Someone certainly wanted the AZ bighorn tag - $380K

Alberta bighorn tags have sold for a lot more.

I want to say $460,000 at least once or twice.

This from a 2013 article. Not sure of bids since

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The 2013 Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and Sporting Expo set six records for the highest amounts bid on auction for special permits. Other records were set for overall attendance and funds raised for wildlife and other programs.

The Montana bighorn sheep tag bid of $480,000 shattered the state's record of $300,000 set in 2012.

•The bid also surpassed the foundation's previous all-time record bid of $405,000 for a bighorn sheep tag, set in 1999 for the Alberta’s Minister’s Special License.

The British Columbia permit sold for $275,000, topping the province's record of $250,000 set last year.

The Oregon Rocky Mountain bighorn permit brought $135,000 bettering the $130,000 record set in 2011.

WASHINGTON'S bighorn tag sold for $64,000, down from the record $100,000 set in 1994 before a pneumonia epidemic nearly wiped out the state's trophy herds near the Snake and Grande Ronde rivers.

IDAHO'S bighorn tag sold for $150,00, down from a record bid of $180,000 in 2005.

Although this year's bids for Idaho and Washington tags didn't set records, the wildlife managers for those states said they were very pleased with the bids.

http://www.kxlf.com/story/3107...ense-goes-for-305000


Link has a graph of the amount the tag was auctioned for through the years and who purchased the license.


Posted: Jan 27, 2016 5:44 PM CST
Updated: Jan 27, 2016 6:24 PM CST

Bighorn sheep license goes for $305,000
By: Mikenzie Frost - MTN News


In 2014 and 2015, the license was auctioned for $320,000, and in 2013, it went for a staggering $480,000.


HELENA -

Tagging a bighorn sheep is something that many hunters from Montana and across the country strive to accomplish, but getting a license is another story.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks auctions off one bighorn sheep license every year, and for 2016, the license went for $305,000.

The hunter is from the Wild Sheep Foundation and 90% of the money will go back to FWP for sheep conservation.

Although that amount might seem steep, it's actually less than what the license has gone for in recent years.

In 2014 and 2015, the license was auctioned for $320,000, and in 2013, it went for a staggering $480,000. Click here to see the list (PDF).

“This was created by the Legislature as a funding source to help with management with special species. I think what it really speaks to is just how special the opportunities we have in Montana are,” said FWP communications director Ron Aasheim.

Aasheim said that about 150 bighorn sheep licenses are issued each year through a lottery, and there is less than a 1% chance of being drawn.

But Montana residents can also purchase unlimited $5 super tags, which give them an extra chance of winning a license.

Montana Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Facts (from the FWP website)

Some of the key elements in relation to the current status of bighorn sheep in Montana include:

About 5,000 bighorn sheep inhabit Montana in 45 distinct populations.
Montana's total population could be expanded to about 6615 bighorn sheep.
Bighorn sheep inhabit about 3.7 million acres in Montana.
There are 40 bighorn sheep hunting districts in Montana. Five are "unlimited districts" and eight are currently closed to hunting.
In 2011, Montana offered hunters a total of 165 licenses for rams and 145 licenses for ewes.

Good for the sheep ! I hope that money goes strictly for our sheep and not other wildlife. I don't have that kind of money and put in and be hopeful like everyone else. Where's all the do gooders I would like to see them match the funds hunters spend. They like to look at sheep too !

quote:

Originally posted by Sevens:
Someone certainly wanted the AZ bighorn tag - $380K

I would say 2 people wanted it, unless he was bidding against him self.