Overview

The days are gone when seemingly limitless numbers of canvasbacks, mallards, and Canada geese filled the skies above the Texas coast. Gone too are the days when, in a single morning, hunters often harvested ducks, shorebirds, and other waterfowl by the hundreds. The hundred-year period from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries brought momentous changes in attitudes and game laws: changes initially prompted by sportsmen who witnessed the disappearance of both the birds and their spectacular habitat. These changes forever affected the state's storied hunting culture. Yet, as R. K. Sawyer discovered, the rich lore and reminiscences of the era's hunters and guides who plied the marshy haunts from Beaumont to Brownsville, though fading, remain a colorful and essential part of the Texas outdoor heritage. Gleaned from interviews with sportsmen and guides of decades past as well as meticulous research in news archives, Sawyer's vivid documentation of Texas' deep-rooted waterfowl hunting tradition is accompanied by a superb collection of historical and modern photographs. He showcases the hunting clubs, the decoys, the duck and goose calls, the equipment, and the unique hunting practices of the period. By preserving this account of a way of life and a coastal environment that have both mostly vanished, A Hundred Years of Texas Waterfowl Hunting also pays tribute to the efforts of all those who fought to ensure that Texas' waterfowl legacy would endure. This book will aid their efforts, along with those of coastal residents, birders, wildlife biologists, conservationists, and all who are interested in the state's natural history and in championing the preservation of waterfowl and wetland resources for the benefit of future generations.

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9781603447638

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Reviews

I would recommend this book to waterfowlers anywhere, and would tell anyone who has ever hunted or wanted to hunt Texas waterfowl that it is required reading. . . I could not help but want more. . . There is a hard core of waterfowling enthusiasts that will absolutely consume this book. . . The more avid the Texas waterfowl hunter, the more they will want this book. . .This book is a treasure trove of highly abstracted information and reference to source material. --Rudolph Rosen, former director of Fisheries and Wildlife, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and former director of the western regional office, Ducks Unlimited | Having witnessed about a third of those hundred years firsthand, I'm thrilled that R.K. found so many of the men who pioneered waterfowling in Texas and told their colorful stories. Waterfowl hunters are as interesting and unique as the birds they pursue. A Hundred Years of Texas Waterfowl Hunting exposes Texas's duck and goose hunters for the characters they were (and are), and it provides an amazingly detailed look into the sport's remarkable history. --Doug Pike, outdoor writer and radio host | ...very enjoyable read...an excellent reference source for additional research...most comprehensive, geographically and biographically, that I am aware of...a real contribution to the field...landmark work. --Michael E. Berger, former director of the Wildlife Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department | A Hundred Years of Texas Waterfowl Hunting brings back so many wonderful memories from the short era that I have lived during this book. The people and the stories are legendary in the Texas waterfowling community and Rob Sawyer does an outstanding job bringing this history to life! Rob paints a picture of the evolution of waterfowling in the Lone Star State that allows the reader to envision themselves living in each era. As Senior Regional Director for Ducks Unlimited in Southeast Texas, I live and breathe waterfowl and I would recommend this book to everyone that steps outdoors. --Tim Soderquist, Southeast Texas Ducks Unlimited Senior Regional Director

. . . very enjoyable read . . . an excellent reference source for additional research . . . most comprehensive, geographically and biographically, that I am aware of . . . a real contribution to the field . . . landmark work. --Michael E. Berger, former director, Wildlife Division, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department<br><br>

A Hundred Years of Texas Waterfowl Hunting brings back so many wonderful memories from the short era that I have lived during this book. The people and the stories are legendary in the Texas waterfowling community and Rob Sawyer does an outstanding job bringing this history to life! Rob paints a picture of the evolution of waterfowling in the Lone Star State that allows the reader to envision themselves living in each era. As Senior Regional Director for Ducks Unlimited in Southeast Texas, I live and breathe waterfowl and I would recommend this book to everyone that steps outdoors. --Tim Soderquist, Southeast Texas Ducks Unlimited Senior Regional Director<br><br>

Author Information

R. K. (ROB) SAWYER, a petroleum geologist in Houston, is also on the staff of the Thunderbird Hunting Club in Matagorda County.

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