Who Owns Bass Pro Shops?

Bass Pro Shops and its properties have received significant independent recognition. The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium in Springfield was voted America's Best Aquarium by USA Today readers multiple times, and the Big Cedar Lodge resort has earned AAA Four Diamond recognition and inclusion on Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure award lists.

At the corporate level, the company has appeared on Forbes lists of America's Best Large Employers and America's Most Reputable Retailers. Founder Johnny Morris received the Audubon Medal in 2019 for conservation work, one of the highest honors in American conservation, and the company's Outdoor Fund has contributed more than $200 million to conservation causes.

Bass Pro Shops has faced periodic controversy over its firearms and hunting focus, most visibly during national debates over gun sales following mass shootings, when advocacy groups pressed retailers to restrict sales. The company continued selling firearms and has generally avoided public engagement on the issue.

The Cabela's acquisition drew criticism over the Sidney, Nebraska impact, where the small town lost roughly 2,000 headquarters jobs as functions consolidated to Springfield. The economic damage to the community was significant and has been cited in coverage of retail consolidation's local costs.

The company also reached a 2017 settlement with the EEOC for $10.5 million over allegations of hiring discrimination against Black and Hispanic applicants at retail locations, resolving federal litigation without admission of wrongdoing. Conservation critics have periodically questioned the scale of Morris's land holdings and the commercial operation's environmental footprint, though no regulatory actions have resulted.