Region 6 of the Arizona Mule Deer Organization (AMDO) saw a great deal of success at its fundraising banquet held in Phoenix on Feb. 9, 2019, seeing a coveted Commissioners’ Elk Tag sell for $240,000 during the event’s live auction. Bidders were calling in from across the nation, and group organizers believe the high selling price was due at least in part to the wet weather and snow pack experienced in Arizona this off-season. Moisture is a significant contributor to antler growth in elk.
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission awards Special Big Game License Tags, sometimes called Commissioners’ tags, to selected 501(c)(3) wildlife conservation organizations to raise funds for wildlife. Commissioners’ tags are good for any unit, and the tag holder is able to hunt what is essentially a 365-day season.
Prior to the banquet, AMDO Field Director Terry Herndon had hoped that the tag would sell for at least $200,000, so this sale in particular was a deemed a complete success. Administrative and marketing costs must be covered by the wildlife conservation organization. The Organization continued to raise money that night for their conservation projects through live and silent auctions, raffles and other games.
AMDO President Jim Lawrence said, “100 percent of the $240,000 we receive for that tag goes directly to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Habitat Partnership Committee (HPC) for elk-related conservation projects. These funds can only be spent on habitat improvement projects; the same goes for all of the Big Game Tags that the Commission awards. The total HPC fund usually runs from 2.2. to 2.5 million dollars. AMDO sits on the HPC Committee and will have a say on where this $240,000 is spent and on what projects. In a typical funding cycle, there are usually 30 to 40 projects submitted for a given species.”
For more information, visit the Arizona Mule Deer Organization website at www.azmuledeer.org.
Want to watch the elk tag live auction take place and see the winner? Check out the Facebook video below. (Be sure to turn up the volume for best viewing.)
