Over the years I’ve heard about the Las Huellas Association of South Texas and how it all started, to conserve wild turkeys in South Texas. A group of friends came together to preserve the natural beauty, wildlife and environment for future generations. They also throw a great party!
For this conversation, I sat down with Ricardo Adobbati, one of the founding members, at Karma Coffee and Books on South Padre Island. We could’ve talked for hours given I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to our local wildlife. I appreciate it, and I am grateful I get to live in this paradise after being in the concrete jungle that is New York City for over 10 years, but I was unaware of how the area here has changed over the years and what needs to be done to preserve it for future generations.
I encourage you to visit Las Huellas’ website. In my conversation with Ricardo, we really only scratched the surface as to the impact the association has on our community and learning all it does to help protect the outdoors. I hope you enjoy the read and follow in its footsteps.
Q: When was Las Huellas of South Texas established?
Over 17 years ago. Originally it was established under the National Wild Turkey Federation. Our original board members, many of which are still involved, wanted to raise money to re-populate wild turkeys in the area. We felt the best way to do it was through a nonprofit.
We realized pretty quickly we were limited with a national organization. Too many requirements and administrative issues. Very little of the money raised was returned to us for use locally. I suggested to the rest of the board members we should just make Las Huellas our own independent nonprofit organization. We keep our name and logo, but let’s create our own local nonprof it which we could broaden to cover all of our local wildlife. It also allows us to support local projects and what is best for this area. We did it … and we never looked back.
Q: What does Las Huellas mean?
“Huella” means fingerprint or track in Spanish.
Our logo is the footprint, the “track” of the turkey. Our mission is to preserve South Texas wildlife and to educate the people about the wildlife we have in South Texas.
We have a wonderful, diverse environment and many people don’t realize what we have down here. Our goal is to educate and raise funds so Valley residents are aware of our wildlife and to respect what we have down here. The variety of wildlife we have locally is incredible. Not all of our residents are aware of the world class birding as well as a diverse animal population, from ocelots to the nilgai, an antelope originally from India.
Q: How has the mission of Las Huellas expanded?
We went from raising money to increase the turkey population to supporting wildlife research programs, doctoral programs, awarding scholarships to students interested in wildlife studies and supporting other local endeavors whose mission is to educate the public and expose the children to outdoor activities. We are proud to have recently started an endowment at UTRGV for a wildlife biology program at the university.
As an example, we even had a Ph.D. professor from India come down to study the nilgai. They were interested in our data so they could apply it in their own country. We have also worked with several other foundations in the area for ocelot, white-tailed deer and other wildlife. We have expanded tremendously since we started.
Q: In January, the Las Huellas Association created a scholarship endowment at UTRGV in the amount of $500,000 to establish a wildlife biology program and provide scholarships to students pursuing wildlife studies. Tell me about that.
We have wildlife biologists, wildlife management, farm management and ranch management positions that need to be filled. The Valley has plenty of smart, intelligent people to handle these studies, but they may not necessarily have the economic means to study elsewhere. We can have people study here, learn here, intern here and ultimately stay here. We are really excited about this. It was a big step establishing the endowment. It’s the biggest step we have taken recently.
Q: Educating future generations, is that part of your mission?
Yes, we have a youth hunter program we put on every year in cooperation with the state of Texas. Kids have to take a youth hunting course before they are allowed to hunt. They learn about hunting rules, shooting safety and to respect the outdoors. We have sponsored Boy Scout camps, school programs, anything that falls within our mission statement. The list is quite long.
We are also associated with another group called Hooked for Life – Kids Gone Fish’n, which was started in Las Huellas by a dear friend of ours, David Mendez. He was a founding board member and unfortunately passed away. He loved that project, and we continue to support it to this day. We populate local resacas with catfish for their annual children’s fishing tournament. We want to expose kids to fishing, in some cases for the first time. We continue to support the event to honor him as well as the fact that it is a wonderful cause.
Q: Las Huellas is also well known for its very successful fundraising events. What is the key to your success?
That’s easy, our loyal supporters. Thanks to them, we raised over $380,000 last year. It’s amazing how people and businesses support our events through attendance or providing donations year after year. They believe in us and know every penny raised goes to our programs. No money is wasted on administrative expenses. Our board does this because we love the cause; it’s that simple. Word is catching on about Las Huellas and the work we support.
Our events are also fun. The people that come are of course hunters and fishermen, but we have expanded hugely. People from all walks of life attend. The events are not fancy, just great food and entertainment. People feel relaxed and enjoy themselves. People realize that what we do preserves the wildlife and our environment. Everyone benefits.
Q: What work of Las Huellas are you most proud of?
I would say our support of wildlife research, the nilgai and ocelot studies. I can easily get into this but this interview would last a long time.
The nilgai research could potentially provide a global solution to the fever tick issue in wild animals that carry the tick. We are making efforts. We have the support from the local ranches, and we are proud to be part of this research.
Our scholarship endowment with UTRGV is a huge step for Las Huellas. Our organization is very excited about this partnership and the long-term goal of creating a Wildlife Biology Institute at UTRGV.
In our 17 years, we have given dozens of scholarships to many students interested in wildlife and environmental studies. We have already begun to see the benefits. For example, every year we honor the Texas Parks & Wildlife Game Warden of the Year. The winner last year was the recipient of one of our scholarships 13 years ago. We see the impact. It literally has come full circle.
There is a saying we have used in our promotional materials: “We are measured by the tracks we leave behind.” I think our organization is doing a great job at following that mantra.
- Ricardo Adobbati has been a board member of Las Huellas for 15 years. To learn about Las Huellas of South Texas, visit lashuellas.org.
