Audience
natural resource professionals

This workshop is for selected agency professionals identified by their agency to attend a CLfT Professional Development Workshop.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

RMEF Headquarters and Visitor Center

The RMEF Headquarters and Visitor Center sits on 22 acres of land along a natural mountain stream. It includes fun and interactive exhibits to learn more about elk, elk country and the role the RMEF plays in conservation. Discover the diverse wildlife that calls elk country home, explore the role we all play in conserving habitat, and connect with the rich heritage that makes the outdoors so important to so many of us. Along the way, you can hear elk bugle, test your knowledge of wildlife, identify animal tracks, feel the weight of an elk antler, and enjoy wildlife conservation films. Other highlights include an impressive display of trophy elk mounts and our gift shop featuring Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation clothing and merchandise, wildlife art, calendars, and more. 
 

Outdoor Walking Trail

Those wanting to stretch their legs will enjoy the beautiful, wooded nature trail that winds its way around the 22-acre RMEF property. Watch for the white-tailed deer, turkeys, bald eagles, owls, trout and other wildlife that frequent the property.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
5705 Grant Creek
Missoula, MT 59808
(406) 523-4500
President
Bob Byrne Consulting
Currently, Bob is owner of Bob Byrne Consulting, a conservation consulting firm specializing in finding innovative solutions to conservation issues through strategic planning, programmatic reviews, evaluations, group facilitation and literature reviews.

Prior to forming his own company, Bob spent 30+ years in conservation where he worked for three state wildlife agencies, two conservation NGOs and a conservation-communications consulting firm.

Being an avid hunter and angler, Bob has a deep concern about passing on our hunting and fishing heritage on to future generations, and has focused much of his recent efforts on this task.

Some of his most recent projects include:

➢ Assisted The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CHASS) and the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) develop the National Hunting and Shooting Sports Action Plan that is being used as the framework to improve recruitment, retention and re-activation (R3) programs for hunting and the shooting sports.

➢ Assisted the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and the Aquatic resources Education Association (AREA) develop a strategic plan for angler recruitment, retention and re-activation programs.

➢ Developed Environmental Stewardship Plans for 17 outdoor shooting ranges operated by the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Bob can be reached at bobbyrne2018@gmail.com or 540-937-2139.
Molly has been a CLfT instructor for a least a decade. She's also a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Chief Hunter Safety Education Instructor, a Hunter Safety and Bow Hunter Safety Instructor, an NRA Shotgun Certified Instructor, a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Conservation Group board member and active with Back Country Hunters and Anglers. Molly has worn many hats in her work life -- dairy farmer, carpenter, graphic designer and family practice nurse . She currently creates custom western hats and leather goods.
Texas Game Warden (Retired)
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Texas Game Warden July 1988-August 2019. Stationed on the lower Texas coast. Firearms Instructor, Hunter Education Instructor, Marine Safety Enforcement Officer Instructor. I have been hunting creeks and fishing since a child with my grandpa and father. I enjoy migratory game bird and waterfowl hunting. I also enjoy cooking. Married to Jill Flores. We have 30 year old twins. A speech pathologist and wildlife biologist. My family and I take every opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Living on the coast provides almost all season opportunities to fish and hunt. I have been able to pass on my knowledge to CLFT workshop students as to the roles of law enforcement in regards to wildlife conservation. I also provide preparation and cooking information of wild game meals for CLFT programs. Retired and living the dream. Enjoying organizing and assisting with youth hunting opportunities and summer wildlife programs.
Associate Professor
Ohio State University School of Environement and Natural Resources
Robert J. Gates is Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State University. Bob grew up and began hunting with his father in east central Wisconsin, after which his family moved to the hunting paradise of eastern South Dakota, where he received his B.S. in Wildlife Science from South Dakota State University. Bob’s graduate degrees were from Montana State University (M.S.) and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (Ph.D.). Bob’s travels have provided many memorable hunting, fishing and other outdoors activities that he has shared with family and friends in 19 states/provinces in the U.S. and Canada. He is most proud of passing on the hunting and fishing traditions to his younger brother Dale, and to his sons Eric and Jared. Bob is an avid bird hunter who most enjoys hunting pheasants and prairie grouse over pointing dogs (especially Brittanys) and also hunts doves, waterfowl and big game. Bob has taught classes and conducted research with graduate students for nearly 30 years, first at Southern Illinois University, and currently at Ohio State University. His research interests are primarily focused on ecology and management of upland game birds, waterfowl and other wetlands-dependent wildlife, and conservation of wetlands and early successional habitats. He has been a member of The Wildlife Society (TWS) for more than 30 years, serving as state chapter president in Illinois and Ohio, and President
Cervid Biologist
Missouri Department of Conservation
Aaron grew up spending some time camping and fishing, but it wasn't until high school that he discovered hunting. That discovery played a pivotal role in starting the fire that got him interested in conservation as a career. He received his B.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his M.S. from the University of Kentucky studying the physiological effects of translocation on elk. He has been the Cervid Biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation since 2016 helping to conserve the state's deer and elk population. He has been an instructor with CLfT since 2009 and enjoys the opportunities to work and interact with the diverse array of participants and instructors at each workshop.
Asst. professor of Wildlife Biology and Natural Resources Management
Grand Valley State University
CLfT Instructor- Hunter Education Instructor
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
Michael Kolsun has been a volunteer Hunter Education instructor for the Vermont F&W department for 30 years and serves on the F&W board. He is certified in hunter, bow and trapper education and currently serves as a Chief Instructor. Growing up in a non hunting family, he was mentored into hunting in his early twenties. After all the help he received, the importance of 'paying it forward' lead him to becoming a certified instructor. Through networking in his local community, he now has a team of 12 instructors, teaching a hands on, interactive, experiential based class.
He has attended the Tom Brown Tracker School, learned to make primitive longbows with John McPherson, is an avid hand loader of ammunition and has spent time as a primitive rendezvous/fur trade era, muzzle loader competitor. Taking the hunt to a deeper level of satisfaction, which includes butchering and caring for ones harvested game, is a year round pursuit.
As an Endowment member of the NRA, he has instructor ratings in pistol and shotgun. After retirement from UPS, he has started Vermont Advanced Shooting Sports (V.A.S.S.), a post hunter education school, to facilitate the new shooter with limited mentoring opportunity.
Michael and his wife, Molly Cook, live on 38 acres in the Northeast Kingdom in Brighton, VT. They spend their time managing their land to sustain wildlife, hunting, fishing, shooting and enjoying the gifts that nature provides. Wild game meat in the freezer is their preferred diet.
Kelly R. Thompson Professor of Quail Research, Dept. Chair of Natural Sciences and Professor of Wildlife Management
Sul Ross State University/Borderlands Research Institute
Dr. Ryan S. Luna is a Research Scientist with Borderlands Research Institute, Chair of the Natural Sciences Department, and Professor of Wildlife Management at Sul Ross State University. He teaches curriculum associated with the Wildlife Management program, and is a faculty advisor to the Range and Wildlife Club. Ryan’s interests focus on habitat use and foraging ecology. His primary research pertains to game bird ecology and management, control techniques for feral hogs, and mule deer population characteristics and habitat use.

