A Letter from Toxey
At the Mossy Oak brand and family, we’ve always strived to foster a community where “conservation is cool.” And in today’s hunting world, it seems more than ever that the folks who value family tradition, true woodsmanship, and taking care of the land and wildlife, also become the most proficient hunters. That’s the evolution to life’s pinnacle as a hunter we call becoming a Gamekeeper.
But back in Mossy Oak’s very beginning, we just wanted to be the uniform for anyone who wanted to step into the woods and disappear. Right from our origins we were embraced by a core of old school turkey hunters, flooded timber duck hunters and whitetail bow hunters. And while that’s who we were from day one, and that’s who first adopted Bottomland, today we have grown to encompass all boundaries of outdoors and hunting.
Over the years that love and obsession has evolved in so many ways. Obviously there has been all the clothes, gear, and guns. But then along the way we began to offer the very seeds and trees to plant and create habitat. Next we created a nation wide network for the actual land to live, love and hunt on. We even became so obsessed that more recently we started breeding and training duck dogs and created Mossy Oak Kennels. Between me, my wife and our sons, we have six labs of our own and when water, weather and migration line up, you know where you will find us! To us when mallards are pouring in the woods before sunrise and you’ve got your friends and dog at your side, there’s not much better in the world!
That leads us to today. A few springs ago, we created our inaugural Wild Turkey Conservation Stamp, and the response from the hunting and outdoor community was incredible! Subsequent to that and thanks to everyone’s unselfish contributions, we have been able to provide vital support to some powerful work in the world of wild turkey conservation.
While stamps for most other species of fish and wildlife ceased years ago, the iconic annual duck stamp has become the most famous stamp in the world and one of the proudest traditions in the hunting community. At Mossy Oak we just didn’t want to create our own until we had a conservation project that was deeply meaningful and unique enough to warrant it. We have now found such a project!
Dr. Phil Lavretsky, UTEP and Ducks Unlimited’s Duck DNA is just the one. And while we will obviously continue to support all of our other biologist friends in the waterfowl world, 100% of the dollars raised from this inaugural stamp will support Duck DNA. This project is that important to all of us! We also ask you to take the time to read more about the important work being done by Dr. Lavretsky’s and team on their website, duckdna.com. Additionally, we’ll be featuring updates and stories throughout duck season and the rest of the year. It’s worth noting that Dr. Lavretsky was a guest on our Gamekeeper Podcast last July, Episode 243 if you want to go back and listen. That podcast and a discussion of his work was one of the most popular we have aired.
The bottom line is that this project depends on the support AND involvement of the hunting community, to learn all that we can to protect our wild ducks. Over the years I have often said to our Mossy Oak team and family, that one of the most fulfilling things we can do in life is to make a genuine difference in what we truly love. For us, wildlife conservation provides that deepest purpose in life and as my dad Mr. Fox said…
“I believe the good that men do, will live long after we are gone”. Thank you all so very much for the opportunity for a life well lived in service to that love! Our beloved Ducks!
Toxey Haas
