1912Dec

EDITOR’S NOTES by Chester Moore – December 2019

Christmas Conservation

I LOVE THE FACT this magazine is called Texas Fish & Game.

It’s not, Texas Guns & Gear or Texas Hunters and Fishermen.

It’s Texas Fish & Game, reminding us that without the game and fish we pursue, there is no pursuit.

Christmas is a great time of giving as we celebrate the birth of humanity’s greatest gift with fun, generous traditions passed on for generations.

I challenge you this Christmas to make a stand for wildlife and give to conservation causes.

If you know someone who truly loves fishing, hunting, and wildlife, give a gift in their honor to a great cause related to their favorite creatures or provide them with a membership in a pro-hunting/fishing conservation organization.

Let me share how the Moore family does this and give you some creative ideas about how to create Christmas conservation.

Lisa and I are members of the Coastal Conservation Association, The Wild Sheep Foundation, Texas Bighorn Society, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance, Houston Safari Club, and Trout Unlimited.

This year we have several young people in our life who, through our Wild Wishes® program have taken a deep interest in conservation. Wild Wishes® grants wildlife encounters to children with a terminal illness or loss of parent or sibling.

One of these young people will be getting a membership in the Texas Bighorn Society, another in the National Wild Turkey Federation, and another in the Coastal Conservation Association.

With those memberships come email alerts, magazines, and opportunities to take part in events that will keep them focused on a pro-conservation message and seeing they can make a difference.

Another creative way to do this to create a Christmas fundraiser in a person’s name for conservation.

Let’s say the person you want to bless is really into wild sheep like yours truly.

Then you could go to Facebook and ask people to donate to the Texas Bighorn Society in their honor for Christmas. You could do the same with the National Wild Turkey Federation or any other group registered as a nonprofit on Facebook.

As a family and ministry, we have found donating to causes in the name of someone can have a powerful impact. Through our Wild Wishes® program, we make donations for kids coming through to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo’s Persian fallow deer restoration project.

They are working to bring the highly endangered Persian fallow deer back to the Holy Land and are doing a fantastic job. When deer translocated to the wild show up on game cameras or when fawns are born, we get updates from the zoo.

It’s a great way to share with young people to see that people can do great things for wildlife. In fact, we are working with our kids to launch a fundraiser for this Israel project. If you would like to help, you can email me at cmoore@fishgame.com for details.

Something else to consider is to talk with your children about forsaking getting presents. Instead, have them send out cards to friends and family asking them to give to their favorite conservation cause for Christmas. Can you imagine the impact if dozens of people get cards from an eight-year-old asking to donate to the Coastal Conservation Association so they can save oyster reefs?

Talk about counter culture-in a good way!

If you teach your kids or grandkids to hunt and fish, but don’t teach them about sustainable resource use and conservation, their learning is incomplete.

They need to know that a hunter named Teddy Roosevelt started wildlife conservation in America. He was an essential figure in American history. They need to know how a group of anglers in Texas formed the Gulf Coast Conservation Association (now CCA) and saved the redfish.

They need to know that polluting streams equals bad health for fish and humans. They need to know that destroying wetlands eliminates duck habitat. They need to know they can be difference makers.

We can help with that by supporting their wildlife education with free resources. Texas Fish & Game does a weekly e-newsletter with stories and lessons that go out to 800 classrooms in Texas. It’s great for home-schooled kids, scout groups, or simply families wanting to promote a wildlife conservation ethic in their family.

I have also personally created a curriculum called North American Wild Sheep that goes into great detail on wild sheep with 20 separate lessons. Both are free, and you can get them by emailing cmoore@fishgame.com.

Maybe, if your budget is low, you commit to the time to teach them about these issues and use our resources to help.

Dr. Guy Harvey, the world’s most celebrated marine wildlife artist and ocean conservationist, told me that if we all do a little, it would make a big difference.

Let us know how we can help you create a conservation Christmas for your kids, friends, and family.

This can be the beginning of something extraordinary.

 

Email Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com

 

< PREV Return to CONTENTS Page NEXT >

Heather Bryan

Share
Published by
Heather Bryan

Recent Posts

Three Things that Make Your Fishing Life Easier

Fishing is a hands-on activity for sure, and many of us don't necessarily want to…

16 hours ago

Lake Amistad “Infested” With Zebra Mussels

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has designated the International Amistad Reservoir in the…

1 day ago

Wildlife Crossing Project Move Forward For Sake of Bighorns

The Nebraska Department of Transportation and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) have secured…

1 day ago

Confirmation Made In Fatal Mountain Lion Attack

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has confirmed that the mountain lion euthanized…

1 day ago

Texas Youth Wins Austin Stevens Young Adventurer Award

Higher Calling Wildlife®, the youth conservation outreach founded by wildlife journalist and conservationist Chester Moore…

2 days ago

Texas State Parks Offer Eclipse Viewing Opportunity

Less than a month remains until the highly anticipated total eclipse adorns Texas skies. On…

2 days ago