“The magazine has experienced phenomenal growth in both circulation and scope of content,” said Editor-in-Chief Don Zaidle. “It began taxing our ability to keep up, so we had to expand our editorial management tree. Chester has been ‘unofficially’ involved in content management for a number of years, so we decided to make it official.”

Moore’s duties extend to the entire magazine’s content, but focus primarily on the Coastal Edition.”

“In evaluating our growth and readership, we recognized our readership mostly falls into three distinct interest areas: coastal, inland, and non-coastal,” Zaidle said. “A reader living in Dallas or Amarillo usually does not share the same scope of interests as a reader living in Houston or Corpus Christi. So, we started producing three editions to address those interest areas, with content tailored accordingly. Although Chester is one of the most eclectic outdoorsmen I know, his greatest expertise is in coastal region fishing and hunting.”

Moore, a friend and confidant to Ted Nugent, the magazine’s Bowhunting Editor, is not the stereotypical outdoorsman. He plays bass in a heavy metal rock band, Freak13; holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a degree in zoology; dresses almost exclusively in black or camouflage; is passionately interested in cryptozoology; and sports a goatee and long hair, the latter typically worn in a ponytail, which has earned him the nickname “Pony-tailed Warrior” in some circles.

Nonetheless, marsh water and gunpowder run in Moore’s veins. Editor Zaidle recounted one of the adventures he and Moore have shared afield that earned Moore another sobriquet--“Garface”:

“One of Chester’s favorite things is fishing and bowfishing for alligator gar--I tell him he’s crazy for garfish and alligators. He and I were hunting teal and alligators one September near the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, and Chester arrowed this huge alligator gar. When I was taking photos of him with the fish--which I swear he would have married on the spot were it legal--I took one shot of him with the gar’s head held right up to his face. I teased him about how much he and the gar resembled each other, but he took it as a compliment. I started calling him ‘Garface Moore’ and it kind of stuck.

“That’s how Chester is. He sees the humor in just about everything, but he is dead serious about things that threaten hunting or fishing, and he’s a dedicated conservationist.”

“I consider this a great honor and a great opportunity to bring my passion for the outdoors to other sportsmen,” Moore said. “Texas has more hunting and fishing opportunities than any other state in the nation. I intend to work with Don Zaidle and the rest of the editorial staff to expose our readers to things they might not even know exists, and to keep them informed about issues that affect them. It is going to be a wild, fun ride for everybody.”

Moore’s duties began with the July 2007 of Texas Fish & Game, which bore Moore’s name and new title on the masthead. He was promoted to the Executive Editor position from his former position as Saltwater Fishing Editor. Calixto Gonzales replaces Moore as Saltwater Fishing Editor.

In addition to his new duties, Moore's book "Texas Waterfowl" is due out in stores soon. A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to Ducks Unlimited's Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign. To order on-line go to www.fishgame.com.