10 Gauge Outfitters was recently featured in USA TODAY Hunt & Fish

Read original article here: https://onlinestore.usatoday.com/usa-today-hunt–fish-magazine–2025-p21834.aspx

Introduction

“Conservation is contagious,” says Mike Mader, hunt manager for Turner Ranch Outfitting, founded by media mogul and philanthropist Ted Turner. At Vermejo, Turners 558,000-acre reserve in northern New Mexico, every hunting excursion and fishing trip becomes a multiday opportunity to have real conversations about species restoration, fire ecology, and water management, not just the pursuit of game.

Tim Weddington, owner of Kansas-based 10 Gauge Outfitters, supports Pheasants Forever. “Monetary donations and planned giving are powerful tools for supporting conservation. When it comes to making a lasting impact, hunters should really focus on supporting organizations that have an outspoken focus on habitat preservation.”

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there’s been a decades-long decline in the population of hunters and anglers, which means fewer people must do more to ensure future habitat.

“Hunters have a unique opportunity to protect what they love for generations to come,” says Taylor Kovar, founder and CEO of 11 Financial.

Kovar says one of the best ways to support wildlife conservation over the long term is by building it into broader financial planning.

“That could mean setting up a donor-advised fund with a focus on conservation groups, naming a hunting or wildlife nonprofit in your will or even establishing a conservation easement on land you own,” he says, Tve also seen hunters donate appreciated assets like stock or real estate, moves that can support the cause without cutting into cash flow.”

Legacy gifts don’t have to be huge to make an impact.

“I know a hunter who arranged for part of the proceeds from the sale of his ranch to fund local wildlife research,”

Kovar says. “These aren’t just donations, they’re investments in preserving the outdoors for kids and grandkids. If hunters want to leave a legacy, tying their passion for the outdoors to their financial footprint is one of the smartest, most impactful things they can do.”

Passing along a conservation ethos is another.

Hunter McIntosh is a second-genera-tion operator of The Boat Company, a luxury yacht charter and conservation education nonprofit in Southeast Alaska, and an outspoken advocate for aligning outdoor recreation with long-term conservation funding.

As a director and trustee of The Mcin-tosh Foundation, he has helped direct over $30 million to legal defense, habitat preservation and sustainable fisheries in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.

“My perspective has been shaped by family values shared around the dining room table and a lifetime spent in the field, on the water and on the frontlines of conservation funding and education. Our responsibility extends beyond the sea-son,” he says. “We must give back to the land, water and wildlife that have given so much to us.”

MeIntosh says anglers, hunters and others who love the outdoors can get involved at the local and regional levels, with organizations and private stewards already doing the work. He’s proud that his 18-year-old daughter, Aspen, who’s spent every summer in Alaska since age 5, is going to study biology in college.

At Vermejo, Mader sees guests who hunted or fished on-site as kids, now bringing their children and grandchildren for the same experiences. “There’s no better classroom than being immersed in a well-managed landscape and seeing the results firsthand,” he says.

Of course, few can buy and protect nearly 2 million acres like Ted Turner has.

“But anyone can pick up trash at the trailhead, volunteer for restoration projects or leave a gift to a conservation nonprofit,” Mader says. “There’s a role for everyone in this work.”