Afence, I have t ucked my ammo box into the shade of a mesquite tree. I reach up to tip my hat back o my forehead, a ording myself an unfettered view of the sky.
I’m rela xed but ready. A field lies flat before me, quilted w ith the aut umn yellow of sun flowers I can watch the day coming and going ; the horizon is w ide A convoy of tr ucks has parked around the circumference of the field, leav ing plent y of space bet ween rigs, brea king our large g roup dow n into social pockets that hover around coolers in energetic clouds of camaraderie. Across the space I can hear folks laughing, toasting the end of summer w ith cold beverages, hooting and hollering in high spirits.
The memories of past dove hunts seem to hang over the sunflower field, spicing the air and seasoning the breeze w ith a nostalgia that is palatable It seems like this hunt, all the hunts to come and all the hunts that came before exist here and now, blooming endlessly and eternally, firmly tethered to the framework of tradition, which feels so solid and trust worthy that I slack my left hip and lean into the sunshine like it’s a sturdy fence post. I keep an eye on the seam bet ween the earth and sk y, the narrow realm where the doves fly, and when I see my first dove zoom past w ithin range, I calmly mount my shotg un, track my target and pull the trigger. It falls, and I smile. It’s a great start to what w ill be a few splendid hours of shooting I reach dow n to brush some fire ants o my boots and pant legs before I walk out to retrieve my bird Nobody told me there would be ants
This isn’t my first dove hunt, but it’s my first dove hunt in Texas, and many proud Texans would tell me that I have misspoken and it is, in fact, my first dove hunt. By the end of my trip, I w ill humbly stand corrected.
I’ ve traveled dow n f rom Ida ho to a n event hosted by Stewa rds of t he W ild, a Texa n conser vation g roup t hat does a lot more t ha n conser vation W h ile preser v ing w ild a nima ls a nd w ild spaces is at t he hea r t of what t hey do, t hey ’re a lso in t he business of preventing Texas hu nting cu lt u re f rom going ex tinc t Ea rlier in t he day, I sought out a patch of shade bet ween t wo conver-t ed W W II m issile silos t hat now ser ve as a n event center on t he outsk ir ts of Abilene, a nd I fou nd myself ta lk ing to K atie Spu rg in, t he Prog ra m Ma na ger of Stewa rds of t he W ild . A f ter g reeting me w it h a w ide sm ile, she took a brea k f rom overseeing t he prepa rations for t he evening festiv ities a nd o ered me a qu ick lesson on t he overa ll v ision of Stewa rds of t he W ild
“ Ste w a rds welcomes ex per ienced outdoors ent husia sts a nd ne wcomers a li ke, a im ing to elim inate t he int im idat ion fac tor f rom lea r n ing ne w sk ills li ke deer hu nt ing or fly fishing, ” she sa id “O u r mentorsh ip prog r a m pa irs ne w hu nters w it h ex per ienced hu nters for ha nds - on, one - on- one lea r n ing T he end resu lt is more people seek ing to spend more t ime a mong ou r w ild th ing s, in ou r w ild places a nd k now ing what to do when t he y get t here.”
K at ie went on to tell me, “ W h ile ma ny chapter-ba sed org a n izat ions hold one or t wo e vents a n nua lly for t he pr imar y pu r pose of r a ising f u nds, Ste w a rds ex ists to con nec t outdoor ent husia sts w it h simila r interests, equ ip t hem w it h in for mat ion about impor ta nt conser v at ion issues a nd prov ide oppor t u n it ies to pa r t icipate in outdoor ex per iences
t hat wou ld not ot her w ise be av a ilable.” She added t hat t he org a n izat ion “ is creat ing t he nex t gener at ion of conserv at ion leaders. B y eng a g ing more you ng adu lts in t he outdoors a nd in for m ing t hem on impor ta nt conser v at ion issues, ou r members a re inspired to ta ke care of our w ild things and w ild places ”
T he proof is in t he pudd ing Members of Ste w a rds of t he W ild a re in for med hu nters a nd a nglers who show up, spea k up a nd spea k out a g a inst poor polic y-ma k ing a nd leg islat ion . T he y sta nd up for w ild places a nd w ild life a nd t he r ight of Tex a ns to access bot h . Most impor ta nt ly, t he y tend to place h igh v a lue on c u lt iv at ing relat ionsh ips th rou gh mentorsh ip. I ca n feel t he ca ma r ader ie of t he com mu n it y t he y a re bu ild ing a s t he sou nd of it re verber ates a rou nd t he su n flower field later t hat a f ter noon Someth ing t hat ma kes dove hu nt ing in Tex a s specia l is t he sheer nu mber of t he birds T he mou r n ing dove popu lat ion is est imated at 2 0 m illion, a nd wh ite -w inged doves nu mber 10 m illion, wh ich adds up to plent y of w ing shoot ing oppor t u n it ies for t he 3 0 0 , 00 0 dove hu nters in t he state. In 2 02 0 -21, Tex a s hu nters shot nea rly 5 .9 m illion doves a nd spent more t ha n 1 m illion hu nter day s in t he field , accord ing to t he Tex a s Pa rks a nd W ild life Depa r t ment’s sma ll g a me ha r vest su r ve y Dove hu nt ing is
a big dea l in Tex a s a nd not just because e ver y th ing ’s big here; t here’s simply no place w it h bet ter dove hu nt ing in t he USA . T he nu mbers spea k for t hemselves, but I rema in c u r ious about what d r aws ind iv idua ls to th is hu nt
I a sked Ph il La mb, t he Direc tor of Ph ila nth ropy for Tex a s Pa rks a nd W ild life Fou ndat ion, what at t r ac ts h im to dove hu nting in h is home state, besides t he sig n i fica nt presence of doves. He sha red t hat for most people, it’s about spend ing t ime in t he field w it h f r iends a nd fa m ily. He ca n remember speci fic moments a nd v iv id deta ils f rom pa st hu nts decades later notable e vents li ke someone’s fi rst dove or fi rst lim it , how t he birds fle w, t he hot weat her or t he cold a nd r a in, how t he dog s per for med , t he su nset , or e ven what song w a s play ing on t he t r uck r ad io when clea n ing birds on t he ta ilg ate E ver y yea r he reca lls t he s weet ness of t hose moments a nd t he m inut iae t hat made t hem He fla shed a sm ile a nd sa id , “ T hose memor ies, a nd t he oppor t u n it ies to ma ke more of t hem, a re what keeps us cou nt ing dow n t he day s u nt il t he nex t dove sea son .
