CSC students start club to benefit wildlife

The CSC student chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation was officially recognized by the Campus Activities Board in mid-September, after receiving a charter from the parent organization in April.

The group’s first project, construction of a rainwater catchment tank on U.S. Forest Service land south of Chadron, took place in April, and earlier this month members helped work on another wildlife watering station on the Metcalf Wildlife Management Area north of Hay Springs, according to Brandon Werner, one of the student organizers of the club.

The CSC club is the second student chapter ever chartered by the RMEF, and is working with the established Pine Ridge chapter, based in Chadron, said Werner, a senior rangeland/wildlife major. The club has about 19 members and is working with the Chadron chapter on its annual banquet/fundraiser, set for Nov. 20, he said.

“It’s pretty unique. People around Chadron are excited about it,” Werner said. 

Nationwide, RMEF has more than 200,000 members and 500 chapters, and a mission “to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage,” the organization’s website says.

Werner, who is from eastern Nebraska and came to Chadron State in part because of the hunting opportunities, said the CSC club’s projects aren’t done “just so there’s more stuff to shoot at.”

“We are doing it for the health of the (wildlife) population,” Werner said. “There’s nothing like seeing or hearing an elk. I wish more people in Nebraska could hear them.”

Water tanks like the group built are placed in areas where other water sources are scarce, benefit all types of wildlife, and have the potential to increase animal populations, Werner said.

“The carrying capacity (number of wild animals an area can support) will get better with more access to water,” he said.

The CSC RMEF club, which is closely affiliated with the college’s Wildlife Club, benefits students too, Werner said. Working on wildlife projects fits in well with classroom work, helps build a resume, and provides opportunities for networking with professionals in the field.

“The volunteer activities you do directly go along with our course work, and directly go along with getting a job in the future,” he said. “Doing volunteer activities like this I’ve met a vast amount of professionals I could someday be working for.”

The new club may bring more exposure to CSC’s wildlife program as well. Werner said he has been interviewed by a reporter for “Bugle,” the RMEF’s official magazine, and he understands that the water tank project will be featured in a future issue.

Although some of the students involved with creating the club will graduate soon, Werner said he is confident it will continue and grow.

“We’ve got a lot of great undergraduates that are excited to keep this thing going,” he said.

The club’s next project, set for Friday, Oct. 2, will be to finish some work on the water project south of Chadron, Werner said. Information about the RMEF club is available on the CSC Wildlife Club’s Facebook page.