In 1980, a new strategy to fund wild sheep conservation emerged in Wyoming.  The state auctioned off a single bighorn sheep hunting permit, raising $23,000—a staggering sum at the time.

Fast forward to today, and the concept has reached unprecedented heights. The sale of New Mexico's bighorn sheep tag for $1.3 million at the 2025 Sheep Show is the latest and most dramatic example of how conservation permit auctions have evolved. This, however, is not without its questions. As the numbers climb, does this still align with the values that have long defined North American wildlife conservation?

By Craig Boddington

Free-range in Far West Texas with veteran sheep hunter James Craig.

Auction tags are slightly predictable, because not everyone is able to bid. I’m not among those who can, doesn’t bother me because auction tags have put a lot of sheep on the mountain, and that’s all that matters. Raffle tags and hunts are completely unpredictable. Somebody with a three-quarter FNAWS, wanting that last ram, may stuff the ballot box like a…never mind. Or, statistics be damned, a raffle may be won by the holder of one lonely ticket.

This past February, the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (NGPC) successfully helicopter captured, tested, collared, and released 36 bighorn sheep in the Wildcat Hills as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the state's bighorn sheep population.

Thanks to you and our other valued partners like you,  WSF raised and directed more than $11 million to Mission Program Funding during the 2023-24 fiscal year to fulfill our purpose To Put and Keep Wild Sheep on the Mountain®. That’s a 47% increase from the previous fiscal year! This tremendous increase was primarily due to the exponential power of like-minded friends and family, which is where we could use your help.
 

HERE’S HOW THE MEMBER GIFT PROGRAM WORKS

You refer new members or buy gift memberships for them; you earn fabulous outdoor gear! It’s that easy.

As noted in our inaugural FY 2022-23 Conservation Impact Summary last year, WSF revised our Grant-In-Aid (GIA) process in the spring of 2022 to focus on larger, bolder, more impactful, and multi-year legacy projects with nearly all of them coming to WSF through our chapter and affiliate network. This action transformed our GIA program, and our Board of Directors recently renewed this focus for our current fiscal year. We are very pleased to report a second year of record results and record funding toward our conservation, education, and advocacy mission in this expanded FY 2023-24 Conservation Impact Summary.

The Wild Sheep Foundation has released a new publication focused on keeping wild sheep populations healthy and thriving. Keeping Wild Sheep Healthy is a free educational brochure that delivers the science and presents various strategies for keeping wild sheep from contracting a deadly disease from animal-to-animal contact with domestic sheep, goats, and even infected wild sheep.