I would normally say it’s great to be back after an expedition but I honestly wish I was still in stunningly beautiful Colorado.
Hey, don’t hate on me-fellow Texans! The heat index was 108 today.
We had a great time working with young people in our Wild Wishes program and other young people we are working with in a mentoring setting.
I’ll have a video recap next week but for now here are some of the photos the young people took on the trip.
Wild Wishes girl Kamille took this shot of a mule deer doe in Colorado Springs.
Our Wild Wishes girl Juno takes a great photo of a bull elk. You’ll see it in the next shot.
Juno’s elk photo turned out great!
Thirteen-year-old Delilah captured a beautiful moment between a cow moose and her young calf near Estes Park, CO.
Speaking of calves, Amber Borel got this great shot of a elk cow and calf. Many of the elk in the Estes Park area have collars to help track movements.
My daughter Faith got this great shot of a big bull elk.
We’ll be posting a video and more photos soon.
The mission fo what we do is to bring children facing special challenges to wild places and mentor them in conservation. We are teaching them to use photography to raise awarness of wildlife and the issues they face.
And we need your help as we have more expeditions planned.
Take a moment to think about your dark moments as a child and what it would’ve meant if you got to do something like this.
The Wildlife Journalist® and Higher Calling blog publisher Chester Moore was awarded the National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) “Advocatus Magni Award” for being an outstanding advocate of wild turkey conservation and hunting.
Moore received the award at the NWTF Texas banquet in College Station, TX and said it a true honor to be recognized by such a prestigious organization and for something he believes in wholeheartedly.
“As turkeys go, so do America’s forests. If we get turkey conservation right then everything from whitetail deer to gopher tortoises and wild sheep benefit,” he said.
In 2019 Moore embarked on a quest to raise awareness to turkey conservation and began by photographing the Grand Slam of turkeys around the nation in one year.
Two Rio Grande gobblers the author photographed on his Turkey Revolution® quest in 2019.
“There’s much more to come. This award inspires me to do even more and explore things like the link between turkeys and sheep in their shared range. It’s going to be a great year,” he said.
The highlight will be taking a group of teen’s from Moore’s Wild Wishes® program into Colorado on a search for wild sheep, turkeys and elk in the mountains.
These Higher Calling Wild Wishes Expeditions will take these young people who have a critical illness or loss of a parent or sibling on a special conservation mission trip to raise awareness to sheep, turkey and elk habitat and conservation issues.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
“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.
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 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.
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.Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA)—The chuffing sound of helicopter blades sounded faintly in the distance.
As a crowd of biologists and technicians from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD), Tech Tech, and Sul Ross University, among others, looked upward, the helicopter appeared.
Flying above the 6,2000-foot peak of Elephant Mountain in this remote area of Brewster County, it looked blurry at first.
A pair of bighorns is safely brought to the ground as the sun rises over Elephant Mountain in Brewster County, TX. (Photo by Chester Moore, Jr.)
But upon approach, details became apparent, and so did it’s cargo.
Two desert bighorn sheep blindfolded and secured in safety gear hung from the helicopter and were soon gently placed on the ground.
After detachment, the ground crew quickly moved the sheep to tables to thoroughly examine them.
They gave the sheep everything from fecal examinations to blood tests and took tiny ear clippings for DNA records.
“I can’t believe I’m getting to see all of this,” said Reannah Hollaway, a first-year wildlife student at Texas Tech.
Reannah is part of our Wild Wishes® program that grants wildlife encounters to youth struggling with critical illness or loss of a parent or sibling.
As a high school senior, Reannah’s initial wish was to encounter sea turtles. But while attending her first school of choice in 2018, she reflected on her wish experience and decided to go into the conservation field.
In fall 2019, she transferred to Texas Tech and now dreams of working on behalf of wildlife.
When TPWD”s Project Leader of Trans Pecos WMAs, Mark Garrett, approached her with a GPS collar in hand, she wasn’t quite sure what was happening.
But as officials brought in a big ram, she realized she was getting to put collar it.
“This will give us much information on its movements and allow us a better understanding of what these sheep are doing after we move them to Black Gap Wildlife WMA,” Garrett said.
Reannah fits a radio collar on a desert bighorn ram. (Photo by Chester Moore, Jr.)
After overcoming a few understandable nerves, Hollaway enthusiastically fitted the collar and watched as the crew moved the ram into a transport trailer.
In the course of the next few hours, she took ear clippings and helped take a blood sample from several ewes.
Desert bighorn sheep restoration in Texas in many ways centers on Elephant Mountain WMA. Donated to TPWD in 1986 for sheep propagation, it has been highly productive for desert bighorns, and when the area reaches carrying capacity, TPWD officials move part of the herd to other locations that could use a population boost.
