In addition to my photography and writing, I also help the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance fundraise for their conservation mission to support and conserve mountain goats throughout the USA and Canada. As part of this work, I travel for particular fundraising opportunities or events. In the world of mountain ungulate conservation (that’s a world, yes), there are many trade shows, but there is one that stands out for its conservation and hunting offerings; Sheep Show.
Sheep Show is held in Reno, Nevada and includes hundreds of exhibitors from outfitters to management agencies, and taxidermists to conservation organizations. The event is a convergence of sorts; hunters, outfitters, and biologists are often in the field and to get them all in one place makes for an entertaining few days. I don’t have the space to recall every great conversation I shared over the week, but a few things stood out.
Dreamers - In a very real way, people who hunt, study, or photograph wild sheep and goats are dreamers. Unless you live in British Columbia, it is exceedingly difficult to draw a tag to hunt sheep or goats. This is not like heading online and buying a duck stamp or whitetail deer tag. Hunters might apply for twenty years or more to get one chance to pursue a wild sheep. Did I mention there are four different types? I’ve been around the hunting and fishing community for some time, but the aspirations of sheep and goat hunters are unmatched. If you don’t dream about your hunt, if you don’t believe it will happen, then your chances are slim. In all my conversations, I felt the energy of dreamers, of people who cast their worries to the wind and hold onto a hope decades beyond. It was a wonderful reminder to nurture my own dreams, my own hopes.
Movers and Shakers - A highlight of Sheep Show is the auction. Each evening, following a banquet, auctions are held to sell hunts, firearms, and other experiences. These auctions drive funding to conservation organizations, as well as state wildlife agencies. I would be remiss if I did not mention that a Governor’s Tag for two separate wild sheep hunts was auctioned off for $600,000+ (each). What is a Governor’s Tag, you ask? Whereas normal hunting tags (your ticket/right to hunt a certain species at a certain place and time) are limited by animal, season duration, and location, the Governor’s Tag allows a hunter to use the entire hunting season in any location to find their desired ram. That price does not include hiring a guide or outfitter. In states/provinces with rumors and sightings of mountain monarchs, the movers and shakers are willing to pay. A small portion of the funding goes to the conservation organization, but the majority goes to state agencies to improve conservation for the species.
Stories - Some stories are better told in person. I heard of falling rocks the size of cars, pack horses passing away in camp, lost clients, and bear attacks. I listened to rescue stories and success stories, failures and firsts. In a featured video I saw a hunting guide build a custom backpack to carry a wounded warrior into the mountains to take his first wild sheep. I laughed, I cried, I loved it.
Prayer - Whatever your denomination, or even faith tradition, the acknowledgment of something beyond the material world before each meal brings a warmth to a shared space. In the conservation world we have a tendency to focus on the data, the facts, to break down complex systems into pieces and parts; herd numbers and dollars, horn size and pack weight. But beyond it all, above it all, there is something more than wild sheep and goats, something more than conservation, something more than even nature. So long as we remember where we came from, what we are, we might yet have a chance to re-establish a healthy relationship with the wilds we love.
If you are interested in mountain ungulate conservation, or hunting, or even racing someone with a weighted backpack in the hotel lobby at midnight, I suggest you join all of us at next year’s Sheep Show. If you’d like to learn more about the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance, you can explore the website, give a follow on instagram, or reach out to me directly at kendrick@goatalliance.org