EP 589. Boots, Badges & Duck Boats: Gearing Up Texas Game Wardens

“I’m reminded of somebody telling me one day that laws and rules are just suggestions without actual enforcement. We all know that the game wardens do their part to help us conserve wildlife, to enforce a lot of our game laws, a lot cannot be said around the world.”

Ramsey Russell: Welcome back to MOJO’s Duck Season Somewhere podcast, where today’s episode takes us down to Texas with a really cool program called Gear Up for Game Wardens. I’m reminded of somebody telling me one day that laws and rules are just suggestions without actual enforcement. We all know that the game wardens do their part to help us conserve wildlife, to enforce a lot of our game laws, a lot cannot be said around the world. Joining me today to talk about this exciting Gear Up for Game Wardens program that’s evolving down in Texas is Major Jason Bussey.

Jason Bussey: Yes, sir.

Ramsey Russell: A game warden, Randy S. Fisher, Texas Parks and Wildlife foundation trustee. And Austin Taylor, who is program director for Gear up for Game Wardens. Guys, how the heck are you?

Jason Bussey: Good.

Austin Taylor: Excellent.

Ramsey Russell: Good.

Jason Bussey: Awesome.

Ramsey Russell: Good. Man, I tell you what, it’s springtime in Mississippi, I hope to say are getting some good weather down in Texas right now.

Jason Bussey: Flowers are blooming.

Ramsey Russell: Good deal. This is a waterfowl hunting audience. And I’m going to kick off – I like to warm up and kick things up like this. So I’m going to ask each of you all, who you are, where you’re from, and what was your first or most memorable duck hunt. Surely, you all are duck hunters.

Randy S. Fisher: Absolutely. Who wants to go first?

Jason Bussey: I can start us off. So I grew up North Austin. Probably my first, it is my first and it’s like the first memory that I can recall of going duck hunting. My grandpa had a family place north of Fort Worth, about an hour north of Fort Worth. And my uncle was a big hunter and fisherman. And I remember on the family property, we had this big lake. And so he set up like this little makeshift brush blind. And we got out there with probably 2 or 3 decoys that I can remember. I had my grandpa’s shotgun, it was one of those old shotguns, I think he bought it out of a catalog that had a magazine that you would insert in the bottom of the shotgun with this, it was like this choke that was adjustable on the end of the gun, and it was a bolt action shotgun. And I just remember driving up there because they didn’t live on the property at the time, driving up there and just getting there super early, just being super cold, and then for the first time ever, seeing those ducks come into those decoys and then just getting up and blasting them. And it was just an amazing trip. We probably only shot like, I probably shot like 2 ducks, if I could remember correctly. But just an awesome memory with my uncle that’s no longer with us, but just one of those things that he didn’t have to do that. I mean, we got up super early, he worked as a teacher during the week. And so just taking his time out of his schedule to take me up there and just duck hunt and not knowing if ducks are going to be there or not. It’s just a lake in the middle of some of that plains up in the north of Fort Worth. And so just a wonderful time. I think it was probably some scaup, I remember seeing a picture of it a long time ago, just really good times with him.

Ramsey Russell: That’s fantastic. Did you grow up there around Fort Worth, Jason?

Jason Bussey: No, sir. I grew up in Pflugerville, which is right outside of Austin.

Ramsey Russell: Okay. What about you, Randy? I learned you grew up in Crockett, Arkansas. What are some of your earliest or most memorable duck hunting experiences?

“Well, as growing up in southeast Arkansas, the duck capital of the world, I like to call it. We had several good hunts, and I didn’t realize how good we had it growing up until I moved away.”

Randy S. Fisher: Well, as growing up in southeast Arkansas, the duck capital of the world, I like to call it. We had several good hunts, and I didn’t realize how good we had it growing up until I moved away. And we took it for granted because if you ever hunted southeast Arkansas, especially back in the late 70s, early 80s, you go out in 20 minutes, you’re done duck hunting. So what are we going to go do now? So we would deer hunt around it, but the duck hunting was, as the 2 other gentlemen on this podcast will say, and I love duck hunting, so I’m all about it. And I just had some great hunts, but probably one of them, a memorable, most Memorable was my first Texas coast duck hunting trip.

Ramsey Russell: Really?

Randy S. Fisher: And I had a very good client who’s a very dear friend to this day, and was the largest Anheuser Busch distributor in the world at one time before he sold out, retired. But he has a place in Port O’ Connor, and he kept telling me, oh, man, you need to come go duck hunting with me. And Ramsay, I’m thinking, having grown up in timber hunting all my life, I’m like, there’s no damn way you’re going to kill any ducks down there on a wide open plain out in the marsh, basically no timber or anything out in the bay, actually. And I go down there optimistic, but thinking this is probably a waste of time. Well, the first morning out, 15 minutes later, we’re limited out and we’re headed back in. Picked up decoys and the whole 9 yards. And I’ve been hooked on Texas coastal duck hunting ever since, as I have a place there. And that was in 1998. First trip down there, and I’ll never forget it just thinking that there’s no way we’re going to have any fun doing this. And it’s probably just a waste of time to like, oh, my God, maybe one of my top 5 duck hunts ever at that time.

Ramsey Russell: What were the species you all were shooting on the Gulf Coast that time versus, our beloved mallards there in Arkansas.

Randy S. Fisher: Yeah. Redheads, pintails, scaup and wigeon.

Ramsey Russell: Wow.

Jason Bussey: Can I add to Randy’s story there?

Ramsey Russell: Sure, Jason.

Jason Bussey: Yeah. So one of the things that Randy’s done is he’s not only, he’s had that passion for that and Austin, I hate to jump in front of you, but Randy’s shared that experience with others. I have 3 boys and a girl and we utilize some of Randy’s equipment, went down there and sat in some of Randy’s blind and duck hunted with the 3 boys and the girl and my daughter. And the 3 boys are just ate up with duck hunting. Like my oldest is, he’s going to school at Sol Ross State, he’s getting a degree in wildlife and range management, working at the Justin Hurst or hopefully working at the Justin Hurst WMA this year on some duck habitat. So just Randy’s kind of given back, that’s one of the things that Randy’s done and obviously with the game room program, but just really solidified duck hunting in my boys and just kind of seeing that and just setting it up for future generations. So yeah, just want to share that.

