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RALPH W. ABELE CONSERVATION HERITAGE AWARD

2000 RECIPIENT

Inky Moore

The Ralph W. Abele Conservation Heritage Award for the year 2000 is awarded to Enoch S. "Inky" Moore, Jr.  Inky Moore distinguished himself in the cause of conservation in Pennsylvania through a lifetime of dedicated volunteer service. He invested countless hours in the education of  Pennsylvania youth on conservation issues.

Enoch S. ("Inky") Moore died on October 15, 2000 at his home in Newville. He was seventy-five years old. Each year the Fish and Boat Commission confers its highest honor, the Abele Award, on a Pennsylvanian who has dedicated his time and energy to the conservation of our state’s natural resources. For the year 2000, the Commission had several fine nominees for the award. Inky Moore was a member of the award committee, and he spent part of the day before his death reviewing the nominations with great care and rating the nominees. Inky himself would not have been eligible for the award prior to his death, nor would he have sought such recognition for himself. After his death, however, the award committee met and decided unanimously to confer the 2000 Ralph W. Abele Conservation Heritage as a posthumous honor on Enoch S. ("Inky") Moore. The first criterion for the Abele Award is to find an individual who has "personally invested heavily in the long-term education of Pennsylvania’s youth on conservation issues vital to an improved aquatic environment." No one better epitomizes the criteria for the Abele Award then Inky Moore.

Inky Moore was one of Pennsylvania’s conservation heroes. He was part of a generation of leaders that included Ralph Abele, Maurice Goddard, Lenny Green and Ken Sink. Inky repeatedly demonstrated his love for fishing, hunting and Pennsylvania’s outdoors through his teaching and his service in conservation organizations.

Inky was one of the last of the self-proclaimed "Old Bastards" or "OBs" for short. This was a group of conservation leaders from across Pennsylvania. They would gather a couple of times each year at a hunting or fishing camp. Here they could get away from the phones and distractions of everyday life and have a chance to concentrate on the big conservation issues that sometimes get overlooked in the details of day-to-day operations. They talked about conservation legislation and conservation funding. They developed a set of conservation principles that Ralph Abele brought to the then Fish Commission under the heading of "Resource First."

A natural teacher, blessed with a keen sense of humor and the ability to relate to young people, Inky was the founder or co-founder of several conservation schools and camps. In 1995, Inky joined with fellow conservationists and fly fishers to start the Rivers Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp. Each summer, as many as forty young people gathered at Allenberry Resort near Boiling Springs for a one-week school in the conservation. Inky anchored an outstanding group of instructors, which included members of the PFBC staff, and brought his unique blend of knowledge and expertise to each class.

Both before and after his retirement from employment as a motor carrier transportation consultant and as an management employee of Daily Express, Inc., Inky was a joiner and a doer. The list of the organizations to which he belonged included national, statewide, regional and local conservation and sportsmen’s organizations. And wherever Inky went, he left his mark. The Fish and Boat Commission, Trout Unlimited, Pennsylvania Trout, Carlisle Fish and Game Association, Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Pennsylvania Wildlife Federation, Cumberland County Junior Conservation School, Ralph W. Abele Conservation Scholarship Fund, Scott Eckert Memorial Conservation Scholarship Fund, Citizens for Letort Environmental Action and Restoration, Brotherhood of the Jungle Cock. These were just some of the organizations for which Inky served not just as a member but as a leader. Inky always somehow found time to go fishing or hunting, to tie flies or to make one his prized hand-made fly rods.

The Ralph W. Abele Conservation Heritage Award is the highest recognition the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission can confer on persons who distinguish themselves in the cause of conservation. The PFBC established the Abele Award to recognize citizens of Pennsylvania who have made outstanding contributions to the protection, conservation and enhancement of the aquatic resources of the Commonwealth. The award serves as a memorial to Ralph Abele for his steadfast and courageous work in protecting and conserving our natural resources.

The Abele Award is presented to a Pennsylvanian who has dedicated his or her time and energy to the conservation of the state's natural resources, specifically the aquatic resources, through one or more of the following accomplishments:

    • Personally invested heavily in the long-term education of Pennsylvania's youth on conservation issues vital to an improved aquatic environment.
    • Put at risk their person and livelihood to undertake public activities and positions on behalf of improving and protecting the aquatic resources of Pennsylvania.
    • Led a regional or statewide environmental effort that has been recognized for its duration and success in protecting and enhancing the aquatic resources of Pennsylvania.
    • Played a leading role in reclaiming and enhancing a major significant natural water resource within the Commonwealth.
    • Led an effort to pass major environmental legislation for the protection, conservation and enhancement of the natural environment of Pennsylvania.
    • Brought national recognition to Pennsylvania through personal activities, actions and contributions to the aquatic resources.