S2 E15 – California Conservation – Randy Morrison and Kevin Zeman
The Mule Deer Foundation is the only conservation group in…
S2 E15 – California Conservation with Randy Morrison and Kevin Zeman
This week’s Talking Mule Deer brings in Randy Morrison, MDF’s Senior Regional Director for the state of California, and Kevin Zeman who used to work for the U.S. Forest Service and now is working for MDF. Kevin’s focus is helping to implement habitat stewardship agreements, partnership opportunities with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to do larger scale habitat restoration across the West. These agreements are making a huge difference for mule deer conservation in California, which has seen its fair share of catastrophic wildfires in recent years. Randy and Kevin describe how stewardship projects are helping set back the natural ecological succession cycle to create a more natural forested environment that provides diverse habitat for wildlife and reduces fire risk. Kevin also tells us how the state has implemented the California Climate Initiative, and how MDF has received over a million dollars to implement projects on the Plumas National Forest and help provide matching funding for the federal funds used for stewardship projects. Randy also describes how California’s chapters are working to designate their Chapter Rewards funding and their volunteer hours toward these stewardship projects to make a much larger impact on the landscape. They then tell us about some of the creative new projects that are likely on the horizon in the state and the outlook for chapters in the state moving forward – including a new southern California chapter!
The Mule Deer Foundation is the only 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 1-888-375-3337.