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THE LAST HUNT

Wade and Justin Lee usher in a new era at the Skyrider Wilderness Ranch

When conservation clicked between Gary Young and Wade Lee the relationship became an intertwined effort in working closely with the betterment of the future.

Wade Lee, a Kona, Hawaii State native had worked closely with Young Living for years, including a friendship with Young Living’s founder, D. Gary Young. In Gary’s efforts to carefully source aromatics for essential oils, he connected with the Lee family, and their Kona Sandalwood Reforestation Project.

The Lee family makes conservation their primary driver on their sandalwood property. Dedicated to harvesting dying wood, the project helps to ensure the vulnerable sandalwood trees will be here for generations to come. Wade and Gary quickly aligned their commitment to preserving the natural world. Gary and Wade understood each other from their first inspired connection, “from the first Aloha,” and Wade was impressed by meeting an outsider who understood his vision.

As Wade’s son Justin became more involved in the reforestation project and Young Living, the relationship developed further, with more energy dedicated to supporting conservation efforts, including those at the Skyrider Wilderness Ranch.

Justin knew what it meant to his father, it was his lifelong dream to have his first successful elk hunt. With the family’s commitment to honoring the land, and its resources, this expedition would be the turn of change on the ranch. It made perfect sense that Wade would hunt his first elk at Skyrider as hunts on the property were coming to an end.

Thanks to Skyrider Ranch’s new conservation efforts, with the nursery herd of Desert Bighorn Sheep. Wade would get to be a part of the “Last Elk Hunt” at the Ranch and fulfill a lifelong dream.

In September 2021 Justin and Wade headed to Skyrider Wilderness Ranch. Justin and his father saw the land in parallel to their sandalwood reforestation project at home.

Wade and Justin’s hunt marked powerful ends and new beginnings. After this hunt, the ranch would no longer be considered a Hunting Outfitter. Reserving the high fence area of the ranch for a new Nursery Heard of Desert Big Horn Sheep to thrive and begin to repopulate and strengthen potential herds across Utah.  After the success of the Lee’s elk hunt, the Lee’s planned on doing more of their hunting at home, on the Big Island property with their family preserving the land they love.

With the last hunt at Skyrider came a new version of a familiar story. With an even greater priority on conservation, the Skyrider Wilderness Ranch carries forward Gary Young’s legacy and passion while becoming home to the first nursery herd of the Desert Bighorn Sheep in the state of Utah.

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