Hunter-Conservationist Movement Gains Seam

LISTEN: (6 Min, 15 Sec)

HUNTER-CONSERVATIONIST is a term used within the hunting community to describe those who hunt with great ethics and within the confines of conservation-based hunting policy. It’s often associated with Teddy Roosevelt and other forefathers of groups like the Boone & Crockett Club, Pope & Young, and other pro-wildlife, pro-hunting organizations.

Over the last three years, I have been privileged to see a powerful shift happen among hunter-conservationists, and it’s coming in the form of women and young people getting involved.

Let’s start with the ladies.

Women Hunt® is a program of the Wild Sheep Foundation®, and it has deep roots in Texas as annually, 12 women are chosen through a blind application process to take FTW Ranch’s cutting-edge Sportsman’s All-Weather All-Terrain Marksmanship (SAAM) New Hunter Course.

“Taking the SAAM Precision Rifle course in 2018 was an inspiring, life-changing event. Participating in the New Hunter Course has been as well as it has been for the ladies who have taken it over the last three years,” said Renée Thornton, WSF’s Women Hunt Chair.

“It’s a comprehensive on-ramp to the world of hunting and conservation. And we all get to learn from former U.S. Special Forces operators and experienced hunters.”

From basic firearm handling to precision shooting at ethical hunting distances, the course has a track record of turning those who have never taken big game into safe, successful, and conscientious hunters. 

Hunting whitetail and exotic does and feral hogs after training is part of the package.

Women Hunt is also, however, helping launch informed female hunter-conservationists into a world where their voice is more sorely needed than ever.

“I never really knew about the North American Model of Conservation before taking the course. Now it’s a passion of mine,” said 2022 graduate and native Texan Kat Hunter.

“For me, Women Hunt® has sparked a responsibility to give back, and the FTW/SAAM delivered New Hunter Course has empowered within me the confidence to hunt & harvest and a renewed and incredibly deeper passion for passing these skills on to the next generation.”

Kat and Tiffany Osburn, who applied for the initial year of Women Hunt after reading a story about it in our TF&G report newsletter in 2021, were invited to be part of a panel discussion at The Wildlife Society’s national conference in Louisville, KY.

Numerous women from the program over the last three years have begun volunteer work with the Wild Sheep Foundation, their chapters, and affiliates, as well as engaging in other pro-hunting conservation work.

“Giving back is something we emphasize in our program, and we are seeing many of the ladies do that all around the country,” Thornton said.

This year, Women Hunt saw a big increase in applicants and numerous new states and provinces included. Texan Stacey Wink of Dripping Springs was among the ladies, and she got to harvest her first-ever game animal, a feral hog.

I’ve personally seen the impact this program has on women, and it’s truly inspiring.

The game is also changing in youth conservation participation.

My Higher Calling Wildlife outreach works with children facing a critical illness, traumatic loss, living in the foster system, and other challenges, and we have done conservation-centered expeditions in Texas, Colorado, Florida, Wyoming, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

We focus on fishing and wildlife photography to engage young people with wildlife in their local area and mentor them to use photos and videos to raise awareness of conservation issues.

That took us to beautiful Estes Park, CO, in 2023.

We granted a sloth encounter for a beautiful, sweet little girl named Juno in 2022 as she was struggling with cancer and could not walk. Now, she’s cancer-free and full of energy.

We got to take Juno out to photograph mule deer, elk, and wild turkeys, and we had an incredible time.

It was difficult to hold back tears as I watched this full-of-life kid walking with me in the wild when, a year earlier, she was in a wheelchair.

My favorite part was taking her to the hills around her home and teaching her to capture images of prairie dogs. That’s something she can do easily on her own, and it lets her know that adventure doesn’t have to be in a faraway place.

Our very first expedition was in 2019 with Reannah Hollaway from The Woodlands, and courtesy of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s Alpine office, she got to go on a desert bighorn capture.

It was a transformative event for her.

I’m proud to say last fall, she graduated from Texas Tech with a Natural Resources Management degree with a conservation science concentration.

We expect great things from this smart, brave young lady who has battled cystic fibrosis her whole life and has an amazing, impactful, long life ahead of her.

What we have found is that young people going through challenges understand wildlife under threat or habitat loss. They often feel like outsiders and jump at the chance to help.

And out of all of the kids we have worked with, we have never had one balk at the idea of hunting as conservation and jump at the chance to learn more.

We target the last in line. We focus on the least, and those with the greatest challenges are seeing amazing results.

We just released a new mini-documentary on our outreach that you can view at www.highercallingwildlife.com. You can also learn how to connect kids with what we do there.

It’s an exciting time for the hunter-conservationist movement. Good things are happening, and from places many would have never expected, even a decade ago.

In a world that seems upside down, it’s good to see there are positive strides for the sake of conservation and conservationists.

 

Email Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com

 

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