Feathers for Higg

The NWTF lost a conservation stalwart in March 2023.

Robert Higginbotham — local NWTF chapter founder and member of the NWTF National Board of Directors — is remembered for his dedication to conservation and America’s hunting heritage through both his efforts at the grassroots level and national level.

To honor of his accomplishments and service to the NWTF, his local Mississippi NWTF chapter renamed the East Mississippi Chapter to the Robert Higginbotham Memorial Chapter.

The Mississippi spring turkey season opened just a few weeks after the name change, and after a successful hunt, Wendell Womack, current chapter president, passed the cemetery where Higginbotham was laid to rest. He stopped to pay his respects, taking a feather from his bird and laying it on Higginbotham’s grave.

“Sticking feathers on his grave was just some way to pay tribute to him for what he did and how he loved conservation and the NWTF,” Womack said.

He encouraged other chapter members to do the same, honoring both Higginbotham’s legacy and passion for the wild turkey.

After that first year, the community had placed 18 wild turkey feathers on his grave from their harvests. 23 feathers were placed the following year and 30 the year after.

At the end of this season, the turkey hunting community in east Mississippi placed 47 feathers on Higginbotham’s grave.

The first feather from this season was from the chapter’s inaugural JAKES hunt, and the last feather put on his grave this season was from a chapter member’s grandson, a meaningful nod to Higginbotham’s passion of getting young hunters in the field.

Each year, the number of feathers grows, as more local hunters look forward to being a part of the tradition of paying homage to a conservation stalwart.

“These feathers have become sort of a popular thing around here,” Womack said. “A lot of hunters take pride in it, and Higg’s wife, Carol, loves having us continue this tradition. We all call it ‘Feathers for Higg.’ Sticking feathers in his grave is just some way to pay tribute to him for everything he did, how he loved conservation and the NWTF.”

Higginbotham was a conservationist, a visionary and a leader, serving as the local chapter president, Mississippi NWTF State Chapter president, and holding several leadership positions throughout his tenure on the NWTF National Board of Directors.

“Robert helped me transition into being a national board member from being a state leader,” said Bryan Perry, member of the NWTF National Board of Directors. “I followed him through the chairs, and he helped me navigate landmines and taught me how the national board worked. He was my mentor.”

When Perry first joined the National Board of Directors, he remembers spending a significant amount of time with Higginbotham, as their leadership complemented each other. Perry saw Higginbotham’s passion and leadership firsthand.

“I mean, he absolutely loved it,” Perry said. “It was one of the major parts of his life, and becoming president of the national board, it was just something he lived for.”

When Higginbotham was on the national board, he embraced new ideas and innovative approaches to push the organization forward. He was an advocate for broadcasting the NWTF’s success stories and showcasing all of the great work the NWTF accomplishes across the country.

Higginbotham’s leadership has positively influenced all aspects of the NWTF, including conservation delivery, fundraising and education and outreach programs.

“He had a lot of friends within the NWTF,” Womack said. “I’ve never seen anybody love anything the way Higg loved the NWTF. He was like the Energizer Bunny at convention; he never stopped. It’s all those Mountain Dews he drank all the time — he was just about bouncing off the walls with excitement.”

When he passed, Womack said Higginbotham’s family decided to move the funeral services from their local church to a bigger church because of how many people from the NWTF came to pay their respects: National board members, call makers, volunteers, and the turkey hunting community at large from all across the country came to honor Higginbotham.

He was well loved, well respected and made an indelible impact on the NWTF mission. As the NWTF continues to soar to new heights, Higginbotham’s legacy will always be remembered. And it is honored every spring by those that knew him the closest, one feather at a time.