Austin Taylor: Well, to follow that up, Ramsey, when it comes to hunting with Randy on the coast, it doesn’t get any better than that. You don’t get the red carpet treatment unless you’re hunting with Randy Fisher, that’s for sure.

Jason Bussey: That’s right.

Randy S. Fisher: Thank you both. But Ramsay, as you know duck hunting is not easy, it’s not cheap. And to keep our youth involved, anytime I get the opportunity to put a youth on a duck hunt, I’ll cancel everything to take them. So it’s just important that we continue on with our duck hunters, what we grew up with. Let them have the same.

Ramsey Russell: I agree. As both Jason and yourself has so far described, it’s those earliest introductions into the field that compel people into hunting for the remainder of their lives, but that also lead them down a path. Like a lot of us hook and bullet type guys that end up being in conservation or law enforcement or something that related, you know what I’m saying. What’s your story, Austin? How do you come into this as a duck hunter?

Austin Taylor: Yeah, I fortunately was born and raised in North Dallas. My grandfather actually introduced me to hunting, and I didn’t actually get to go duck hunting until later in life. I probably was 18, 19 the first time I went hunting. And my experience was all on public land. You had to get there early, you had to fight lots of people to get the spot that you wanted. And the very first time I went hunting, I was hooked when I heard those teal come in like fighter jets just skim in the water, seeing the sunrise, that’s what it was all about. And probably one of my most memorable moments in hunting not soon after that, I wanted to learn how to blow a duck call. I thought it was really neat to be able to turn a duck in the air. And my hunting buddy, he didn’t think that I should be calling the ducks that day. I’d been practicing for weeks learning how to blow the duck call. And he goes, you know what, there might be something wrong with that duck call. And he grabs it from me and looks at it and shoves it into the mud. He goes, yeah, there is something wrong with it, you got mud stuck in your duck call.

“That goes to the old adage that the greatest conservation tool ever invented for duck hunting is a duck call in the wrong hands. It’s an art and a science until it’s a comedy show.”

Ramsey Russell: That goes to the old adage that the greatest conservation tool ever invented for duck hunting is a duck call in the wrong hands. It’s an art and a science until it’s a comedy show. And we’ve all been there, everybody’s been there, I can remember those days. I sure can. Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of this geared up program you all have got, I want to hear what it means to each of you. For example, when someone says Texas Game Warden, what comes to mind, Austin?

“When I hear that, I think of the best of the best. When you think about protecting the wild things or wild places of Texas and then tack on the responsibilities of search and rescue operations in response to natural disasters or emergencies.”

Austin Taylor: When I hear that, I think of the best of the best. When you think about protecting the wild things or wild places of Texas and then tack on the responsibilities of search and rescue operations in response to natural disasters or emergencies. Our Texas game wardens have one of the toughest jobs in the world. And every game warden I’ve connected with over the years, they are just top notch and the best of the best.

Ramsey Russell: How about yourself, Randy?

Randy S. Fisher: Conservation. They make sure, as I’ve spoken earlier, that I want the youth to have what I’ve had growing up. And they’re going to make sure of that, that that happens. And really, that’s kind of what got me going down this path with this program and we dig more into that later. But conservation and as follow up on what Austin says, our Texas game wardens, when we had Hurricane Harvey here that devastated the Texas coast pretty much in Houston alone, they did over 10,000 to 12,000 rescues of people that were being flooded out and getting them to safe areas and so forth. So I think a lot of people don’t, they think of game wardens and they’re just writing tickets for, whatever it is, no license or whatever it may be. But truly in a face of crisis, they’re the first call, especially if it has anything to do with water. A car goes off a bridge into the water, the game wardens are the first call to do the rescue. So conservation, rescue and as Austin said, everybody that’s a game warden in Texas is completely passionate about what they do and why they do it. They’re not doing it for the money, they’re not doing it for any other reason, they’re doing it because they’re passionate about being a game warden. And that impresses me as a business owner.

Ramsey Russell: Randy, I never thought about that, but game wardens are law enforcement. And it’s like when things get off pavement, they’re the first call. Isn’t that something? Well, Jason, as a game board yourself, what does it mean to you when somebody says Texas game warden?

“We play a very important service for the state of Texas and really for the nation, because everything bleeds over the conservation, the regulations that we’re enforcing, the education that we’re giving, taking the kids on youth hunts and stuff like that. Like, we’re serving our constituents, we’re conserving the people of the state of Texas.”

Jason Bussey: So for me, and you’re going to hear this throughout our conversation today, is an honor, commitment in service. So just honoring the officers, the fallen officers that have served this agency in this state and the nation, whether that’s our fallen game wardens, whether that’s other fallen officers, our brothers and sisters out there that serve the public, commitment is just really being committed to what we do every day, committed to the people of the state of Texas, committed to conservation, committed to serving other people and really that kind of gets you into service. We play a very important service for the state of Texas and really for the nation, because everything bleeds over the conservation, the regulations that we’re enforcing, the education that we’re giving, taking the kids on youth hunts and stuff like that. Like, we’re serving our constituents, we’re conserving the people of the state of Texas. But as just like with ducks, they’re a migratory species. So what you’re doing here affects other parts of the state, other parts of the nation, and then are just kind of around the world on some of our wildlife crimes that happen internationally, not just in the state. And so to be a big part of that, to service people here in the state of Texas, in our local communities is huge. And then where that plays out in the rest of the world, that’s huge also. And just some of the lasting relationships that you have with other game wardens from other states, as you’re working through game laws and what that looks like. And because as we know, people are not just stuck in one spot. They don’t commit rape laws in just one areas, they’re traveling all over this country and doing things a little bit everywhere. So, honor, commitment, service is really something that we really focus on within the agency and what Texas Game Warden stands for. And then probably our motto that you kind of hinted to it a minute ago, that was law enforcement off the pavement. That’s where we hang out. That’s what we do. If you find us, that’s usually where we’re going to be at. Not that we don’t serve the urban areas, we do, but we’re definitely the ones that are out there where nobody else is really driving around patrol.

