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2013 Convention "The Sheep Show ™" Breaks Records on all Fronts
Cody, Wyoming, USA. January 8, 2013 - With records broken for the highest amounts bid on auction for special permits, overall attendance, and funds raised for wildlife and other mission programs, the 2013 Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and Sporting Expo The Sheep Show™ held last week at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, Nevada lived up to its billing as the "Premier Mountain Hunting and Conservation Expo in the World!"
Since the very first Wyoming "Governor's Permit" for bighorn sheep was sold at the Sheep Show™ in 1980, the marketing and sale of special permits for state, tribal and provincial agencies has been a WSF marquee where more money is raised for wildlife conservation than at any other event of its kind. The four nightly auctions held last week were no different with six new World Record bids for special permits recorded.
The Montana State Bighorn Sheep tag brought an incredible $480,000 when the gavel fell Friday night shattering the previous record of $300,000 set last year and also beating the all-time record bid of $405,000 for a bighorn sheep. The previous record was set in 1999 for the Alberta's Minister's Special License.
The British Columbia's Minister's buyers choice permit sold for $275,000. Besting the previous record set last year of $250,000.
Due to conservation efforts by New Mexico Game & Fish and organizations such as New Mexico WSF and WSF, a special New Mexico desert bighorn tag was offered for the first time and brought $180,000 equaling the $180,000 record bid for the New Mexico Rocky Mountain tag sold later Saturday night
The Oregon Rocky Mountain bighorn permit brought $135,000 bettering the $130,000 previous record set in 2011.
And the tag that started it all 33 years ago, the Wyoming bighorn permit brought $70,000 setting another record for that coveted permit.
Other notable sales included $150,000 for the Idaho bighorn permit; $120,000 for the New Mexico Big Game Enhancement Package; $64,000 for the Washington permit; $160,000 for the Arizona permit and $181,000 for the Alaska Chugach Dall's permit. In total more than $3.19 million was raised for wild sheep and wildlife through the sale of these and other special permits and more than $5 million was raised overall during the event for wildlife conservation efforts through North America and the world.
Equaling the enormity of the prices paid is the fact that 100% of the dollars raised for these permits are directed to state, provincial, tribal and WSF conservation initiatives to help "Put and Keep Sheep on the Mountain™."
While the special permits sales to many are the highlight of the annual WSF event, the defining moment for most of the WSF 2013 convention was when a USA Flag, which had flown over Bragram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sold to benefit the Wounded Warriors Outdoors Program brought $100,000 during the Saturday Grand Finale event.
The Sheep Show returns to Reno, January 22-25, 2014 for another record breaking event for wild sheep and wildlife conservation.
The Wild Sheep Foundation, formerly the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS,) was founded in 1977 by wild sheep conservationists and enthusiasts. With a membership of more than 5,500 worldwide and a chapter network in North America, WSF is the premier advocate for wild sheep, wild goats, other mountain wildlife, and their habitat. Since forming in 1977, the Wild Sheep Foundation and its chapters and affiliates have raised and expended more than $90 million on conservation, education and conservation advocacy programs in North America, Europe and Asia. These and other efforts have resulted in a four-fold increase in bighorn sheep populations in North America from their historic 1950-70s lows of ~17,000 to ~70,000 today.
For more information on the WSF Convention, visit www.wildsheepfoundation.org.
Telephone 307-527-6261 or 800 OK FNAWS. Email info@wildsheepfoundation.org.
Facebook.com/WildSheepFoundation. 720 Allen Avenue, Cody, Wyoming 82414 USA
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