The 2022 Western Hunting & Conservation Expo (Hunt Expo) closed February 13 after four busy days with nearly 47,000 people walking the 460 booths on 680,000 square feet of the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hosted by Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife (SFW) the Mule Deer Foundation (MDF), the Hunt Expo is a primary fundraiser and the record-shattering $9.7 million raised from show passes, auctions, tag sales, and other fundraisers will be a significant boon to conservation.

“This year’s Expo was an amazing showcase of how great things can happen when sportsmen and women come together for to the benefit of wildlife,” President of SFW Troy Justensen commented during the event. “It’s a great thing to witness this show and the gathering of such a diverse group of hunters and industry competitors who each support the same cause. There’s simply nothing like it.”

The 2022 Hunt Expo featured evening events that offered camaraderie, as well as opportunity to raise significant funds for Utah wildlife conservation. The evening events raised $585,000 through ticket sales with a new Thursday night Super Banquet engaging a crowd of 800 people in games and drawings, and the Friday and Saturday auctions attracting sold-out crowds of nearly 2,000 people each night. There was heated bidding for auction items with 12 tags being sold at record prices. The top sellers included the Arizona Statewide Mule Deer Tag that sold for $400,000, Utah’s Antelope Island Mule Deer tag that sold for $310,000, and the Utah Statewide Elk tag sold for $250,000. The Utah 9-Mile Gray Canyon Rocky Mtn. Bighorn Sheep sold for $220,000, the Utah Book Cliffs Rocky Mtn. Bighorn Sheep tag sold for $195,000, and the Utah Statewide Desert Bighorn Sheep tag sold for $125,000.

2022 Western Hunting and Conservation Expo – Final Banquet and Auction

2022 Western Hunting and Conservation Expo – Conservation Banquet and Auction

Some of the weekend’s major and unexpected highlights happened during the Friday Conservation Night event when Mr. Justensen presented two of SFW’s key conservationist volunteers with bronze SFW Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Awards. Steve Sorenson was recognized as SFW’s Conservationist of the Year and Paul Niemeyer given SFW’s Lifetime Volunteer Award. Both men were praised for immeasurable support of SFW’s wildlife conservation mission and contributing greatly to Utah wildlife.

2022 Western Hunting and Conservation Expo – SFW President Troy Justensen

Then during the Saturday night banquet, Justensen surprised everyone when he called to the stage MDF’s Director of Field Operations Mike Laughter and presented him with a bronze SFW Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Award for his efforts in helping protect the 8,100-acre Cinnamon Creek critical wildlife property in northern Utah’s Weber County.

“I wish we could recognize each of the many dozens of SFW and MDF volunteers who take leave from work and family to help pull off our biggest event of the year,” Justensen added. “Steve, Paul and Mike are among so many who give so much and do whatever it takes. We thank them.”

SFW’s Sheep Camp (formerly Full Curl Society) held its biggest event ever giving away 15 fully guided sheep hunts valued at over $500,000. The crowd of nearly 2,000 watched with excitement as names were drawn and called out in the Grand Ballroom. Exhibitors also noted the brisk sales on the exhibit show floor, suggesting significant pent-up demand after the two-year pandemic. Most outfitters booked hunting adventures or Expo attendees into 2024 and beyond. Outdoor manufacturers of rifles, optics, technical gear, and clothing also sold quickly.

“Congratulations to SFW and MDF for taking the Hunting Expo to the next level and making the 2022 show the most successful yet,” said Ryan Foutz, Managing Partner with King’s and an annual exhibitor at the Hunting Expo. “It’s noticeable that attendees and exhibitors are now coming from all over the Unites States and the world making this show one that we would never miss.”

The 2023 Western Hunting & Conservation Expo will be held February 2 – 5 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. Next year’s event will expand by 130,000 square feet offering even greater access to nearly 100 additional exhibitors. Stay tuned to the Hunt Expo website at www.huntexpo.com to plan your travel for next year’s event.

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