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®.
Individuals can apply, and chapters or affiliates can 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.
2025 Townsend Youth Conservation Award Winner
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.
The following application for the Townsend Youth Conservation Award can be utilized two ways. This is the actual application sent to Wild Sheep Foundation by a chapter or affiliate nominated youth candidate. Additionally, some chapters may use it for their actual selection process. Other chapters utilize a different selection process.
DOWNLOAD APPLICATION
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.
