry Piney Highway Underpasses Project. These funds were remains from their 2019 Fundraising Banquet.

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“Putting the ‘U’ in Hunt”

Hunts for youths with life-threatening illnesses.

131 gun giveaways!

2020 MFF Gun Calendar

** Not receiving emails? They could possibly be going into your junk/spam folders **

The calendar helps further the mission and continues the existence of MFF. With the model of 70/30 (70% of net funds is obtained by that local chapter for their local area) that has existed since day one of the foundation, the Headquarters organizes other fundraising mechanisms to continue the organization and it’s future. View some Muley Fanatic Foundation YouTube videos.