Utah expo permit and conservation funding
Answers to frequently asked questions about the expo permit program, and previous audit reports
We receive a lot of questions about expo permits and how they are awarded and issued. Here are some of the most common questions and answers.
Frequently asked questions
A: The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources operates the Wildlife Expo Permit Program, which has two primary purposes:
- To generate revenue to fund wildlife conservation activities in Utah.
- To attract a regional or national wildlife exposition to Utah.
As part of this program, the Utah Wildlife Board authorizes up to 200 hunting permits (expo permits) per year that are allocated to hunters through a public drawing held at a wildlife exposition.
A: The group selected to distribute expo permits must be a wildlife conservation organization. That organization is then allowed to award the expo permits at its annual convention through a public drawing. The organization does not receive the rights to use any prior expo organizer's event name, venue dates, exhibitors or scheduled events and activities.
A: The largest wildlife expo currently held in Utah is the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo, which has been an annual event in downtown Salt Lake City since 2007. This particular expo delivers a multimillion-dollar economic benefit to the State of Utah and its businesses. The 2016 Western Hunting & Conservation Expo had more than 40,000 attendees from all 50 states, 12 countries and five continents.
A: Since the Wildlife Expo Permit Program began in 2007, three separate expo permit contracts have been awarded. The first contract went to the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep in 2007, and the second one went to the Mule Deer Foundation in 2011. The most recent expo permit contract — which will run from 2017-2021 — was awarded to Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife in December 2015. SFW will partner with MDF and the Utah Foundation for North American Wild Sheep during this contract period.
A: Hunters are charged a $5.00 per-permit application fee when they apply in the expo permit drawing. The DWR must approve in advance how 30 percent of these funds are spent. Expo organizers must spend the remaining 70 percent on policies, programs, projects and personnel that support conservation initiatives in Utah. All of the application fee revenue benefits wildlife conservation in Utah.
A: When an applicant is selected to receive an expo permit, he or she must pay the regular permit fee that all other hunters in Utah must pay. Expo organizers have never received any of the permit fees charged for the 200 expo permits. One-hundred percent of those funds have always gone directly to the DWR.