Written by Justin Park| 04/07/2026
Some people used the COVID years to nurture a sourdough bread starter. HLRBO Field Representative Heather Morales used the lockdown period to dive headlong into hunting to provide for her family.
After teaching herself archery and hunting basics, Morales discovered HLRBO and saw an opportunity to leverage her interpersonal skills talking to landowners about leasing their properties to hunters. It also gave this newer, self-taught hunter a chance to hone her ability to read the land and identify animal sign.
We spoke to Morales about her role, her journey into hunting, and hunting opportunities in Washington where she lives and works as a chiropractor, covering the state as Washington Field Representative for HLRBO. (She also covers parts of Oregon for HLRBO.)
Q: Tell us about your role with HLRBO. What does a Field Representative do?
As an HLRBO Field Rep, I walk the properties to verify there are active signs of wildlife, so hunters know what types of opportunities they have when leasing a property from a landowner. I also can see what type of terrain there is so hunters know how to properly prepare for their hunt.
Q: For someone who's never been to Washington, can you explain what your region is like in terms of the natural landscape and wildlife?
The Pacific Northwest is beautiful. We have lush forest lands all around that make the best scenery for big game hunting. On one side of the state, we have more flat lands and farmlands. We have a variety of elevations.
Q: Is land leasing for hunting common in Washington? Give us a sense of the type and size of the leases most people are looking at in your area.
It is a newer concept to Washington State, but all of the landowners so far that have leased their properties have waitlists and have been super happy with the results that HLRBO can provide.
Q: What’s the most interesting property you’ve brought online in your time as a rep?
There was a very small piece of property that a landowner wanted to list for a high price and after walking the property realized the hunting regulations didn’t allow for anything that would equal the cost of their lease so I was able to get them to bring their price down.
Q: How about you personally? Are you a hunter? What's your hunting background?
I am a very new hunter as this is my third year doing it. I never grew up around the hunting lifestyle so {I got started} with social media and YouTube, and going on some guided trips. I’ve had some pretty amazing opportunities so far!
Q: Outside of hunting and HLRBO, what's your life like? Family? Do you have a job outside HLRBO?
I am a mom of two little girls who I am trying to raise in the outdoor lifestyle. I am a chiropractor and own my own sports chiropractic practice when I’m not out in the outdoors.
Q: You said you didn't grow up around hunting culture, so I'm curious what brought you into it. What pushed you into hunting and how did you learn the skills to get started on your own?
I got into hunting after seeing the chaos around toilet paper during the COVID phase. I wanted to know how to get my own meat if that same scarcity was going to maybe happen around meat sources. So I picked up a bow and started practicing daily, then went on a high-fence hunt for a hog to make sure I could hunt and see if I could handle the process of everything after with processing the meat.
Q: What about what you learned about hunting made you curious enough to seek out ways to learn and experience it firsthand?
I just decided to dive in to be able to provide for my kids the best way I could.
Q: How did you find your way to becoming a Field Rep for HLRBO?
I had a friend from Hunt Lift Eat tell me about it and then I thought, 'This would be such a good way to improve my skills of learning tracking animals, learning about different landscapes, and exploring the lands around me.' It’s definitely been what has improved my skills as a hunter and allows me to use my personal skills with people to have landowners trust me to list their lands and have them be happy with the outcomes of making money on their land they would not use very often otherwise.
If you're a landowner and want to improve your listing to attract more interest from hunters and to command the best possible fee, reach out to info@hlrbo.com to get in touch with a Field Rep in your area.
Justin Park is a Colorado-based writer, editor, and avid hunter with a passion for the outdoors. He contributes to leading publications such as GearJunkie, Popular Mechanics, Powder, and Men's Journal, and serves as Editor of Wild Snow. Park is deeply involved in conservation and recreation advocacy, serving as Chapter Chair of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) in Summit County. He also represents RMEF on a state recreation committee focused on proactively addressing land use conflicts.