Ramsey Russell: Yes, sir. What led you in the first place to being a game warden, Jason? You shared the story about that first duck hunt with your uncle and so many people I meet in the conservation field at all levels, at all state and federal and NGO levels, every single one of them I would describe as a hook and bullet origin. Was it that first introduction with your uncle that eventually led you here?

Jason Bussey: That’s a great question. So it was a combination. So I had another couple of uncles, and I’ll get into that. But there was a family friend that took the time. I remember he took me to Walmart, I can remember it. And he said, okay, we’re going to buy you a fishing pole, a tackle box, we bought some hunting stuff, and we went out and hunted in the Texas hill country. And then on the flip side, half my family’s from Columbus, Mississippi. So we went to Columbus, Mississippi, I had 2 uncles there, grew up hunting and fishing. And so they took me from a very young age and included me being in the outdoors and then hunting and fishing and just every opportunity, that’s what we did. Like, when I went to Mississippi, that’s what Mississippi was for me, it was family, and it was hunting and fishing and being outdoors and hanging out with them. And so along those same lines, my uncle worked for the city of Columbus as a police officer there in Columbus. And so he served there for 25 years, had some other family members that served in law enforcement. And so I thought, what else that could be better than being able to be in law enforcement and then serving outdoors and then conservation, really. I went to Tarleton State, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in range and ranch management. And so always interested in conservation, habitat management and stuff like that. So the two worlds really just kind of combined with law enforcement and conservation. And so that’s really what drove me to do this job, I just thought it was the coolest job, getting to see a game warden out in the community, checking hunting license, fishing license, and being part of that. And of course, some of those sitting around the deer camp, hearing some of the stories about what game wardens do and how they sneak up on people and come into camps and check and all that good stuff. You kind of builds that like, mythical thing that they do. And so just want to be a part of that law enforcement it’s just something that. Man, I was just ready to rock and roll with that.

Ramsey Russell: Yes, sir. Walk us through your journey, Jason, say from cadet all the way through, Major. What were some of the pivotal moments along the way?

Jason Bussey: So one of the great things about being a Texas game warden is, we have our own game warden training center. It started out at West Campus at Texas A&M, then it was in Austin. So when I graduated, we went to the academy in Austin. I was part of the 49^th cadet class. If you’re a game warden and you become a game warden, state of Texas, you got to go through the academy, our academy, you can’t go to another academy. And so graduated from the 49^th cadet class, I think at that time the training was 6.5 months long. Graduated, went to Rockport, didn’t grow up on the coast, but went down there into Rockport was just north of Corpus Christi, kind of in between Corpus Christi and Port O’ Connor, Randy was talking about earlier. Worked down there for 4 years, just love the work, just fisheries work, commercial sport fishing, a lot of duck hunting. 60% of the county was water. And so you were on the boat a lot, which was great. It was about that time that my wife and I had our first child when we first got down there and then we had twins. So at that point there was more of the kids than there was of us. So there’s 3 of them and then 2, just myself and my wife. So we had to transfer inland to get closer to family for help. And so transferred to Brazos in Robertson County after working in Rockport for 4 years. Went to Brazos in Robertson county, which is College Station area, Texas A&M area. And just north of there in another rural county, was there for 5 years. It was at that time I was working two counties, which is kind of a new station, they had a game warden in Robertson county and then one in Brazos county and then they had 2 and 2 before that. And so they split the position and just gave me dual counties, which is something unique in that area. And so it was a new opportunity for me, I thought to really kind of pave the way for somebody else to step into those roles. And so I was spending 50% of my time in Brazos County, 50% of my time in Robertson county working with 2 different partners. And probably at that time I was working 12 to 14 hours. And I was just working every day, my wife was dealing with 3 kids, we were actually living with another game warden in a two bedroom, two bath house. My oldest child was sleeping on an air mattress in the living room. And really kind of about that time I knew that I just had this pivotal moment in my life to kind of like, hey, you’re putting all this work in it at work, all this time at work and there’s always people going to be doing stuff wrong. You can’t be out there all the time to catch everybody doing everything wrong, protecting the resource, checking people, you can’t just be everything to everybody. And so at that time, we had separated from church, so I told my wife, I was like, hey, we’ve got to get back in the community. Because part of being a game warden is being an integral part of the community. And so having community of church life. So moved down to College Station from the house that we were living at Hearn and we got involved in the church there. And so really, some of my faith has been a big role of why I’m at where I’m at as far as like, I kind of felt that this is a calling on my life to be a game warden, to be in conservation to help protect the natural resources. And so that was kind of a pivotal moment in my life. I realized that I’ve got to have a better work life balance and I need to, and my faith is pivotal number one in my life. And so I need to be able to make sure that if I’m doing this job because of my faith, that that needs to be a part of my daily life. And so really at that time, work Brazos and Robertson county did a lot of great public work with the communities, really got involved, just able to give back to the communities in which we served in and so made some really great cases, kind of thought, hey, these investigative cases are fun, this is what I want to do. So I started to try to promote into our investigative unit and just kind of started looking at that and then realized that, hey, I’m really interested. I always had this passion and love being at the academy. For someone to say that usually the academy is a very, I mean it’s a long, a lot of hard work goes into that time period, a lot of tests, a lot of studying, you’re learning this new trade. And so there’s kind of this transition from civilian life into a law enforcement world into becoming a game warden. And I thought like, that’s what I would love to really give back to. So it was after about 5 years of being in College Station, that’s when I promoted to a training lieutenant at the academy, so was able to come back to the academy at the time well since we left Austin as an academy and then now we’re in a rural county in Hamilton county, kind of in between a couple of towns. And so we’re out, we’re on 200 acres out in the middle of nowhere out here. Promoted to training lieutenant, worked there for 5 years. Just really saw and helped develop new game wardens coming in. It’s kind of like, I like to say it’s like the birthplace of game wards. This is where they come in, we train them up, we send them out in the field and then they come back here for training. And so part of that was seeing cadets come in, cadets leave. And I wanted to really jump into the next step of promoting to a super direct, district supervisor which is a captain role in our department where you’re supervising a district to game wardens. And so after 5 years of working as a training lieutenant promoted to captain and then I was able to go back to my coastal roots and that’s where Randy’s and I story kind of comes together. Was became the captain in Victoria and Port O’ Connor is part of that district. And so there’s a story in there about where Randy and I met. That was kind of my time of being in Victoria, being able to get back on the coast and really get into some of the supervising game wardens are doing commercial and resident and sport fishing, recreational fishing, you know doing those, working that type of work offshore work with whether that’s a snapper boat or whether that’s a gulp strip boat, there’s just tons of duck hunting down there in that area, just awesome area. Because you’ve got some inland spots that are great duck hunting spots and then you’ve got of course the coastal duck hunting and so just being able to go to a new environment supervisor, game wardens. From there promoted after being just there for 3 years promoted to the major over the game warden training center. And so I’m the training director which is what my current role is and this is where I sit now. So I’ve been here for almost 6 years and have had several cadet classes go out. And so we train game warden’s and state park police officers here now. And we’re in charge kind of the field training as it is on kind of mandatory or regulated training that needs to go out that standardized and then all the equipment stuff. And so we’re kind of over a lot of that piece. I have a large staff here, 14 people that work here, 2 full time cooks, maintenance, 3 admin staff, I’ve got seven lieutenants, we run the recruiting and the hiring processes here and so that’s kind of been where I’m at and so just a new adventure, this place is just busy.

