International News

Wild Sheep Foundation President and CEO Gray N. Thornton has been named the recipient of Dallas Safari Club’s 2027 Peter H. Capstick Hunting Heritage Award, recognizing more than three decades of leadership in wildlife conservation, sustainable use, and hunting advocacy. 

The Wild Sheep Foundation joined the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) at its 2026 General Assembly in Brussels, strengthening international partnerships to advance sustainable hunting, wildlife conservation, and hunting advocacy. Representing more than 7 million European hunter-conservationists, FACE is a key WSF partner in protecting hunting traditions, supporting wildlife restoration, and uniting hunters across borders.

A new executive order puts hunting access, wildlife habitat, game populations, and active management in the federal spotlight. For the wild sheep community, provisions addressing habitat connectivity, disease, population-limiting factors, and hunting at Castle Mountains National Monument are especially significant.

A MidwayUSA Foundation grant will help WSF expand hands-on shooting and hunting education for young people through its Shooting, Hunting & Ethics Education Program (S.H.E.E.P.), building skills, reinforcing safe and ethical hunting practices, and connecting the next generation to wildlife conservation. 

The Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund is continuing its commitment to wild sheep with a $150,000 grant supporting WSF’s Grant-In-Aid Program for fiscal year 2026–27. Over eight years, the Outdoor Fund has contributed $926,000 to advance wild sheep conservation projects across North America. 

Proposal will update management to address modern conservation challenges while building on decades of recovery. The Wild Sheep Foundation today welcomed a new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service draft rule that recognizes the remarkable recovery of grizzly bears and involves state and tribal wildlife agencies more directly in continuing bear conservation.