Ken Trudell of Green Bay, Wisconsin made the winning bid at the annual convention of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS). He will be able to hunt in any open sheep hunt this fall with the exception of Unit 11 in Hells Canyon.
A tag that will allow hunting in any open unit including Unit 11 will go to the winner of this year's lottery, also conducted with the aid of FNAWS (Idaho chapter). Hells Canyon, including Unit 11, is renowned for producing some of the largest bighorns in North America and is widely considered the location of Idaho's most desirable sheep hunt. The permit to hunt there is rotated between the annual auction and the lottery so that hunters do not have to be able to bid high enough to win the auction to hunt in the unit.
Since the first auction in 1988, nearly $900,000 has been raised for research and management of bighorns in Idaho. The lottery, started in 1992, has raised about $300,000 for research on bighorn health, conducted at the wildlife laboratory in Caldwell.
Last year, the auction tag brought $90,000 when it included Unit 11 and $47,000 the year before when the Unit 11 tag went to the lottery.
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