“Well Jason, you bring up some great points you all are off the pavement law enforcement. You’re behind a thin green line, so to speak. And you were talking about how important it was to be a part of the community, in that context, what are some of the day to day hats that a game warden wears?

Ramsey Russell: Well Jason, you bring up some great points you all are off the pavement law enforcement. You’re behind a thin green line, so to speak. And you were talking about how important it was to be a part of the community, in that context, what are some of the day to day hats that a game warden wears? And can you tell it in the form of interesting investigative cases you’ve been on or interesting situations where as a part of the community you’ve got to help them toe the line with game laws?

Jason Bussey: Yeah. So I’ll probably go back to like an investigation that we had that we worked in Robertson County. So we had a couple of, Robertson County at the time when we got there, this is north of College Station area, Brazos River on one side, Navasota River on the other side of the county, there’s a lake on the north end. So there’s also a coal burning power plant and then there’s a lignite mine that’s in that county. So there’s a lot of stuff going on. They were redoing some of the coal burning power plant area. So we had about 1500 people that had come into the county at the time and were just transient people from all over that they’re working on power plant. So you had all these new RV camps popping up, you have a lot of concerns, there’s a lot of new people in town. Franklin is the county seats, not very big town, can’t handle a lot of traffic. And so you had a lot of the people in the community were concerned with all these new people coming in, as you might be able to understand in a small town. And then you also have all these new people that are coming in that want to also that hunt and fish and so they’re wanting to go out and recreate. And so it’s kind of meeting and working with the company that’s putting in the plant and some of their workers and talking to them about like, hey, I know your people from out of state. So these are kind of the rules that we enforce here, these are the regulations, this is what we need you all to do, building a relationship with those plant workers and then also at the same time talking to the community about, hey, if you’re seeing anything that’s going on, you need to let us know. You can call OGT, you can call the sheriff’s office and then just kind of building that relationship with the community to say, hey, we’re here to help you, we’re here to serve and it’s kind of new part of that new kind of position where I’m not just in Robertson County, I’m doing 2 counties and there is another game award in there. And so kind of working together and making sure that we’re working with the community and we’re hitting everybody. So you meet with the Lions Club, you talk, you get programs for them, you go up to the school and you get programs and you talk about poaching cases. So on this one particular case we had a landowner and it was a combination, we had a guy that was a big time poacher, known for being a big time poacher way back, but his name was well known. And so he calls and said, hey man, I think somebody’s coming on to my place and it’s a lease place and they’re shooting some deer. And so I said, okay, well, what you got? And so me and my partner, we go out there and they’d gone out there and you could just tell that they had killed some deer on the property, they cleaned the deer on the property and then just left trash and just pieces of the hide and head just all over the place, just trashed it up and drove right past his camp house, down into a creek, dumped everything in the creek. And so we’re down there checking it all out, kind of gather some information. So my partner and I, we work at that year. It’s towards the latter end of deer season, so we work it. And I’m talking about working, I’m talking like every night we’re sitting out there, early morning or late night, early morning, sit out there three weeks straight every night we are literally sitting on this piece of property, watching this area. And it’s kind of a high poached area because it was part of the Lignac mine, so there’s no houses, a lot of people can drive through there. There was a big deer, no one hunts on the property. So we get into it, we don’t catch it. And so we kind of end the season, we come back around the next season, we know that’s a high traffic area. We didn’t see any repeat offenses coming back into the area. And so we get another call and he calls us again. He’s like, hey man, they have come back again, this time they cut a gap in his fence where they could drive through the property, but it was hidden behind some brush. They drive into the property and that have hunted again. They have completely trashed out his beer cans, just trash everywhere, you could tell that they had sat there for hours, shot some more deer, we found more evidence of that. So we sit there again and we start hitting it and we got set up, nothing. And I’m talking weeks, nothing. And so one night the guys, he calls me because the guy works out there near the plant and calls and said, hey, there’s somebody in my property. He said, they’re out there right now. My partner’s gone out of town, and that’s always how it’s going to happen. Like when it’s going to go down, like the calvary’s not there, this is small world. So there’s one trooper on, he’s an hour away and so I’m probably an hour to get to him, 45 minutes to an hour to get to him. So I love this. 3 o’ clock in the morning, get the call, it’s 31 degrees, it’s sleeting outside, I leave College Station and I’m driving up Highway 6 to get up there and the guy, the reporter is call me like hey, I just came around the corner, they were sitting outside the vehicle and they shot it, they shot at some more deer. So I’m like, mark that spot. And so he follows him and I was like, hey, I’ve called one of the PDs, they’re waiting. But he follows him for a good 40 minutes, follows and follows it. By the time I catch up with them, they’re north of the city of Hearne and I get a hold of Hearne PD and tell like, hey, I’m talking sheriff’s office, they get them stopped. I pull up, they’ve got them in the middle of Highway 6, which is the 4 lane highway and there just happens to be a turn lane in the middle of, so 5 lane stall. Have them out on the ground, we get them all out on the ground, we get everybody handcuffed, there’s 3 deer that are in the back of this Lincoln Navigator. So Lincoln Navigator, you can imagine there’s 3 deer stacked up behind the back seat and there is like, we got guns, I’m pulling all this evidence, put all the stuff in a truck and then I’m like, okay, book them all, take them all to jail. The Hearne PD transports them to the county, to the jail. And then I go back to the spot, I follow the landowner back to the spot and we get there and it’s about daylight. So, this started like 3 o’ clock in the morning and now we’re at like 6 o’ clock-ish in the morning. And we pull up to the spot where he said this is where they shot at, and I’m looking out on a piece of property and I can see like this white out in the middle of this coastal patch and there is a belly of a whitetail. Well, there’s 3 more, there’s that deer plus 2 more deer total 3 deer out in that pasture that they had shot. And so, long story short, we gather all the stuff up, we got 6 deer, there’s 5 individuals, one of them just happened to be a juvenile. They drove up from Houston, they spoke broken English. And so all of them out of Houston to drive to come up there and get some deer meat that they’re supposedly selling on these little taco stands down there in Houston that they cut up and put in tacos and stuff. And they wouldn’t tell me how many times they shot. But I get one of the guys that drive them around, he shows me like, we shot here, we pulled over here, takes me to the spot where we found the deer, shot the deer there. Just an incredible case. Because I didn’t know who owned the property at the time, it wasn’t the property owner that called me that’s chasing around, it’s another property that’s owner’s involved. And the only reason that I think really helped us on the case and getting the case pushed to the district attorney’s office was the relationship that we had with that landowner, that my partner had with the landowner and the old retired game warden had with that landowner and the relationship at the district attorney’s office to get that case prosecuted. And so those relationships that you build with the community, it means, even if it’s somebody that used to do wrong, they still will call you once you build those relationships with those people, and they’ll work with the people in the community. And so that was really a case of just having really good relationships of landowners and just a good relationship as being a game warden in the county that really panned out on the prosecution. That cases happened probably 2 or 3 more times in that county. A guy that shot here off the district attorney’s judge’s place. So just crazy stories like that all the time.