These efforts supported by groups like the Texas Bighorn Society, Wild Sheep Foundation, and Dallas Safari Club have seen bighorns reach a population of around 1,500 in the Trans Pecos.
And after years of importing sheep from states like Nevada, TPWD offcials are now able to use Texas sheep to stock available habitat.
These ewes are tagged, collared and ready for release at Black Gap WMA. (Photo by Reannah Hollaway)
“It’s exciting to see how so many people have rallied around the bighorn program, and we are always excited to be able to take sheep from one place to another to expand their range in the Trans Pecos,” said Froylan Hernandez Texas desert bighorn program leader.
While scanning the area for photo opportunities, I noticed Reannah looking into one of the transport trailers.
“He’s beautiful, and his number is 8,” she said, referring to the identifying ear tag.
“I think I’ll name him Brian. He looks like a Brian.”
“Brian” the bighorn-aka No. 8 is trailered and ready to be released at Black Gap WMA. (Photo by Chester Moore, Jr.)
The young lady looked at the gorgeous ram in awe, and in her eyes, I could see the same wonder that has kept me enthused about wildlife since I was a little boy.
When business is slow, assignments are challenging, and real-life issues settle in, these moments are what keeps someone who works with wildlife motivated.
As me, my wife Lisa and daughter Faith made the eight-hour trek from Alpine to the Houston area to bring Reannah home; the happenings of the day dominated the conversation.
The sheep were beautiful.
The people were kind and gracious.
The helicopter operation was incredible to witness.
And Reannah getting to take part in this process was unforgettable and inspired a young lady to move forward in her studies and life with enthusiasm.
Ancient pictographs created by first nations people like the Jornada Mogollon of Texas and Fremont Culture of Utah adorn rock walls and caves in the desert Southwest.
Bighorn images inscribed on rocks in Utah by the Fremont culture. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)
Among these rock paintings are striking images of bighorn rams.
It is not clear whether these first nations people hunted sheep, but their reverence was evident.
Today desert bighorns still inspire.
Whether it is wildlife journalists like myself, wildlife biologists, hunters, landowners, or an aspiring student like Reannah, these animals leave an imprint on the human spirit.
Their mere presences move us to make the world a better place for sheep and other wildlife.
Port Aransas, TX—The smiles were even bigger than the waves.
As the white foam of breakers hit the beach, Lauren Scott and Reannah Hollaway were beaming.
The two recent high school graduates are best friends and share an equal love of sea turtles.
Reannah participated in our Wild Wishes® program last April getting to meet an injured Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle and giant river otters at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. That facility rolled out the red carpet for her.
Wild Wishes® grants exotic animal encounters for children with terminal illness or loss of parent or sibling.
After her wish, Reannah informed me that her friend Lauren also loved sea turtles and had a dream of releasing one that had been rehabilitated.
As I began working on that project a series of events unfolded that I can only describe as divinely inspired.
The Amos Research Keep (ARK) at Port Aransas offered an opportunity for the girls to tour their facility and release two green sea turtles back into the Gulf. So, on Aug. 10 we paid them a visit.
ARK’s Alicia Walker who hosted the visit shows the girls an injured baby hawksbill turtle.
This big turtle was covered with barnacles and getting back a healthy appetite.
Lauren was happy feeding green sea turtles fresh romaine. Unlike other sea turtles, greens are vegetarians which is they love the seagrass-thick habitat of South Texas.
After learning much about the ARK’s inspiring work and seeing many sea turtles, the highlight of the day had arrived. It was time for the turtle release.
As I watched the girls put on their latex gloves and move the turtles out toward the water, I saw worries melt away. I saw that hint of anxiety that I have learned to pick up working with children facing loss and serious illnesses disappear. I saw two young girls being young girls and living that rare, surreal dream come true moment.
You think those girls are happy or what?
When Lauren and Reannah lowered the turtles into the surf and watched them quickly swim away, a tangible feeling of freedom filled the air. It’s the kind of freedom ARK provides many sea turtles and injured shore birds but there was something else.
This event inspired two young ladies facing challenges in life to see that great things can happen-even the very biggest dreams coming true.
I want to thank Alicia and everyone with ARK who went far out of their way to accommodate this wish. And I want to thank everyone who supports the Wild Wishes® program.
You are helping young people in more ways than you know.
Lauren and Reannah will never forget the day they stepped into the blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico and set free their favorite animals. And neither will I.
Those two young ladies will for the rest of their lives wonder where those turtles ended up and how their lives turned out. Those are the kind of thoughts that not only bring smiles but inspiration.
There are no guarantees but the turtles got a fighting chance and they got it because people cared.
Listen to the podcast inspired by this story below.
Chester Moore, Jr.
(To subscribe to this blog enter your email address in the box on the top right of this page. To contact Chester Moore e-mail chester@chestermoore.com.)
