The Northeast Georgia Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) will hold its Third Annual Big Game Banquet and Auction at Gwinnett Center on August 9, 2008.

Local chapters of the RMEF conduct annual banquets that feature a social hour with games, raffles, prizes, and a silent auction, followed by a dinner and then a lively benefit auction. Local volunteers in the North East Georgia area who are concerned about the future of wildlife and preserving our wildlife’s habitat have developed the chapter.

Committee Chair Scott Dippel announced that the social hour would begin at 4:00 PM followed by dinner at 6:00 PM. The fundraising auction, which begins after the meal, will feature several rifles, bows, limited edition wildlife prints and other top quality items. All proceeds from the banquet will benefit RMEF habitat conservation projects.

Tickets are $75 for a single and $115 for a couple. All tickets include meal, a one-year RMEF membership and a subscription to Bugle magazine.

For reservations and more information, please contact Mike Pope at 770-787-9249.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is an international, nonprofit conservation organization whose mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat. Founded in 1984, the Foundation now has more than 155,000 members who have helped generate the funds to conserve and enhance 5 million acres of wildlife habitat across North America. The RMEF has more than 2,900 critical wildlife and habitat conservation projects in the United States and Canada. The RMEF has been instrumental in reestablishing elk in the Appalachian Mountains where they roamed over 200 years ago. Kentucky now has a substantial population of 10,000 elk with a hunting season and North Carolina has an established herd in the Great Smoky Mountain Park at Cataloochee. Some other examples included management related research, habitat acquisitions, habitat improvement projects, and conservation education programs.

The RMEF also publishes a bimonthly magazine, Bugle – the only major national publication devoted exclusively to elk. To learn more about the Elk Foundation, visit www.elkfoundation.org, or phone 1-800-CALL-ELK.