Ramsey Russell: Wow, that’s a great story.

Jason Bussey: Yeah. We actually end up seizing that Lincoln Navigator. So it was kind of an interesting deal.

Ramsey Russell: Well, that’s the surprising thing. I wonder how many they could have fit. I was going to ask you, as you were telling the story, was it a rental? Sound like something to be a rental?

Jason Bussey: It was. It had subwoofers in the back and yeah, they were out for all kinds. There was like hidden compartments, we found ammo shoved away inside there, it was crazy.

Ramsey Russell: That’s great. What a great story. How many game wardens are currently active across Texas? And I mean, how do you possibly cover such a vast and diverse landscape? I mean, that story right there just reminds me that it took forever just for the stars to align to catch those guys.

Jason Bussey: Yeah. So there’s 550 of us, but then there’s only about 300-ish in the field that are actually doing the day to day work, the rest of us are kind of either investigators or administration that are running the back end stuff. And so, I mean there’s 254 counties in the state of Texas and there’s just 300ish game wardens that are out there doing the work. And so it really takes, I mean, and this really kind of goes back to that community piece without those relationships with the landowners, without the relationships and going and talk to the people in the community. Those are the people that are going to help call you whenever they see something going on. Those are the ones, that’s your eyes and your ears in the community, because you can’t be everywhere all the time and you can’t patrol every inch of that county all the time. And so really it’s having those relationships with the people in the community, it’s having the ability for them to call you. Our cell phones are listed online so you can call us, you can find your local game warden and you can call their cell phone and you can have – that’s how easy it is to get a hold of one of us, let alone the fact that you can call our dispatch or you can call the county dispatch. And so building those relationships with the people in the community. Also a working relationship with either our state troopers, I can’t tell you how many times they would call me that they’d have a, either a drunk that was pulled over and may have a deer in the back of their truck that someone shot off the road at night, or it’s a sheriff’s deputy that you have a relationship with, you’re working with those local agencies and just really building those relationships with other local law enforcement agencies, the people in the community and then just really earning their respect and their trust to know that when they do call you that you’re going to handle your business and you’re going to get out there and you’re professional in everything that you do.

Ramsey Russell: And specifically around waterfowl, what are cadet game wardens taught when it comes to waterfowl identification or regulations or investigative procedure?

