I hope this
WSI Play by Play finds each of you in good health, coping with these COVID-19 challenges as best you can. Our family left for vacation on March 7 and returned from Belize on the evening of the 13th. I would have never dreamed that the world could change so much in a 7-day period. Sometime during the next month, we will be sending out a
WSI ENews and I'll opine in greater detail about these challenges and what this will likely mean for the hunting industry in the foreseeable future.
Many of the photos that are in this
Play by Play are from a few months ago and some that are more recent. We had a significant amount of business on the calendar for March 15 - May 1, much of which we were able to keep in-place, much of which has been moved, and some of which has been lost. Our business commitments involve several hundred thousand acres of private land with many different landowners and many different deal-structures. When you look at the roughly 100 hunters from various states that we had booked from March 15 - May 1, hunting on roughly 10 properties during that span of time, it creates a mind-numbing challenge in trying to reconcile game-plans that provide a reasonably good fit for all parties....frankly, it's an impossible task. I founded WSI 33 years ago and we survived the post-9/11 period, we barely survived the horribly challenging year of 2009 during the economic crash, and we survived the drought and wildfires of 2011....those were tough years, but we adapted and we survived. We are doing our best to adapt to these pandemic pressures, including best management practices that address human health/safety in camps, while also seeking contingency arrangements for those who are not able to attend there scheduled hunts....which can be financially costly for all parties.
We've had some great hunts over the last month, despite the COVID challenges. Our turkey hunters have enjoyed some productive outings, both in the south and north zones, and we've taken nilgai, aoudad, and other exotics on recent hunts. Our next
Play by Play will provided some photos from recent weeks. Rains around the much of state have been plentiful and the country is beautiful in much of the state. Ranchers in the San Angelo area are describing this as one of the best springs that have ever seen. So, despite the COVID challenges, it's been and remains a good time to find "social distancing" opportunities in the great outdoors.
Here's to looking forward to better days ahead for everyone and for our country. America is strong and we will emerge from this as a stronger nation. Hang in there, keep well, and stay safe.
Greg Simons
WSI - Co-owner
