Exclusive California Desert Bighorn Tag Auction at 41st Annual SCI Hunters’ Convention
Safari Club International 01.14.13
A coveted California Desert Bighorn Sheep tag is one of the premium auction items being offered during the 41st Annual Safari Club International (SCI) Hunters’ Convention in Reno, Nev., Jan. 23-26. The tag will be sold on Friday, Jan. 25 during the Conservation Tag Auctions at noon in the North Fork Pavilion of the Reno Sparks Convention Center. Proceeds from the sale of the tag will be used to fund conservation efforts in California through the SCI Foundation.
“This is a great opportunity for someone to be able to take an exceptional bighorn sheep while simultaneously raising critical funds needed for conservation efforts in California,” said Foundation Executive Director Bob Benson. “The SCI Foundation is pleased to be part of this great effort and we appreciate the premium participation that every hunter makes for all 9 Conservation Tags being auction.”
The Bighorn Sheep tag is for the Kelso Peak/Old Dad Mountains Zone where hunters have been taking record book quality specimens. The winning bidder of the tag must meet all the conditions required to obtain a California resident or non-resident hunting license and license tag for taking a Bighorn Sheep including any required hunter orientation programs.
The California Desert Bighorn Sheep tag will be auctioned along with eight other Foundation Conservation Tags at the SCI Convention on Friday, Jan. 25,starting at noon at the Reno Sparks Convention Center in Reno Nevada. For more information on all of the conservation tags for sale, visit the auction page at www.showsci.org .
Other Conservation Tags include:
- Zimbabwe Bull Elephant
- Tiburon Island Big Horn Sheep
- White Mountain Apache Nation Elk
- Delta Bison
- Roosevelt Elk
- Mexican Coues Deer
- Kenai Mountain Caribou
- Navajo Nation Elk
Protecting hunters’ rights and promoting wildlife conservation, SCI’s two areas of focus, historically has been the interest of hundreds of individuals long before SCI was established. But how did SCI as an organization begin?
Forty years ago, there were many safari clubs across the country made up of local, unaffiliated groups of hunters. One such was Safari Club of Los Angeles, which was formed in April 1971 by forty-seven individuals. In early 1972, an out-of-towner from a similar club in Chicago attended one of the monthly Wednesday night meetings, and it was decided that the L.A. club should attempt to combine with the one in Chicago to make it an affiliated chapter. The founder of Safari Club of Los Angeles, C.J. McElroy, went to the Windy City and instituted the new chapter.
Eleven months after the formation of Safari Club of Los Angeles, on March 9, 1972, the name was changed officially to Safari Club International. SCI continued to reach out to other independent safari clubs throughout the United States in an effort to combine them into a single overall organization.
Today, interest in SCI’s two primary missions has grown a worldwide network. Subsequent involvement and promotion of these missions is rooted in each of our 55,000 members, supported through each of our 190 membership chapters found across the globe, and put into action by government representatives and personnel both nationally and internationally.
In this way, we can encourage an appreciation for nature and wildlife so that conservation efforts remain strong, while also fighting to protect our rich hunting heritage. Big changes can be achieved through the endeavors of many who are united in a mission – the mission of Safari Club International.
