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The Long Standing Wyoming 2020 Lander One Shot Antelope Hunt Canceled
Submitted by: TBC Press
Posted on: 07/30/20
News # 13754
Wyoming's Lander One Shot Antelope Hunt, a charity hunt that has drawn teams of famous, powerful men to central Wyoming for over 75 years, has been canceled for 2020 due to the coronavirus, but will return in 2021 according to a press release.
The Lander One Shot Antelope Hunt has been held every year since 1944. Participants have included Roy Rogers, Peter Fonda, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Vice President Dick Cheney, 16 astronauts and the governors of 30 states.
Wyoming’s governors have participated in all but two hunts since 1954. This year, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon was planning to invite Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a fellow Republican, to be on his team, according to Gordon’s office.
The mid-September (Sept 16-18) hunt has raised millions of dollars for conservation-oriented causes but lately has faced criticism for associated ceremonies in which politicians including former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat now running for U.S. Senate, have worn indigenous women’s headscarves designating them as “losers” of the event.
While the hunt takes place on the high plains — prime territory for social distancing — and rural Wyoming so far has escaped the worst of the virus outbreaks, banquets associated with the event draw hundreds of people.
Meanwhile, several of this year's eight, three-man teams dropped out amid concern about traveling during the pandemic, said Vickie Hutchinson, a hunt organizer and executive director of the Water for Wildlife Foundation.
“It may not have been a safe situation for everybody involved. That is why it’s canceled,” Hutchinson said Wednesday. “It’s very sad that it has to be canceled but that is the decision that has to be made in the best interest of everybody.”
The competitive hunt pits eight three-man teams against each other. The task of each team member is to harvest a pronghorn antelope with one shot. The hunt over the years has raised $17 million for everything for wildlife conservation to college scholarships, student internships with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and rebuilding a Lander community center that burned, Hutchinson said.
The hunt traces its origins to “respect and admiration for Native American hunting skills” such as the ability to kill big game with a single arrow, Hutchinson said.
Only men take part in the hunt. A similar Wyoming Women's Antelope Hunt has been held in northern Wyoming since 2013.
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Publishers Notes:
OUT OF STATE HUNTERS, FISHERMEN & OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS; Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, there could be limitations for OUT of STATE hunters, fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts to include a 14-day quarantine requirement or negative COVID-19 testing alternative. Please check with the State's Department of Natural Resources BEFORE you travel or apply for the 2020 Fall Hunts.
As OUR COUNTRY REOPENS AGAIN (from the COVID-19 pandemic) and continue to enjoy outdoor activities, ALL outdoor enthusiasts (man, woman, child) should follow the guidelines set by nps.gov. These guidelines include; social distancing, the Leave No Trace principles, including pack-in and pack-out, to keep outdoor spaces safe and healthy.
