-
Seattle Sportsmen's Conservation Foundation
-
Seattle Puget Sound Chapter SCI
-
WA FNAWS
-
Binocs.com
|
|
Who are we? What do we do?
A bit of history
About 7 years ago a group from the Seattle/Puget Sound Chapter of SCI, the Seattle
Sportsmen's Conservation Foundation (SSCF), WA FNAWS, Friends of the NRA and the
National Wild Turkey Federation came up with a great idea: each one supported one another's
annual events and were working for the same ultimate goals so why not combine these efforts?
Why hold 5 different smaller events, requiring 5 times the administrative overhead, hotel expenses,
advertising and all the other overhead costs - and then have only about 100 people attend each
event? So the decision was made to combine these efforts and hold one big, mega event for the
entire Pacific Northwest! Since then we've been putting on the biggest fund-raiser, auction, and
outfitter/exhibitor event ever put on by a Northwest non-profit - and its gotten bigger and more
successful every single year! We've now also gotten a great deal of involvement from quite a few
BC outfitters as well as outfitters from other Canadian provinces!
This year's 2010 event is booked for Feb 19th and 20th at the luxurious Meydenbauer Center in
Bellevue, Washington, 15 minutes East of Seattle. We typically sell out both nights with a total
attendance of approximately 1000 people over 2 days and continue to add seating capacity each year.
We have bidders who spend $100,000 at the event and our top 10 bidders average around $25,000 each
-resulting in an incredible investment in NW wildlife! We have bidders looking for a wide variety
of adventures - coyote hunts, whitetail, elk, cape buffalo, lions - even Marco Polo rams. And best
of all, the success of this program has allowed us to donate over $1,400,000.00 to Pacific
Northwest Conservation Programs. The event has become well known for the raffle Wall of Guns; our
exotic hunt, rifle and wildlife art auctions; our vehicle raffle with all proceeds going to NW
wildlife! Now with a number of Governors tags secured for this years auction as well, our goal is
to raise $500,000 for wildlife in the Northwest this year alone. That's right, a half a million
dollars in just 2 days to be raised for Northwest Wildlife. What an event - and what an
opportunity for you to get a super deal on an incredible hunting or fishing trip considering the
huge number of trips on the auction block!
... and where does it all go?
Our partnership in this event has funded quite a number of notable projects so far:
1) Washington State Mountain Goat Surveys
2) Blacktail Deer Hair Loss Studies
3) Hunters for the Hungry donations
4) Cougar DNA Study (cougar population density survey/population control studies)
5) Support for Political Parties involved in Hunters and Gun owners rights
6) Obtaining private checker board land parcels and donating them back to the state to keep open
for future hunting.
7) Funding Aid for getting Grizzly hunting back in BC.
8) Young Hunter Education, Youth Trap Shooting Training and other youth programs
9) WA state Pronghorn Re-Introduction study (the first re-introduction in 20 years)
10) Purchase of Infared hand-held tracking devices to assist Fish and Game to successfully
apprehend numerous poachers
11) Funded Grizzly bear study and survey in British Columbia by GOABC
12) Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep population survey in B.C.
13) Bear project with the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to assist with problem bear
management
14) Baja Desert Bighorn Sheep survey, optics and conservation project
15) Special Government Tag sales funding specific wildlife management efforts
16) Snyder Fish Hatchery & Olympic Peninsula Guides Association projects
17) SE WA Bighorn Sheep collar project
18) Mule Deer Genetic Study efforts and survey performed with Purdue University
19) Bighorn Sheep Fencing Project to facilitate habitat restoration and isolation from domestic
livestock to prevent disease in SE Washington.
20) Purchase of 10,400 acre critical range habitat in Tieton, WA
21) Acquisition of critical winter range habitat in Asotin Creek, WA
22) Mineralization habitat enhancement in Tucannon, WA
23) Wildlife water supply enhancement in Umptanum, WA
24) Wynoochee River drainage forage enhancement evaluation
25) March critical rangeland acquisition in LaGrande, Oregon
26) Pheasant Habitat projects in WA
27) Sensory Safari Sponsored exhibit for education of visually impaired children
28) Scholarships for boys and girls to the Youth Conservation Corps. Camp
29) Sponsorship of the South Kitsap ROTC Shooting Team
30) Roadside billboard education / advocacy program in WA.
31) Sponsoring and assisting as volunteers with hunts for disabled hunters
... and MORE. Over $1.4 Million has been put back into Hunting, Conservation, and Youth
and Adult Education Programs in just 7 years - programs too numerous to list here!
|