The first national convention was held in the Salt Palace in 1988. It drew more than 32,000 people, which remains the record for convention attendance. That same year, Anheuser-Busch donated $500,000 to the organization.

"That donation moved us to a whole new level," said Christensen. "It made it possible for us to really get involved in a lot of very worthwhile projects."

This included the first Utah project, the purchase of about 400 acres of important wildlife habitat in an area north of Logan.

"It was not a particular big project," continued Christensen, "but it was an important wildlife management area, especially for big game.

"Go there now and you'll see a lot of very expensive homes. So buying and preserving that piece of land has become all the more important."

The next big project in Utah involved the chaining of roughly 3,000 acres in the Indian Peaks area to remove old growth in order to allow for new wildlife habitat.

One project that drew the ire of locals involved the introduction of elk in the San Juan-Elk Ridge area.

"Back in 1988," he noted, "there was a lawsuit brought to stop the transplant of elk. We supported the transplant, and elk were eventually moved into the area.

"That area, now, is prime elk habitat. A lot of the landowners who fought us back then are glad it happened. Several now have landowner permits for this area that they are selling for $20,000 to $30,000. It's safe to say that now they like having elk."

Over the years, the RMEF has also supported a number of studies and research projects, several of them directed at the Hardware Elk Ranch southeast of Logan.

"In all of the project, though, our number one priority is still habitat enhancement, projects like aspen rejuvenation, pinyon-juniper treatment, reseeding and water projects."

Christensen has been involved with the foundation almost from its inception. He chaired the first fund-raiser in 1986, hosted the first Utah banquet in 1988 and was instrumental in bringing the first convention to Salt Lake City.

The first field director for RMEF was, in fact, Bill Geer, former director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Christensen was the second.

Among the 550 chapters, 14 are located in Utah. The Salt Lake chapter was recognized this year for achieving the largest net revenue.

In its review of top projects, two happened here in Utah.

One was the Book Cliffs Conservation Initiative, which impacted more than half a million acres. It involved partnering with several groups and organizations to acquire four ranches in the Book Cliffs area that were deemed critical to wildlife.