Jackson, WY (53 degrees, blue skies)
In a little over four hours $233,613 dollars was raised during the annual Boy Scout Antler Auction. That's a whole lot of cash and antlers (13,698 pounds)! At the National Elk Refuge every spring the elk shed their antlers and these are collected by Fish & Wildlife staff, volunteers, and Boy Scouts to sell each year as a money raiser. This weekend was a record setter. In fact, over $100,000 more was raised compared to last year. It was a long, cold winter and the elk lingered and shed their antlers at the refuge instead of along the way as they migrated into the highlands. Check out this
slide show for more details.
It's a huge undertaking to get ready for this auction. After the antlers are collected they are sorted and graded. Bundles are put together, tagged, and weighed. Over 2000 hours are donated by the scouts and their leaders. and in return they receive 25% of the profits. The remaining 75% is donated to the National Elk Refuge, which manages approximately 25,000 acres as winter range for the Jackson Elk Herd. The funds are used for habitat enhancement work on the Refuge.
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| Check out the salutes |
After the national anthem and flag ceremony the auction began. Anyone can bid and many were circled all around the area and others sat in bleachers. It was lots of fun to watch. The scouts brought up each bundle and sometimes struggled with the weight of them. It was really a lot of fun to watch them. The weather was perfect and the crowd became very excited during some of the special antler sales. There is an Asian market which has recently raised the price per pound of the antlers.
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| These miscellaneous cartloads sold for $5000-6000 each |
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| Stacking up the purchases by the buyers |
Around the square there were also private sales by others who had collected the antlers off refuge land. There were also all types of skulls and bones being sold. It sure was an interesting and unusual event.
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| Buffalo Heads |
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| Coyote |
One of my favorite sights was the crossing guards. We're really loving the west.
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| Crossing guard |
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| Crossing guards |
We had heard so much from others about this event. It sure was fun to attend and see a whole community come together to help the scouts and refuge.
I'm so jealous. You guys are having way too much fun~
ReplyDeleteI can't help but wonder what people do with all these antlers. Do they just hang them on walls and tell tall stories??
ReplyDeleteMy new blog address:
Rick’s Bits ‘n Bytes, Pics and News
Well some folks use them to make lamps, wine racks, coat racks, or beautiful chandeliers. I met one guy who buys them and turns them into some type of dog chew. Others are selling them to the Asian market and they are cut up or crushed and used for medicinal purposes. I'm sure some tall stories are involved too!
DeleteWow! I have heard of this but never knew that it was this big of a deal. Thanks for sharing all those wonderful pictures
ReplyDeletenothing better than seeing hard working young men working for a good cause. . .loved it!
ReplyDeleteThis was quite an interesting read and most entertaining - I especially liked the photo with all the stores, the antlers piled up by size and the snowy mountains as the backdrop - just fascinating. Thanks for sharing your new part of the worlds, can't wait for the next update.
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to visit the Grand Tetons for quite some time and your posts on the area have confirmed we really must visit :-)
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