Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has started beating the drum for a first-ever joint national hunting and wildlife convention expected to draw at least 30,000 sportsmen to Utah next year.

Pat Holmes, Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau spokeswoman, ranked the first annual Western Hunting and Conservation Expo among the state's top 10 conventions in terms of its size. She said the expo's economic impact is estimated at $9 million and on the peak evening of the four-day event, conventioneers are expected to take 3,000 hotel rooms.

Already there's a buzz just over the subject of hunting permits that will be offered at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City during the event, scheduled for Jan. 17-20.

The Western Hunting and Conservation Expo will feature a drawing for 200 "premium" Utah hunting permits for sportsmen who apply in person and pay a $5 application fee. Premium permits allow hunting in areas known for their trophy animals.

"These tags are a major draw," said convention spokesman Chris Carling.

The $5 fee is expected to cover costs of convention sponsors — the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, the Mule Deer Foundation and the Utah-based Sportsmen for Habitat.

Normally, those three groups stage separate conventions, with the first two holding their annual meetings in locales like Reno, San Diego and Las Vegas. Now it looks like all three will be meeting together annually in Utah for years to come.

"If everything works out the first year, and we're confident it will, we're in it for at least five years," said Byron Bateman, president of SFH. "It's bringing people from all over the world here to Utah. . . . Some of the best hunting in the world is right here in our back yard."

Bateman said that over the past 10 years the state has spent millions on habitat restoration, with more of the same work planned for 1 million acres in Utah over the next five years. The work has led to world-renowned elk and deer herds here, he added.

The joint convention is recognition that good things are happening with Utah's fish and wildlife, according to Jim Karpowitz, director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Outfitters from Canada, Mexico, Africa, Russia, Tajikistan and New Zealand will be among the 500 groups expected to have exhibits at the event.

"This one big super convention will also mean a lot of money going into the state's economy," Karpowitz said. "We were asked to be a part of getting the convention and now we will be a part of the actual convention.

"It will be even more of an opportunity to let the country know what we're doing here in Utah. This will be the largest sportsman's conference to come to Utah. This is really a big deal for the state."