Jason Bussey: Yeah. So back when I went through the cadet class, we had a game warden that was killed in the line of duty, Justin Hurst that taught the class. He taught it with another game warden that is a captain now up in Tyler and they’ve been teaching, Derek Spencer is his name. Derek has been teaching that class to the cadets for 20 years, probably 20 plus years at this point. And so this is one of the great things we do, the duck ID class. And so him, Derek and a team of other game wardens come up, it’s a 3 day course that we spend on duck, on just specifically ducks, that’s it. And that’s not including all the statute, reading all the statutes and learning the laws and all the processes behind it. So part of that is he comes up and he spends about a day and a half on law and duck ID and it’s a really good duck ID course. Like he puts together, we have species of ducks on the wing in flight. Like they’re able to identify ducks that when they get done, when he’s done with them in class, it’s almost like they’re an expert being able to tell the difference on ducks. And of course, we use a couple of guides that the Lamasters Delta has a waterfowl book that we use so that the guys, the wardens, whenever they leave here they can reference that in case they need to. But it’s made up of basically classroom hands on duck ID, being able to identify wings, being able to identify specific parts of the duck, whether that’s a drake or whether that’s a hen, knowing the bag limit, knowing when the seasons are and then it culminates at the end of that time when they’re working through that is we have actual scenario training. So we’ll set up a duck scenario. And so for purposes out here because we have limited water is we’ll set up like a, either a blind, a makeshift blind on the tank dam and the cadets will have to come down, make contact with the people hunting and then we’ll have some hidden violations in there that they have to have a conversation, they’re going to check them and be professional about it. And then their job is to find the violation, identify what the violation is, take action and then they leave accordingly. And so that could be bait that’s thrown out, that could be an unplugged shotgun, that could be lead shot mixed with steel shot, that could be a license violation, whether it’s somebody else’s license that they’re using or it’s an old license, or they don’t have the federal stamp or they don’t have the state endorsement. So we mix it up on the violations and the cadets go through a couple of those scenarios and they get to see that and interact. So we have the game wardens that are teaching the course, they’re role players in the midst of that. And so it’s kind of a very hands on. So everything that we do at the academy is kind of a walk, crawl, run method. So we’re going to show them some stuff and we’ll set up scenarios before the duck guys even get here, is we’ll have some scenarios that just static scenarios where they’ll just walk in will set up like a static camp where they come in and they’ve got to basically pick up the shotgun, check the shotgun, there’s no people involved, that’s part of the crawl process where we’re having them walk in and they familiarize themselves of what that would look like, and then you put people in there and role players. And so by the time they get to the end of it, there’s a written test that has to do with duck ID specifically, there’s a law portion of that and then there’s a hands on scenario. And so we spend a pretty good amount of time on duck ID as part of the cadets. And then we’ll incorporate that later on into scenarios as we get through the rest of the academy so that they see it one time and then they’ll see it again when it comes up later on. And that could be anything from, any type of waterfowl that they’re going to come across, we’ll throw that into it, usually into a camp.

Ramsey Russell: You know, all the while you’ve been talking, I was reminded that in 10^th grade I was that kid that wanted to be a game warden. And when it came time to do a 10^th grade term paper that I don’t think I ever completed for this reason, I wanted to do a term paper, an English term paper on game wardens which, because I could go interview them and talk to people instead of go spend time in the library, I spent enough time in the library. And some people called it study hall, some people called it detention, and she shot me down, so I didn’t get to do that. And maybe if I had I written that term paper, I’d have been a game warden one day. But for folks listening, because I think a lot of young hunters, even to this day, I do think a lot of young people that may be listening to this podcast have considered or want to be a game warden. What would you tell them as a need to know? If they want to become a game warden, here’s the hardest thing you’re going to do. Here’s the hardest thing about this job, and here’s something you really need to know before committing your life to being off the pavement law enforcement.

Jason Bussey: Yeah. So, we’re really looking for people that are looking for a passion to be outdoors and to be a part of something that’s larger than themselves. And so we really want them to be – they don’t have to be, but it does help to be familiar with what we do and what we regulate. And so some of that is actually getting to go do those activities. We know everybody doesn’t have the same opportunities that maybe we had growing up. And so I tell my boys this, because I got 3 boys, 2 of them which want to be a game warden is I was like, hey, you need to dedicate what you’re doing. You need to be committed in everything that you do. I don’t care if it’s doing a term paper like you said, you need to be committed and do the research and do the best job that you can. Because we have to do it, we have to go through a background investigation to become a game ward. And there’s certain character attributes or certain attributes that people possess that make them successful in this job. And being committed and dedicated to everything that they’ve done to stay out of trouble is a huge thing. And so I tell all of our young people, like, hey, keep your nose clean, be respectful to others, honor other people and to serve when you can. And so because you’re going to see in that service is, potentially as a game warden, you’re going to give up, you could give up your life and dedicate that to helping protect and conserve the natural resources of this great state. And so you need to be able to understand that you’re going to have to do that. And so because you have the conservation piece and you have the law enforcement piece. And so you have to be willing to be passionate about that. And some people, we get that passion is developed when they kind of going through the process. But you need to be prepared. The bad decision that you made early on, and I tell my boys this, could affect your potential to get hired for our job. It’s a competitive process, and so you need to be thinking about how you want to prepare yourself to be competitive in the process way before you just decide one day that you want to do it. And so in everything that you do, be excellent, serve others, dedicate yourself to those things that you’re really doing, and do those well. And so that way you can learn along the way, and it shows character to do those things. And so we’re looking for people that really work well with others, are willing to give back, and then they’re committed to what they do because it takes commitment to do this job.

Randy S. Fisher: Major, let them know how competitive the job is. Ramsey, I was shocked at this when I first, they shared with me the number of people trying to become a game warden.

Jason Bussey: Yeah. So over the past 5 years, we’re somewhere between about 1200 to 800 or 700 applicants per class, there’s only about 30 spots each time. And so it’s a competitive process. And you’ll have people that just show up, like the first step is application, next step is the physical readiness test. And they’ll literally, which requires a row and a swim. You’ll have people show up, and they’ve not prepared at all. And so they just think that they’re going to show up and be able to do this. And it’s not an easy physical test by any stretch of the means. And so it really shows you when they show up and they’re prepared, you’re like, okay, game on. This person’s got a good chance of making it through the process, because the next phase, after you pass the PRT as an interview, which is a simple interview, it’s nothing hard, but you got to be able to communicate well and effectively with other people and answer questions. And so there’s a lot of people that they just have a hard time, and they struggle with that, being able to articulate their answers. And then there’s, of course, the background investigation is probably the most key part of our hiring process, that’s the next step. Well, we’re going to look back to when you were in high school, your collegiate life and everything that you’ve done up to that point. We’re going to look back and we’re going to talk to people that are involved in your life. We want to know who you are, what you represent and what have you done to prepare yourself. And so it is a very competitive process. But as I said if you set yourself up early on to do the things that you need to do, you’re going to be more competitive in that process. And it’s not impossible to get hired, but it is a very competitive process and you do need to be prepared before you get here and just don’t try to just show up and think that you’re going to get in.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah, there’s no winging it. Well, it’s like this, you talked about you could make the ultimate sacrifice pursuing this career, that’s what you were saying earlier. And because number one, every person in the field that you approach has probably got a firearm and knows how to use it. And then when just regular life goes off the pavement into the water, it could be treacherous weather, treacherous conditions, it’s not for the light of heart. But now here brings us on point. What kind of gear do use in the field that makes a truly notable difference in the safety or effectiveness of being a Texas game warden?

