Sunshine and unseasonably warm weather made for a spectacular day to celebrate the 57th year elk antlers collected on the National Elk Refuge have been sold at a public auction on Jackson鈥檚 Town Square. The annual sale is held on the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend and is the premier event of the weekend-long community celebration called ElkFest.
This year, 8,170 pounds of antlers were sold at the auction, roughly 1,526 pounds less than 2023. Bidders paid an average of $26.73 per pound of antler this year, higher than last year鈥檚 average of $22.53 per pound. A total of 140 registered bidders participated in Saturday鈥檚 auction, which yielded a total of $218,421.
Key to the success of the auction is the long-standing partnership between the National Elk Refuge staff and Headwaters District Scouts (formerly Jackson District). Each year, Scouts and Scout leaders donate approximately 2,000 hours to prepare and execute the sale, comparable to one Refuge staff member working a 40-hour week for a full year. For their extraordinary effort, the Jackson District Scouts retain 25% of the sale鈥檚 proceeds, which is used to supplement fees for day camps, leader and Scout training, and other activities. The remaining 75% of the proceeds are returned 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 projects, including paying for farming equipment, weed management, and seasonal employees that operate the Refuge鈥檚 irrigation program.
Congratulations to the Scouts and Scout leaders for making this year鈥檚 auction a success!
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