Although he personally wrote two books of note on upland game hunting and edited two more, Eugene Virginius Connett (1891–1969) made far more lasting and important contributions to the literature of field sports through his work as a publisher. His imprint The Derrydale Press, founded in 1926, remained active until 1941. Then, having somehow managed to weather the economic woes of the Great Depression, Derrydale faced setbacks due to the pressing demands of war—fine paper of the type he used in his books became almost impossible to obtain—and ceased operation just as the United States entered World War II. For the course of a decade and a half as scion of The Derrydale Press, though, Connett published splendid books and built an extraordinary stable of writers. His endeavor resulted in the finest concentration of literature the sporting world has known.

Connett was born on March 8, 1891, in South Orange, New Jersey, with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. He attended elite St. Paul’s School for boys and enrolled at Princeton University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1912. He initially managed the family’s hat-manufacturing business, but after service in World War I, he shed the lucrative but restrictive manacles of business for matters closer to his heart. Harkening back to the joys he had derived from sport (notably, fly fishing and wingshooting) in his youth, he sold the family business. Then for a year he did little but travel, hunt and fish, and contemplate the future. At the end of that period, with help from a friend, noted antiquarian bookseller Ernest Gee, he launched The Derrydale Press.

At that point, Connett had already written a number of articles for leading outdoor magazines and was the author of a well-received book, Wing Shooting and Angling (1922). Once Derrydale was up and running, its early imprints focused on sporting history and works for the horses-and-hounds set. The appearance of Connett’s own Feathered Game (1929) signaled a new direction. Henceforth, works on upland sport would figure prominently among Derrydale books.

Dale Rollins figures he drove about a million miles in his career as an extension service biologist for the Texas A&M University system, what’s now called Texas AgriLife. Most of his trips were down seemingly endless West Texas highways. One December day in 1992, Rollins presented a program to the San Angelo Lion’s Club, and then headed for Childress (220 miles away) to talk with 4-H leaders. Along the way, he had an epiphany.

“As I drove along a lonely stretch of U.S. 83 between Aspermont and Guthrie, I contemplated that I could give such programs every day if I had the time and energy,” Rollins recalls. “Few of the programs required a PhD in wildlife management. I began mulling the idea of empowering youth as ambassadors for conservation awareness and the term ‘Bobwhite Brigade’ popped into my head.”

With the help of like-minded wildlife volunteers (and for the record, Rollins does have a PhD in wildlife management), Rollins organized the Bobwhite Brigade, a program that’s expanded to Texas Youth Brigades. The intense camps, usually held on large ranches, attract kids interested in quail, white-tailed deer, waterfowl, bass, and, new this year, ranch management for livestock. In 2014, seven Brigades are scheduled. Families who can’t afford the tuition can seek financial assistance.

About 2,600 “cadets” have already learned what it takes to maintain healthy fish and wildlife populations.

Most chefs begin cooking fish and game because they are outdoors aficionados or are heavily schooled in the traditionally game-inclusive cuisine of Europe—or both. But Doug Mack’s route to game cookery was different.

“I see food as a venue for change, and feel it’s important to connect Vermont’s small farms to restaurants,” he says. “Nowadays people want to know more about where their food comes from and be adventuresome in their eating.”

Doug and his wife Linda Harmon run The Inn at Baldwin Creek and Mary’s Restaurant in the small town of Bristol, Vermont, about an hour from Burlington, the state’s one actual urban enclave. Their restaurant Mary’s is one of two in the state of Vermont with the Slow Food “Snail of Approval,” which means they’ve met a series of stringent and exacting criteria required by Slow Food International, a global, grassroots organization linking the enjoyment of good food with a commitment to local communities and the environment.

Recipes include

1 -Vermont Rabbit cooked in Hard Cider with Apples

2 -Bacon-wrapped Venison Tenderloin with Red Wine Gorgonzola Sauce

3 -Vermont Pheasant with Sundried Bing Cherry and Applejack Brandy Sauce