Other Awards Presented by WSF

MAIN AWARDS PAGE | CONKLIN AWARD | JACK O'CONNOR WRITER'S AWARD | TOWNSEND YOUTH CONSERVATIONIST AWARD
 

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Conklin Award

WSF is honored to annually host the Conklin Foundation and the presentation of the prestigious Conklin Award during our Friday Legacy Night Banquets. Often called the “Tough Guy/Gal Award”, the Conklin award recognizes the world’s greatest active hunter who pursues game in the most difficult terrain and conditions, while abiding by the highest standards of ethics and fair chase and is a strong participant in wildlife conservation.

The 2024 Conklin Award was presented to Eduardo Negrete.

Deron has several real hunting passions, but he feels the most rewarding are both the rainforest and mountain hunts, where mental and physical fitness meet. His most memorable hunts include Forest Elephant and Dwarf Forest Buffalo in Cameroon, Himalayan Blue Sheep in Nepal, Yakutia Snow Sheep in Russia, Thinhorn Sheep in Canada and Markhor in Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The hardest hunt was his Yakutia hunt where we walked almost continuously for 26 straight hours. “The rams were far and the days long.”

 Watch the full video about the Conklin Award and this year's winner below.
   

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Jack O'Connor Writer's Award

Jack O’Connor was the undisputed dean of outdoor writers, a world class big game hunter, wildlife conservation pioneer and influential gun editor. Born in 1902, he presided over the “golden age” of modern big game hunting and left a rich legacy through his writing and leadership.  Despite his death in 1978, his work remains fresh and continues to inspire hunters of all ages. His special contribution, in a wide and long list of accomplishments, was in educating hunters about wild sheep and sheep hunting.
 
To honor Jack, the Jack O’Connor Hunting Heritage and Education Center and the Wild Sheep Foundation are presenting the Jack O’Connor Writers Award.  This is an annual award to be presented to the author of the best published article about wild sheep, with special focus on hunting and/or conservation. The winning author will receive a bronze bust of the legendary writer, sculpted by world renowned sculptor Jack Logozzo, especially for this contest.  It will be personalized to the recipient with the winner’s name and contest date. The presentation of this award will be at the Wild Sheep Foundation Sheep Show©. 

The 2025 Jack O'Connor Writer's Award was presented to Jim Manley from Oregon. Watch his award presenation below.
   

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Townsend Youth Conservation Award

This youth award began in 2022 and is dedicated in the memory of Butch Townsend, from Wyoming. Butch was passionate and devoted much of his life to wild sheep. He sat on the Wild Sheep Foundation Board of Directors and was an exceptional supporter of the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation. Butch was a visionary. He knew that there wouldn’t be sheep on the mountain in the future without kids on the mountain today. Thus, he and wife Kathy made considerable investments in putting and keeping kids on the mountain with wild sheep. It seems fitting to name a conservation award after him.

The award is for a youth in 7th-12th grade; as of January, of the year, the award is presented at Wild Sheep Foundation’s national convention, the Sheep Show®.

Chapters or affiliates look within their organization for a youth who stands out in the area of wildlife conservation. Ideally, the chapter or affiliate would select a top candidate to be recognized locally, perhaps at the banquet. Once recognized by the chapter or affiliate, the official WSF application is submitted by the nominee to the Wild Sheep Foundation through Ryan Brock by August 15 of each year.

An award committee from the Wild Sheep Foundation and the National Bighorn Sheep Center will choose the annual national awardee. The awardee will be invited to the Sheep Show in Reno, where the award will be presented during the Conservation Night banquet.

Luke Briant from Reno, Nevada, was the 2025 recipient of the Townsend Youth Conservation Award. Watch the video of her presentation below.