Jason Bussey: Yeah, so that can depend on where you’re working at for that day. But some of the great things that we’ve been able to add to our repertoire, of course, a great vehicle, great truck is just one of those things. Firearms, great rifle, great optics on the rifle and the pistol, those are the tools of the trade that you’ve got to be able to perfect and you got to be able to be really good with. But some other things that we’ve really seen here in the past couple of years has been UTVs side by side. Those have kind of taken the place of our old ATV, the 4 wheelers, just because of the safety pieces to it. And so one of the things that we do is we train our cadets on the UTA. We were able, obviously the gear up for game warden program the past couple of years, been able to get a couple of UTVs to train our cadets on. That’s a big change in one of the pieces of equipment that’s extremely helpful, especially for checking hunters or looking for people search and rescue pieces that go along with that. Airboats, so all of our different platforms that we use in the water, whether that’s a mud boat, whether that’s an airboat or whether that’s a skiff, a center console vessel, has been some of the tools that are extremely important in what we do and being able to get back to the places where nobody else is going. we work on the coast, Coast Guard’s there, but they’re not leaving the deep water channels to get out in the shallow water. So you’ve got to be able to have the equipment to get into those areas. So airboats is a big thing, those center consoles, even those john boats to get back in those areas, nobody else is working back there, so we’re the only ones back in those areas. Drones. We have a huge drone program. And so one of the things that we’ve been able to do and this really kind of goes back to the community piece is have those drones and be able to go to the sheriff or the police chief when we have a missing persons or we have somebody, a wanted felon that’s on the loose and being able to utilize those drones for officer safety purposes, but also to locate those individuals and to use that as part of our repertoire as an agency to be able to be, to give back to the community. And so drones has been a big thing with our department that we’ve used for, when you have a fire up in the panhandle or you have a flood going on and you need to fly a drone or if you have a missing person, we use them a lot for missing person. We have hunters that are lost, just people out in the woods doing stuff. And so we utilize those drones a lot. And of course thermals and night vision, either a thermal monocular or night vision goggles, those have been something huge added equipment that we had. One of the things that we really use here at the training center also has been a simulator. And so we use a 2 dimensional simulator where we can simulate use of force scenarios and we can utilize it for shoot, no shoot scenarios and then just firearms training in particular with the cadets. But we had a high school that brought out some kids the other day we did a program, we showed them how the simulator worked and we were able to shoot that, it has like an airsoft style pistol that you can use with it. And so you’re able to show people the guns that we use, it’s similar in a format where it has a screen and then we talk about some of the decisions that you have to make in those types of situations where you may have to draw your pistol and you may have to use lethal force and then just how fast that happens. And so the simulator has been one of those things that we’ve used for not only for training game wardens and cadets, but also for educating the public when they come up here. So we’ve done that quite a bit. Those are some of the bigger things that we’ve used, I’m sure there’s probably a lot more out there and you could get really down into the gritty stuff that we use on a day to day basis, but those are some of the big things that we’ve used in patrolling. That’s really elevated us as far as an agency to be able to get back into some of the areas that you wouldn’t be able to get to without that equipment.

Ramsey Russell: And now, Randy, tell us about the time about how and where and when you met Major Jason Bussey. When paths first crossed and what sparked the idea that turned into Gear Up for Game Wardens?

Randy S. Fisher: Well, pretty interesting. We had kind of got the ball rolling on the Gear Up program before Major Bussey had become captain of our district. And so the previous captain, introduced us, Jason and I had a lunch, I think it was on a Wednesday or Thursday just getting to know each other and what can we do to help you? Come Saturday morning, I’ve got clients, and I’m headed out to my blind to duck hunt. And as we’re cutting the corner, smokes up in the air, somebody had set my blind on fire. And we left decoys out from late the night before, decoys were stolen, my blind was burning. And we pull up to the blind, and I’m like, well, we’re going to break this captain in just right. So I called him and we were full force ahead and they make a tracker that you can put in certain items that will track it if someone were to take it. And so Jason, you might want to share a little more on that.

Jason Bussey: Yeah. So Randy called me and we hadn’t met yet. He just called me and said, hey, this is what we got. And kind of at the time, we were fighting a district attorney down, our county attorney down there that didn’t really, like, past history was people burn blinds, people destroy their stuff, there’s just not a whole lot we can do about it. And so I was just like, there’s got to be something. And you kind of get fresh eyes on new perspectives, I hadn’t been down there that long and met with our legal attorney and so we decided, like, hey, I think we could prosecute or we could at least file, we could potentially get the case filed for hunter harassment. I mean, you’re preparing to duck hunt, it’s not right that someone goes out there and steals your decoys and burns your blind. And so that’s what Randy and I, kind of, after visiting with Randy, kind of said, okay, we think we can get them on hunter harassment. And then of course, the theft charges there on the decoys. But of course, they’re going to claim that, well, it was left out there, so it’s not really property. But we thought, well, if we can find the people that steal the decoys, that’ll tie us to burning down the blind. And so we got with our investigative unit, and there’s this, and what Randy was talking about, this little tracker. And so Randy bought us a decoy and the tracker and the service that goes with the tracker. And I sent it up to the investigative guys, and they took the decoy, kind of cut a hole in it, filled it with some stuff, and then put the tracker in there so we could get it out and pull it if we needed because it has batteries. And so they got it all set up where we could have in that decoy, throw it in that decoy bag, and then Randy put them out or hang them inside the blind. And hopefully the idea was, is that someone would come along and take the bag and then run with it, and we’d be able to track them down and we could find that decoy in their possession. I think we stuck it out several times that year ended up, we didn’t get anybody else that year. But I will say that I felt like that year we were very, I don’t know if the word got out or what happened, but the blind burning dropped dramatically. And so we had less blind burning that year. And that had been going on for years and years. And so really made some headway there. Didn’t catch the guys that did it, but out of that came the fact that we were able to use that tracker in multiple different places throughout the state. And so it kind of left Port o’ Connor and then made its way, up into the north end of the state, they made several cases on people still in tree stands and different kinds of blinds. And so that one thing kind of led down the road for other cases to be made. And so, again, just sharing that information, Randy taking the time to be willing to just front the cost, not only for his sake, but for the sake of others out there.

