Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Wyoming man honored by Bud

Paula DelGiudice

Friday, Jan. 28, 2000 | 9:37 a.m.

Paula DelGiudice's outdoors notebook appears Wednesday. Reach her at PDelGiudice@compuserve.com.

The Joint at the Hard Rock was packed to the gills last week. It was full of outdoors press, hunting and shooting gear representatives, conservationists and Budweiser fans, awaiting the announcement of the 2000 "Bud Man" of the year award.

It was to those tipping bottles and tapping their toes to the loud country music that the folks at Anheuser-Busch introduced Tory Taylor, the 2000 "Budweiser Outdoorsman of the Year." Taylor was selected from four finalists selected by Budweiser drinkers in an open-ballot process.

To those of us who know him, The Joint, Las Vegas and the limelight are anathema to Taylor. An avid hunter, angler, and wildlife conservationist for more than 40 years, Taylor, of Dubois, Wyo., is more comfortable sitting on a horse than speaking to crowds. Yet he appeared at ease at the microphone last week as he thanked those who voted for him.

He was chosen for his strong love of wildlife and concern for its conservation. He is also the most ethical hunter on the face of the earth, says a friend has known him for years.

Taylor, a backcountry outfitter specializing in horse-packing trips in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, has advanced numerous wildlife conservation projects over the past 20 years. He is a past president of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation and currently serves as president of the Dubois Wildlife Association, a local conservation group working on projects such as elk winter range protection, bighorn sheep disease and grizzly bear and wolf recovery in the Greater Yellowstone area.

During the early 1980s, Taylor originated the "Ride for Wildlife," four highly publicized horseback trips in Wyoming and Colorado designed to draw attention to the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, National Wildlife Federation and wildlife conservation. He also is an outdoors writer and has worked as an instructor on horse- packing courses for the National Outdoor Leadership School, teaching outdoor skills and conservation ethics.

One of Taylor's mandates as the Bud outdoorsman is to distribute a $50,000 grant from Budweiser and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to the wildlife and natural resource conservation groups of his choice.

The $50,000 contribution will be matched by other outdoor organizations.

The Wyoming Wildlife Federation will receive $35,000, which will fund three projects in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

* BACKYARD BIRDS: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society is asking Americans to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count on Feb. 18-21.

Participants count the numbers and kinds (species) of birds seen in their backyards, local parks, schoolyards, or other areas during any or all of the four count days. Sightings are entered via the Internet at www.birdsource.org, an interactive, state-of-the-art website developed by the Cornell Lab and National Audubon.