Last Saturday I sent in a deer stand north of Deweyville pondering the many outdoor blessings in my life.

    I never saw a deer that evening but simply being a beautiful hardwood bottom with squirrels scurrying in the trees, wood ducks whistling overhead and the mournful sound of coyotes at dark reminded me of what a blessed person I am.

    And the reality is all of us who enjoy fishing, hunting and other wildlife related outdoors recreation have much to give thanks for as we gather with our families today.

    Despite a constantly growing population spawning greatly increased urbanization, the wildlife and fisheries in America is in fine shape. In fact, in many cases it is doing better than it has in more than 100 years.

    Did you know that in 1900 there were only an estimated 500,000 whitetail deer in all of North America?

    Now, thanks to the efforts of hunters, landowners and biologists, there are that many deer in the Texas counties of Llano, Mason, Gillespie, San Saba, Menard and Kendall combined.

     There are more than four million in the Lone Star State and some 25 plus million throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.

      Thanksgiving’s symbol, the wild turkey, was nearly extinct in many states with only the most remote areas having viable populations as late as 1930, but now there are more than four million wild turkeys in the United States, with 1/8 of that population residing in Texas.

     Thirty years ago, redfish populations were in such pitiful shape that fisheries managers questioned if they would ever recover. Now, their populations are so high, state officials are considering allowing additional harvest of mature specimens.

     We have also seen massive increases in populations of largemouth bass, crappie, speckled trout and dozens of species of small game.

    And it is not just the fish and game that we should be thankful for but the experiences we share with our friends and families in woods and on the water.

    I will never forget my first trip to the deer blind with my father. Looking back at photos from that day I now realize he was just being gracious and allowing me to tag along for fun. After all I was not exactly camouflaged, wearing a white and red Spider Man sweatshirt but that trip certainly helped me get hooked on hunting.

    Last year I got to experience the flipside of this equation as I watched my 12-year-old cousin Shelton Moore shoot his first wood duck. His father and I will never forget the smile on his face and the outdoors enthusiasm he gained that day.

     The reason we get to enjoy this bountiful harvest is the visionary conservationists of the past.

    The era of the modern sportsmen was born while Theodore Roosevelt was President. He was an avid hunter and initiated the national park system we have and sparked a conservation revolution through groups like the Boone and Crockett Club that literally saved numerous species and saw to it that others never got to the endangered level.

    Hunters, fisherman and trappers lobbied for licenses to be set up so they could pay game wardens to protect resources and scientists to research them. They also supported excise taxes on sporting goods, which combined with lcenses have provided billions to buy and restore habitat and protect fish and game in this great country.

   As you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, you might want to give thanks for those wise individuals who saw the value in wildlife conservation and whose legacy is that we literally have more fish and game in the now than we have ever had before.

    That is something truly amazing to ponder and a genuine reason to give thanks.



Chester Moore, Jr. is The News Outdoors Editor. To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at saltwater@fishgame.com. You can hear him on the radio Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI.)