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SALT LAKE CITY — In a dimly lit room packed with banquet attendees, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke brought everyone to their feet for a roaring ovation with 10 words: “The government does not own our lands, the people do.”
Zinke was the keynote speaker for the Friday night dinner and auction at the 12th annual Western Hunting and Conservation Expo held at the Salt Palace. The four-day expo not only brings together hunting and gun enthusiasts from all over the U.S., but it also boasts raising thousands of dollars that go toward wildlife conservation and management.
The expo has grown year over year since its beginnings, this year selling out of exhibitor booth space “earlier than ever in the 12-year history of the show,” according to Expo organizer and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife spokesman Chris Carling. This year includes a total of 400 exhibitors and Carling said he expects roughly 49,000 attendees during the show. In 2019, he anticipates adding an additional 80 new exhibitors.
The growing popularity of the expo has led to it snagging some big names for its end-of-the-day festivities. Friday night was no exception, with rock legend Ted Nugent opening the evening with an electric guitar solo of “The Pledge of Allegiance.” President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., was also among the headliners for the event.
Rock legend @TedNugent playing at the Hunting & Conservation Expo pic.twitter.com/JmURAgMKz2 — Faith Heaton Jolley (@FaithHJolley) February 10, 2018
“I’m a really unlikely guy to be here,” he said. “I’m the son of a rich guy from New York City.”
Despite his urban upbringing, Trump Jr. shared stories of his grandfather introducing him to the outdoors and helping him develop a love for the wilderness and wildlife. Now an avid hunter, Trump Jr. often attends the Hunting Expo, with this year being his second time in three years.
Trump Jr. spoke about the importance of wildlife conservation because it gives more access to the outdoors. He also challenged attendees to share their love of the outdoors with others and to introduce people to new outdoor activities like shooting and hunting.
Utah Speaker of the House Republican Greg Hughes followed and went on to introduce Zinke who has visited Utah for the third time in less than a year and earlier Friday afternoon had issued a secretarial order to improve conservation and coordination of big game migration and winter range corridors in 11 Western states.
“As the principle steward of our public lands, I can tell you no one loves them more,” Zinke said of himself.
A Montana native who grew up hunting and spending time in Glacier National Park, Zinke talked about being an advocate for not buying and selling public lands, but instead properly managing them, citing issues of dead and dying trees leading to massive forest fires every year which “devour habitats” and cost billions of dollars to fight.
He also paid homage to President Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation initiatives, saying that while President Roosevelt designated monuments and parks, he “understood that land is to use.”
“You can harvest timber, you can mine, but if you do, do it in a way that you reclaim the land,” Zinke said. “Do it in a way that you’re a Boy Scout and you leave your campsite in as good or better condition than you found it. The land by itself is the strength and heart of America, and there is no greater steward than you— the sportsmen.”
Zinke also emphasized the importance of government agencies working together and coordinating to most effectively manage the land because each agency often oversees a different aspect of the same areas, which can sometimes bog things down.
“It is unacceptable to manage our lands in a sea of bureaucracy,” he said, to large applause.
The expo runs until Sunday and is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
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