Clearfield, Utah (February 11, 2025): The Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) benefitted 122 deer herds in 18 states through their mission delivery in 2024. These conservation actions improved over 700,000 acres and 151 miles of fence removed or modified to wildlife-friendly standards. MDF’s investment of $16.9 million was matched by $34.3 million in agency and partner funds as well as volunteer in-kind hours to implement 184 conservation projects across the West. Additionally, MDF funded an additional $99k for partner support for sponsorship, education, and capacity requests, and $186k for research and monitoring. Overall MDF’s actions resulted in a $53.1 million investment for mule deer and black-tailed deer for 2024.
MDF saw a significant bump in our yearly efforts due to the expanded federal partnerships with the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in addition to increased fundraising from staff and volunteers through events and philanthropic giving. These significant results show the organization’s strong emphasis on achieving its mission of “ensuring the conservation of mule deer, black-tailed deer, and their habitat” and a continued rise in interest from partners who want to work with MDF.
“These tremendous results are due to the commitment of MDF staff, volunteers, partners, and other stakeholders,” stated MDF President/CEO Greg Sheehan. “MDF is known as an organization that gets stuff done on the ground for deer, and our continued growth is amazing. The past 5 years alone, MDF has benefitted over 1.2 million acres of habitat and fixed over 400 miles of fence on hundreds of deer herds throughout their range.”
Building previous year’s momentum and increased focus on habitat, MDF continued to increase our conservation footprint to make a difference for deer across the West. When tallied up, our $17.2 million investment was matched 3.1 to 1 by our partners and through our volunteers’ hard work. MDF’s project funding is generated through grants, federal land stewardship agreements, chapter fundraisers, and more. This funding is leveraged with other partner dollars and in-kind volunteer efforts to maximize the impact on the landscape.
Habitat improvements are the key to successful conservation of mule deer and black-tailed deer. MDF works with state and federal agencies to crunch data and information to learn where our efforts can have the biggest impact. Then, we focus on projects enhancing and restoring habitat, fighting and preventing invasive vegetation, improving wildlife movements and crossing, and making landscapes more productive. “We are turning acres treated into deer and benefitting local populations,” stated MDF Chief Conservation Officer Steve Belinda.
MDF also is learning to react quickly to stochastic events like wildfires to address emergency actions to maintain working landscapes and restore habitats. In 2024, MDF raised funding for NE Wyoming wildfire relief and is funding projects to fix fencing, prevent annual invasive grass establishment, and restore sagebrush.
“Our conservation efforts in 2024 were incredible, and through our continued commitment, we intent to make mule deer ‘sexy’ again,” concluded Belinda.
About MDF
The Mule Deer Foundation is the only national conservation group in North America dedicated to restoring, improving and protecting mule deer and black-tailed deer and their habitat, with a focus on science and program efficiency. MDF is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. MDF acknowledges regulated hunting as a viable management component and is committed to recruitment and retention of youth into the shooting sports and conservation. Get involved in your state or become a member at www.muledeer.org or call (801) 973-3940
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