Electronic Kiosk Installed in Wisconsin Elk Country
Clam Lake, WI— The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) announced the installation of an interactive electronic kiosk designed to provide visitors information about the resident elk herd. The kiosk was retrofitted into an existing sign located at the junction of Highways 77 and GG in Clam Lake. The program includes expansive information about elk and their habitat, the history of elk in Wisconsin and their reintroduction after one hundred years of absence. In addition, wildlife spotting guides, maps, and directions to nearby viewing areas are incorporated to help visitors experience elk.
“The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is proud to offer this service to visitors who may have traveled quite a distance for the chance to see an elk,” says Kurt Flack, Regional Director for RMEF. “The more opportunities we have to educate and inform people about elk and the mission of the RMEF, the more successful we can be. This technology is a very effective tool in accomplishing this.”
The kiosk, made possible in part by a state grant from RMEF, was designed and installed by Imperial Multimedia, a Wisconsin-based company that specializes in interpreting nature and the outdoors. Imperial first put this technology to test in Wisconsin State Parks in 2003 and subsequently has rolled it out across the nation in various venues including state parks, zoos and aquariums, and museums. While Imperial Multimedia addressed a majority of the project, invaluable contributions were made by DNR Elk Biologists Laine Stowell and Matt McKay, Clam Lake local and RMEF volunteer Bud Rubeck, and other local volunteers who donated time and materials to reconstruct the site. Fred Lochner, founder of Imperial Multimedia and long time supporter of RMEF and elk in Wisconsin states, “The kiosk is designed to create a destination for people coming to Clam Lake to experience the elk who may be intimidated by the wildness of Wisconsin’s vast Chequamegon and Nicolet National Forest. Our focus was to educate and guide visitors to a safe and meaningful experience and perhaps even spawn some wildlife advocates along the way.”
About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: Snowy peaks, dark timber basins and grassy meadows. RMEF is leading an elk country initiative that has conserved or enhanced habitat on over 5.6 million acres—a land area equivalent to a swath three miles wide and stretching along the entire Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. RMEF also works to open, secure and improve public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. Get involved at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.
Contact: Kurt Flack, RMEF Regional Director, 866-389-6131 or kflack@rmef.org