This year’s recipient is Luke Briant, of Reno, Nevada. Besides baseball, Luke’s passions include hunting, being in the mountains, and teaching others how to hunt. It is because of these passions that Luke makes such an ambassador for wildlife.
Last year Luke helped to construct a guzzler in central Nevada. Over this weekend-long event, he was responsible for the tedious task of hauling rock after rock to UTVs and then unloading them at the guzzler itself. This project helped reinforce his dedication to wildlife, as it not only provided an opportunity for him to better understand how a rain-fed gravity guzzler works, but allowed him the opportunity to personally give back to wildlife.
Luke believes he is constantly educating others about how hunting is conservation. His school lunches in middle school include wild game his family, and he, harvest. It always brings up conversations among his peers. And, in many cases, he gets them to try his delicious wild game. This unique way allows him to expose his peers to hunting, healthy harvests, and all the benefits conservation brings to their lives.
Over the years, Luke has participated in numerous educational events put on by the Shooting, Hunting, and Ethics Education Program (S.H.E.E.P.) of the Wild Sheep Foundation. Last year, he began giving back by volunteering at the Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience of Sheep Show. Luke is in his third year on the Wild Sheep Foundation’s archery team, where he took 1st place in the Nevada State Archery Shoot, and serves as the oldest mentor on the archery team.
Luke is a lifetime member of the Wild Sheep Foundation, and enjoys reading Wild Sheep Magazine each quarter, as it excites him not only about hunting, but also adds to his knowledge on how our organization continues to monitor the health and habitat for wild sheep.
Watch the video of the 2025 Townsend Youth Conservation Award below.