Prior to joining BRI, Ryan obtained a PhD at Texas State University. While at Texas State, he was a Doctoral NSF Fellow working in a GK-12 program. When not in middle school classrooms getting students interested in science, Ryan was working on his dissertation which focused on body size, rumen-reticulum functions, and dietary nutrition of white-tailed deer. Prior to his doctoral work, he earned an MS from the University of Texas at San Antonio. During this period he worked for the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio performing behavioral assays on Rhesus Macaques. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University, Ryan worked as a Game Warden for New Mexico Department of Game and Fish until he returned to Texas to begin his master’s and doctoral work.
Assistant Professor of Wildlife Habitat Ecology
Montana State University
Retired
Idaho Dept Fish and Game
1961-70: BS Fish and Game Management, MS Wildlife Management, Oregon State University. Assistant in Veterinary Parasitology, Dept Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University. 1970-1996: Conservation Officer, Wildlife Research Biologist, Regional Wildlife Manager, Idaho Dept Fish and Game. 1996-present: Wildlife contract and consultant work, fly fishing and hunting guide.
Director
CLfT
Prior to coming to CLfT, David was a Captain with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division where he served for 27 1/2 years in a variety of positions including Field Officer, Environmental Investigator, Homeland Security Coordinator, Training Administrator and the Education and Training Section Commander. David has held a number of instructor certifications and specialties that included: 4H Shooting Sports Shotgun Instructor, NRA Muzzleloading Rifle, NRA Range Safety Officer, Indiana and Illinois Hunter Education Instructor and Indiana Trapper Education Instructor. David is a 1980 graduate of Vincennes University with an Associate of Science degree in Conservation Law Enforcement and a graduate of the 191st Session of the FBI National Academy. He served three terms as president of the Association of Natural Resource Enforcement Trainers (ANRET)(now a subcommittee of NAWEOA). David served as Secretary of the International Hunter Education Association, IHEA from 2009 to 2011. David was inducted into the IHEA-USA Hall of Fame in 2018. He has remained active in law enforcement by serving with the Mason County Sheriff's Marine Patrol Division and in 2021 he became NASBLA's 1st Certified Recreational Boating Professional (CRBP) in the Nation.