2009 National Convention
Salt Lake City, UT / Feb. 5-8, 2009
Salt Palace Convention Center
100 South West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Mark your calendars now! It's the Mule Deer Foundation's ninth annual convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 5-8, 2009. Share the tradition!
This national wildlife convention is the only place on earth where you can experience it all:
- Don't miss MDF's National Banquet and Auction Feb. 5, 2009
- The biggest hunt giveaway in the world - win 1 of 200 trophy Utah big game hunts
- See one of the largest taxidermy displays ever
- Jeff Foxworthy will entertain at Saturday night's Joint Wildlife Conservation Banquet
New in 2009 - women only auctions, events and special activities.
Links (left) will be activated as information becomes available, so check back often.
For more information, including exhibitor information or donations, e-mail MDF’s Special Events Director or call 775-530-6967.
Exhibitor Information
Exhibit space is going fast, so don't delay! View the Exhibitor Booth Floor Plan HERE.
Michael Sieve's "Busted Bachelors"
Artist of the Year
Michael Sieve, MDF 2009 Artist of the Year
To capture the adventure and excitement of the hunt is to know the sportsman. To join forces in preserving and protecting habitat is to understand the conservationist. To identify the songs of the wind and relish callused hands is to appreciate the farmer. To see this combination in a painting is to view the art of Michael Sieve.
Wildlife artist Michael Sieve grew up on the prairies of southwestern Minnesota. With his family running a farm, Mike and his four siblings understood early the value of hard work. As a reward his father, an excellent sportsman, took the children hunting on the lands surrounding their farm. Working on the farm and hunting with Dad provided Mike a strong foundation to build his now powerful relationship with the outdoors. That relationship has woven itself in and around nearly every aspect of Michael Sieve’s world.
Sieve received his formal training in art at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota. He studied modern abstract, impressionistic and surreal methods of painting. Despite this training, his personal style is dictated by his kinship with the outdoors. In viewing his realistically represented animals, the hunter’s perspective is evident. It is Sieve’s intent that his paintings illustrate the individuality and dignity of the subject and appropriate, accurate setting for its habitat.
To satisfy that requirement, Michael Sieve has worked diligently to obtain inspiration and reference material for his work. He is an avid photographer and has personally captured over 250,000 images. His spontaneous adventures include travels to Costa Rica, Belize and Africa, across Alaska, Canada and Mexico and throughout the United States. As he adds countries to his list of “Things To Do,” he admittedly marvels at the wonders right outside his door.
Some of Sieve’s greatest inspirations come from time spent with his children, Eric, Hannah and Heather, in their own back yard. The back yard, however, is a little atypical. Sieve lives on 40 acres of land in southern Minnesota which includes thousands of transplanted trees, a wildlife water hole, areas actively managed for wildlife with selective mowing and planting, bird houses, bird feeders and a game farm with deer and wild turkey. This dedication to conservation is apparent in other avenues as well. Sieve is a member of dozens of conservation organizations. He has assisted in raising millions of dollars for wildlife rehabilitation and habitat restoration through the design of over 20 conservation stamps and prints, donating original and limited edition artwork and working on other public relations efforts.
Previous MDF Conventions
2008 National Convention
Post-Convention Details
For 2008 Convention information visit the following pages:
Other information may be available at www.huntexpo.com.
2007 Convention
Post-Convention Details
The Western Hunting and Conservation Expo (WHCE) in Salt Lake City, UT, Jan. 17-20, 2007, was a huge success. Turn out included sportsmen from six continents, 20 different countries, 7 Canadian Provinces, 3 Mexican states and 49 of the 50 Unites States! For more information visit:
If you would like more details on the 2007 event, visit MDF's 2007 Convention Home Page.