Tag Archives: Conservation

Women Hunt™ Is A Game-Changer

The southwestern corner of the Texas Hill Country is beautiful, rugged and game-dense.

With crystal clear creeks cutting through limestone, roadsides covered with wildflowers and a horizon framed by towering hills it is beautiful.

It’s also a perfect place for native wildlife like whitetail deer and Rio grande turkey as well as exotics ranging from axis deer to Nubian ibex.

Women on this special hunt had an opportunity to harvest whitetail does as well as fallow deer does on the FTW Ranch. (Public Domain Photo)

All of this comes together at the FTW Ranch near Barksdale, TX and it unified in spectacular fashion at the launch of Women Hunt™, a new program of The Wild Sheep Foundation.

Twelve women from throughout North America got an opportunity to go on their first big game hunt courtesy of WSF and its partners.

“We wanted this to be an experience they will never forget,” said Women Hunt™ chair Renee Thornton.

The participants got a chance to hunt whitetail and exotic does to help the ranch with their game management objectives.

Brandi Love of Alberta gets some hands-on instruction from Tommy Sessom at the FTW Ranch (Photo by Chester Moore)

But before that, they experienced the FTW Ranch’s SAAM New Hunter Program.

To call it comprehensive would be an understatement as the ladies learned everything from gun safety and wildlife identification to field dressing and venison preparation.

The heart of the course was learning to shoot accurately under different kinds of conditions with guidance by world-class shooters and instructors.

This was the first major public step of Women Hunt™ and it was a big one, helping to create an on-ramp for women with an interest in immersing themselves in the hunting lifestyle.

My interest in the project is two-fold.

For starters, I hate when limits are put on people and believe women who wish to hunt, especially those who don’t have easy access to mentors should be able to participate without being overlooked or marginalized.

The second reason is what women can bring to wildlife conservation.

Bea Segura harvested her first-ever whitetail during the hunt. She is excited about providing the healthy meat for her family. (Photo Courtesy Bea Segura)

As someone who runs a nonprofit for children and wildlife, I can tell you all but two of our volunteers are women. I have learned when women commit to something they give it their all and come into causes with a servant’s heart.

And statistics bear this out.

According to a 2014 survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are 30 percent more likely to volunteer than men.

Tiffany Osburn of Texas took this big whitetail doe. Her goal is to become a guide/mentor for youth hunting programs in Texas. (Photo Courtesy Women Hunt/WSF)

That’s a huge a gap and in my opinion as more women enter the world of hunting and wildlife conservation, women will take volunteerism in this world to new heights.

That translates to more wildlife and habitat impacted in a positive way and it also creates a more family-friendly environment amongst hunters.

And the more women who buy hunting and fishing licenses and join groups like the Wild Sheep Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Dallas Safari Club and others, the bigger voice we have in the halls of legislature and at the ballot box.

That’s all for the future but for now there are 12 new very empowered and outdoors-educated women coming out of the WSF’s Women Hunt™ at the FTW Ranch.

The state of the hunting and outdoors world doesn’t change overnight but having had the opportunity to meet these ladies, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start making waves very soon.

Their determination to become the best, most conservation conscientious hunters possible is inspiring and their passion for the outdoors is contagious.

Chester Moore

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COVID-19 And The State Of Wild Turkeys

COVID-19 started making a strong impact just as turkey seasons around the country were opening.

With public land, border and even hunting season closures it changed the dynamic of this season.

But it will have an even greater impact on turkey conservation as spring is the peak fundraising season at the local level for the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF).

Check out his podcast with Chester Moore and Becky Humphries, CEO of NWTF as they discuss this and why turkeys are a cornerstone species for conservation in America. Listen below.

You can subscribe to this blog by entering your email address at the subscribe prompt at the top right of this page. You can contact Chester Moore by emailing chester@chestermoore.com. Subscribe to the podcast by visiting thehighercalling.podbean.com.

Coronavirus And Its Shocking Global Impact On Wildlife

COVID-19-the coronavirus has caused historic lockdowns of access to countries, states and communities around the world.

And while the human risk should be the first priority, there is huge concern for an impact on wildlife. This is the first in a series of podcasts on this topic as we see how the loss of hunting and ecotourism dollars in Africa could spell disaster for rhinos, elephants and many other species.

Listen here.

Please share this message. It needs to get out there.

This podcast is a must listen and so is this series. More to come…

Chester Moore

You can subscribe to this blog by entering your email address at the subscribe prompt at the top right of this page. You can contact Chester Moore by emailing chester@chestermoore.com. Subscribe to the podcast by visiting thehighercalling.podbean.com.

Creating Young Conservationists-You Can Help!

For Immediate Release—Wild Wishes® grants wildlife encounters to children and teens with a critical illness or loss of a parent or sibling.

Part of the outreach of Chester and Lisa Moore’s nonprofit Kingdom Zoo Wildlife Center® outreach, the 100th child received a life-changing wildlife encounter in Sept. 2019.

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Chester and Lisa Moore in Colorado scouting for location for Higher Calling Wild Wishes Expeditions.

Higher Calling Wild Wishes Expeditions goes to a new level by taking teens from the program on expeditions to teach wildlife conservation through mentorship in wildlife photography, social media awareness raising and fundraising skills.

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“We noticed that many of the young people we work with who face these great challenges are looking for a way to help and give back. We are creating these opportunities to give young people an avenue to not only understand conservation but a way to get involved,” said Chester Moore.

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Reannah fits a radio collar on a desert bighorn sheep at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area courtesy of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

Two pilot projects initiated the program in 2019.

Wild Wishes girl Reannah changed her degree and school (now a Texas Tech student) to work with conservation after her wish encounter as a high school senior in 2018.

In December 2019 she got to participate in a desert bighorn sheep capture and translocation at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area courtesy of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

“It was an incredible experience!,” Reannah said.

“It give me even more inspiration to pursue a career in working in wildlife conservation.”

Wild Wishes boys Amos and Jaxon got to take part in a special catch-and-release conservation mission for Guadalupe bass in west-central Texas. The trip was featured in Texas Fish & Game magazine and the boys learned how using the photos they took on the trip could raise awareness to problems facing stream fisheries.

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Jaxon was excited to catch his first-ever Guadalupe bass

Special challenges usually disqualify young people for experiences like this. We are creating special opportunities for them only.

In 2020 we are doing our first expeditions into Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National Park as well as our second annual Guadalupe bass trip.

Can you help sponsor one of these trips? Any size donation is appreciated.

You can make tax-deductible donations here.

You can subscribe to this blog by entering your email address at the subscribe prompt at the top right of this page. You can contact Chester Moore by emailing chester@chestermoore.com. Subscribe to the podcast by visiting thehighercalling.podbean.com.