Hunter Legacy Fund Awards over $650,000 to Worthy Projects

Joe Hosmer, Safari Club International Foundation President announced that between the May Board meeting in Washington, DC and the August Board meeting recently completed in Tucson, the SCI Foundation’s Hunter Legacy Fund’s Trustees, after carefully reviewing dozens of applications, awarded grants ranging from $12,500 to $100,000 for a total of $657,400.  The majority of the grants awarded went to fund wildlife conservation related projects.

$367,400 in Grants Approved at Washington, DC May Board Meeting

Critical conservation projects were funded by the Hunter Legacy Fund to study Predator/Prey relationships. These include:

• Monitoring grizzly bear populations in the South Rockies and Flathead grizzly bear population units – $50,000. The goal of the project is to monitor two populations of grizzly bears in the southern Rocky Mountains of British Columbia to assess the population trends.
• Missouri Black Bear – Survival, Recruitment, and Movements – $50,000.  The grant will use information from a previously HLF funded grant project, to predict the time period in which a harvest season could be implemented on Missouri Black Bears.
• Evaluating the Influence of Bear and Wolf Predation on Population Performance of Moose in Western Wyoming – $25,000.  The project seeks to evaluate the combined influence of grizzly bear and wolf predation on the demography and population growth of moose in the Jackson moose herd.

In addition to these conservation grant awards, the HLF Trustees earmarked an additional $100,000 for a new Elephant Initiative that will fund efforts needed to reverse the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s ban on elephant imports from Zimbabwe and Tanzania, and to ensure hunting-based elephant conservation is not impeded.

Grants were also provided to fund the following education and outdoor projects:

• Youth Shooting Sports Guide – $12,500.  The project to develop the Ultimate Youth Shooting Sports Guide is a partnership among Outdoor Kids Club, Pheasants Forever and SCIF Education.
• Outdoor Recreation Equipment for Programs Veterans and Individuals with Health Challenges – $29,900. The grant will provide shooting sports and outdoors recreation equipment is to be used in the inclusive recreation programs for Veterans, troops, and their families dealing with post combat issues as well as helping other individuals dealing with health challenges.

$290,000 in Grants Approved at Tucson, AZ August Board Meeting

• Wood Bison Release into Alaska’s Wild – $95,000.  The grant will help fund the reintroduction of wood bison to Alaska’s interior.
• Southern African Wildlife College Sustainable Utilization Program Equipment – $45,000. The grant funds a Toyota Landcruiser to be used by students in the field to improve the quality of training offered.
• Anti-Poaching funding Selous Game Reserve – Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania – $100,000.  The grant will provide the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania with two additional vehicles for game scouts to pursue poachers throughout the Selous Game Reserve.
• DNA Bar Coding African Wildlife – $50,000.  DNA Bar Coding African Wildlife – $50,000. The grant funds the second year of a major effort to develop molecular technology, known as African wildlife DNA Bar-Coding that will provide the means to identify any biological sample to the species of origin.

SCI Foundation Applauds the HLF Committee’s Choices and Investments in Worldwide Conservation Efforts. 

The HLF is making a true tangible difference in wildlife conservation, education, and humanitarian services.  Recent support through this fund has marked a true milestone in SCI Foundation’s history.

“The Hunter Legacy Fund endowment continues to successfully fund SCI Foundation mission Programs.  To date, the HLF has distributed more than $2 million in support of wildlife conservation, education, and hunter-related humanitarian programs worldwide.  The HLF’s success is a result of the vision and commitment of our nearly 100 HLF members.  A special thanks to the HLF trustees who have spent countless hours reviewing grant requests.  It’s great to work with this group and all the HLF members who have and continue to invest in the future of SCI Foundation.”  Dennis Anderson, SCI Foundation Director and HLF 100 Chairman

There are still a handful of spots available in the HLF. Help us maximize our contributions to SCIF mission programs by becoming one of the final three HLF members.

Contact:

Bob Benson, Executive Director, 512-655-2190, bbenson@safariclub.org
Kimberly Byers, Development Specialist, 520-620-1220, kbyers@safariclub.org

Safari Club International

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.