Single skull fetches over $15,000 at annual elk antler auction

Auction raised nearly $220,000 for National Elk Refuge, local Scouts.

By Billy Arnold
Billy Arnold
Environmental Reporter

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May 24, 2023
May 24, 2023
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Private vendors line Deloney Avenue during the annual ElkFest on Saturday, offering antlers and horns of many persuasions. Find out how much the annual Boy Scout Elk Antler Auction garnered in today’s edition of the Jackson Hole News&Guide.

NATALIE BEHRING

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Though Travers McGaugh, 10, was busy crafting emergency key chains Saturday at the Jackson Town Square, he was particularly proud of his find on the National Elk Refuge this spring: an intact elk skull with two antlers.

“I was excited about that,” McGaugh said.

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Scouts Henry Harrison and his sister, Julia, carry a bundle of antlers to be auctioned at ElkFest on Saturday at the Jackson Town Square.
NATALIE BEHRING

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Ron Nixon, left, sells Kent Garrett a bison skull at the annual ElkFest antler auction and sale Saturday in downtown Jackson. See related story page 18A.
NATALIE BEHRING

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John Dejon from Grand Rapids Michigan wears a jacket soliciting antlers at his stall on Saturday at the annual ElkFest in downton Jackson.
NATALIE BEHRING

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Contact Billy Arnold at 732-7063 or barnold@jhnewsandguide.com.

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Billy Arnold

Environmental Reporter

Billy Arnold has been covering the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the people who manage it since January 2022. He previously spent two years covering Teton County government, and a year editing Scene. Tips welcomed.

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