Organization: Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce
Date: 05/18/2013 update info
Time: 10:00:00 AM - 1:00:00 PM
Event Cost: Free to attend
Venue: Jackson Town Square in Jackson ,WY
Phone: (307) 733-3316
Email:
Website: elkfest.org/auction.htm
Event Details:
Jackson District Boy Scouts of America
Annual Elk Antler Auction
Come join the auction! See all the great antlers for sale. This is a Jackson tradition that you should not miss. Bring the whole family to Elkfest and see this signature event, started in 1968, and visited by people from all over the world.
This event provides a wonderful opportunity for scouts to serve their community. The majority (80%) of the proceeds from the Boy Scout Elk Antler Auction are used for long term habitat improvement projects at the National Elk Refuge that will help the elk for many years. The other 20% is used towards funds to pay our Friends of Scouting dues. These funds are required for our district to remain in Boy Scouts of America and in most districts are raised through donations from the community and friends and families of scouts.
Auction Information
The BSA Elk Antler Auction is always held the Saturday one week before Memorial Day weekend. (Memorial Day weekend being Old West Days here in Jackson Hole.) The date of the auction this year is Saturday, May 18th, 2013. Center street adjacent to the Jackson Town Square will be blocked off for this event. Antler inspection begins at 7:00 a.m., registration at 9:00 a.m., and the auction at 10:00 a.m.
We bundle and weight lots for the current auction the Wednesday night before the auction. We post a link to the list here on the Thursday (or Friday) before the auction.
- The Jackson Hole Antler Auctiong takes place the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend.
- Elk antlers are collected from the National Elk Refuge then organized into lots and sold at public auction on the Jackson Town Square.
- Additional activities include live musical performances, a chili cook- off, and a mountain man rendezvous.
About the Elk Antler Auction:
Each spring thousand of wintering elk on the National Elk Refuge shed their antlers before heading to their summer range. The antlers are collected by the Jackson Hole Boy Scouts and the personnel of the Refuge. The thousands of antlers are then auctioned off to be made into furniture, art, and jewelry.
Additional activities which take place during this event includes live musical performances, a chili cook- off, and a mountain man rendezvous.
When is the Auction?
The Antler Auction and related events generally takes place the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend.
Where does it take place?
The antlers are auctioned on the Jackson Town Square. Other related activities can be found through-out the town of Jackson.
How much does it cost?
There is no cost to attend the auction. Of course, if you bid on anything and you are awarded the bid – that will cost you!
What else should I know about this event?
Starting in the late 1950’s, the antler auction has taken place every year. It is a way to reduce damage to feeding equipment on the Refuge and also to discourage antler thieves who may disturb the elk herds.
Each year more than 200 Scouts and adult leaders work for nearly 2,000 hours with refuge personnel in the antler project, which includes a litter cleanup campaign on the refuge.
A percent of the proceeds from the auction are donated by the Scouts to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service toward elk management and the winter elk feeding program on the refuge.
The antler arches at each corner of the town square in Jackson were originally built from antlers from the refuge.
