Whitehorse Star, Feb 27/08
Sheep hunt tag goes for $315,000
The robust shape of Yukon Dall sheep inside the Kluane Game Sanctuary are capturing international attention - and top dollar.The robust shape of Yukon Dall sheep inside the Kluane Game Sanctuary are capturing international attention - and top dollar.
For the third year in a row, the North American Wild Sheep Foundation and the Kluane First Nation have auctioned off a hunt inside the sanctuary at the foundation's annual gathering earlier this month. "We sold the tag this year for $315,000, which is the largest a sheep tag has sold in 10 years now, and it's only the fifth tag that has sold for over $300,000, so it is a valuable tag," foundation president Ray Lee said in an interview Tuesday from his office in Cody, Wyo.
In its 20 years, the foundation has auction off 1,000 sheep hunts, Lee pointed out, to emphasize the value of the tag to hunt a Dall sheep inside the Kluane Game Preserve. Lee said it's now well understood the area in question has been closed to non-aboriginal hunters for decades, and has been hunted very little by first nation hunters. It is recognized as an opportunity to stalk slightly larger sheep, he said. Lee said the sheep auction in the last two years have both resulted in robust sheep which scored high in the record books, one for its large horns and the other for its overall large size. One can be assured, he suggested, that those bidding at the auction earlier this month in Salt Lake City were well aware of the potential of a Kluane hunt. "When you are looking at people who are looking to pay that kind of money, they have done their homework." he said. "They know they are likely to get a large trophy, and they also know their money is being used properly." Of the $315,000, the foundation will keep 12.5 per cent - or $39,375 - as its commission for organizing the conference attended by 21,000 this year, as well as attracting those with the financial resources to purchase expensive hunts. The foundation, Lee emphasized, uses its resources to promote wildlife conservation among all species, and simply uses the wild sheep moniker as anchor.
The Kluane Game Sanctuary hunt was purchased by Doug Leech, a businessman and avid hunter from West Virginia. Lee said the wild sheep foundation promotes different wildlife conservation initiatives with the hunts it auctions each year.
There was a variety of hunts for a variety of animals sold from six continents earlier this month, he said. Leech, said Lee, could have easily paid $15,000 to $20,000 for a regular sheep hunt, but chose to direct his financial support through a higher bid to promote conservation.
Under the contract between the Kluane First Nation and the foundation, the first nation must use the remaining $275,625 for wildlife development of social enhancement programs in its community. He said creating employment by hiring locals to build cabins and other infrastructure to support the hunt, or to provide services during the hunt, is an example of how the money can be used. The right for the Kluane First Nation to provide commercial hunting access inside the game sanctuary is provided for in its land claims settlement as a means of creating economic development opportunities.
The 2006 Kluane tag sold for $160,000, while the 2007 tag sold for $170,000. The year's second-highest sheep hunt sold for $215,000 along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, he said. Lee said there was a flurry of active bidding initially for this year's Kluane tag. "But once you get to that level, once you get to $200,000, it pretty well came down to two individuals, and then they bid themselves up to that level."
Under the land claims provision, the Kluane First Nation has a right to sell 35 commercial hunts over the years. For each year the first nation decides to auction a tag, the Yukon government makes one tag available inside the sanctuary through a lottery system to Yukon resident hunters.
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