Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, and WOW Host Sponsors of the Boone and Crockett Club's 30th Big Game Awards

Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's and Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium are the host sponsors of North America's longest-running celebration of big-game conservation and management, the Boone and Crockett Club 30th Big Game Awards, which is scheduled for August 1-3, 2019, in Springfield, Missouri.

A triennial event, the 30th Big Game Awards highlights the results of successful big game management and conservation by celebrating trophies. The theme for this year's event is, "North American Big Game, More and Healthier Than Ever."

"Big game trophies and hunting for them may just be one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented aspects of hunting and conservation today," said Timothy C. Brady, president of the Boone and Crockett Club. "Regardless of the confusion, the fact remains, we still have mature male animals roaming the North American landscape, which would not be the case if we weren't doing something right. Whether one gets lucky or hunts specifically for a special animal, choosing to be selective is a conservation ethic that dates back to a time when our big game species were not as abundant as they are today."

Visitors to Wonders of Wildlife will be treated to an exhibition of outstanding trophies taken in fair chase over the past three years, including at least one new World's Record, numerous state records, and Top-Five trophies representing 33 different categories of native North American big game. The exhibit will also feature records-book specimens taken by young sportsmen age 16 and under.

The display is an opportunity for people to see what man and nature are capable of producing when working together. Male specimens that have lived a long life on good habitat to grow to be the largest of their kind are special and would simply not exist today, or be few and far between, if our systems of game and habitat management were not working.

"Wonders of Wildlife is proud to welcome Boone and Crockett Club's 30th Big Game Awards to Springfield, Missouri," said Bob Ziehmer, senior director of Conservation. "Located in America's heartland, our mission is to celebrate those who hunt, fish, and act as stewards of the land and water. By hosting this historic exhibit, we hope to inspire new audiences to get outdoors and involved in big game conservation."
 

Brady added, "The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium is the perfect venue to host such a display. Everything about it celebrates our treasured wildlife natural resources, the connection we as a society have to nature, and our commitments to ensure future generations will have the same opportunities we have to enjoy nature each in their own way."

The public exhibit within the museum will be open from May through August 4. Nearly 140 outstanding specimens are expected, as well as more than 325,000 curious visitors.

The Boone and Crockett Club began keeping trophy records in 1906 as a way of detailing species once headed for extinction. Today, this data on trophies reflect population health and habitat quality. Biologists compare and contrast these records to improve local management strategies as well as state and federal wildlife polices.

More info on the Boone and Crockett Club 30th Big Game Awards is available at www.biggameawards.com.