Two of Worland's own earn Tom Easterly award

WORLAND - Worland's Taylor Lind and Aaron Vigil are the latest winners of the Tom Easterly Memorial Award, which earns the winners a lifetime Wyoming game bird/small game license and lifetime conservation stamp.

The Memorial was established after the death of former Greybull biologist Tom Easterly. Easterly, "was passionate about introducing young hunters to the sport of bird hunting and sharing the importance of well managed wildlife habitat with them," said Greybull Game Warden Bill Robertson.

Easterly served as the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Greybull area biologist from 1992-2014. He was instrumental in negotiations between landowners, private groups and governmental agencies. He led the charge in reestablishing the big horn sheep population in Shell Canyon and Little Mountain. He worked closely with local chapters of Pheasants Forever and the National Wild Turkey Federation that helped improve the habitat for pheasants and wild turkeys. His belief in the younger generations of conservations led him to be involved in numerous youth programs like hunter's safety and mountain biking clinics.

In its second year, the Tom Easterly Memorial Award rewards two youth in the Big Horn Basin with a lifetime Wyoming Game Bird/Small Game license and Lifetime Conservation Stamp. The contestants will be judged by their merits from their application as well as an written essay on what hunting means to them.

For Taylor Lind's essay she wrote about the significance of hunting, "One of the reasons I love to hunt is because it helps the area's native wildlife species live in a sustainable habitat. Hunting controls animal populations to a healthy amount of animals per species. Another reason that I enjoy hunting is so that I can provide food for my family. It helps a great deal when you don't constantly have to go to the store to buy meat because you already have it in the freezer."

As for Aaron Vigil's essay he wrote on spending time with his family, "Another reason why I hunt is because I can spend time with my family. My family is large and most of the time we don't get to see each other that often, but one place we are able to see each other is during elk hunting season. My family and I set up a huge camp every year where we can all gather and spend time with each other."