Ramsey Russell: Randy, how did that case spark the idea of moving forward or moving towards a Gear Up for Game Warden program?

Randy S. Fisher: Yeah, we had my company, were having a good year, and I knew that, the game wardens had some needs, and so I decided that, let’s see if we can help them. I’m vested in Port O’ Connor. I’ve got a place here and I wanted to help out. And so the first thing that we were told that was needed was a 4 wheeler ATV, think the newest one at that time was 15 years old that they had. So I agreed to buy one. Yeah, that’s what I did. I was like, what? But I agreed to buy one than I got another good friend of mine agreed to buy one. And then we got to kicking it around with breakfast at a taco stand in Port O’ Connor that’s world famous now. And when you come down to duck hunt with us Ramsey, you’ll get to experience the taco stand.

Ramsey Russell: Oh, I’m excited for that.

Jason Bussey: Yeah. So, I got thinking that, there’s probably other people out there that would like to do the same thing that we do, that are passionate about conservation and branch owners and so forth. And got kicking it around and a commissioner was a good friend of mine at the time and talked to him about it and he referred me to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation. He said, that’s where you need to go with this program. And so in 2017, we set up a meeting with the Executive Director of Parks & Wildlife foundation and told them, pitched what we were thinking, this program could be and didn’t have a name or anything. And she loved it, I think the whole foundation loved it. And we took off with it and were worried, I said, well, we got to have a goal. So we set a goal of $50,000. I had my friend Vince and Petronella and I ones that created this together. And so knowing that his boss and me were going to donate $15,000 to the program that we set a goal of $50,000. And as I tell everybody, I said, well, I know 20 people I can put in a headlock and squeeze $1,000 out of them if I need to, to get to our go. Well, we commit to it, we name it, we launch it, and Hurricane Harvey hits, I mean, like same time. And we’re like, God, so we didn’t want to really push it, we just kind of let it organically grow because there were so many needs, so many people without homes and so forth from the storm. Well, we raised, I want to say $50,000 or 60,000 that first month. And I said, God, this could be really something. So we started working with the foundation and just really pushing this. And then Jason and I would get together a lot every time I was in Port O’ Connor, and he was kind of our inside from the game warden side of how to maneuver some of this to get it approved and so forth. And here we are, what, 7, 8 years later almost, and this program has just been unbelievably successful. The passion that we have behind it is probably the best I’ve ever been around far as a group of people.

Ramsey Russell: Randy, just for those listening that may not understand or can make the distinction, you are a trustee with Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation now, you initially reached out to them to kick this program off and now you’re a part of them. What explain to you everyone what and how the foundation itself functions. What is it and how does it function?

Randy S. Fisher: Well, I was blessed to get on, the commissioner I was telling you about, after we got this program up and going, I said, he asked me if I would like to be on it. And I showed interest that I did. So he had me put on the foundation. And Austin may be better to explain.

Ramsey Russell: Yeah, jump in, Austin.

Randy S. Fisher: But we’ve got a board of 25 people, maybe 24 people and Ramsey, I’ve been around a lot of smart people in my life, but I’m telling you, this board may be the most passionate board I’ve ever been around or been a part of. The people on this board, not only just for the game warden programs, but for everything that the foundation does, has a very sincere interest in this program and I’m just honored to be on it, to be honest with you. But Austin, you might give him an overview of everything that we do.

Austin Taylor: Absolutely. Texas Parks & Wildlife foundation is the official non-profit partner of Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. So the department would be the state agency, the foundation being the 501C3 non-profit entity. And I’ve had the unique pleasure of working for the foundation over the, this will be my 10^th year. But the foundation has been around since 1991, over the past 34 years, they’ve raised and invested more than $275 million to conserve land, water, wildlife of Texas. And the vision of Texas Parkland & Wildlife foundation is for all Texans to have access to the wild things and wild places in our state, not only now, but also for future generations to come.

Ramsey Russell: In layman’s terms, the foundations kind of, we’ve got one in Mississippi and I’m sure they’re around the country. A state agency like Texas Parks & Wildlife works within a political system and in the instance of something like and it could be this Gear Up for Game Wardens or some other program. A foundation allows them to work kind of outside the legislature to add further support through charitable contributions and things of that nature. Is that right? Am I getting that right as a layman?

Austin Taylor: Well, I think kind of the best way to explain that kind of like, a game warden is a force multiplier. I think the foundation is a force multiplier of the department. Without the public’s help, I mean, we wouldn’t have Powderhorn Ranch or the newest state park that’s going to be opening up, I think, hopefully the latter part of this year Palo Pinto Mountain State Park. I mean, these are very important programs and things that the foundation does that is making true differences and big strides across the state.

Jason Bussey: Yeah. And to reiterate that and just for information. So when we was at the academy in Austin, we were in a warehouse, two story warehouse, still had a conveyor belt where you could put boxes back up there on the top and rooms with two beds and a metal desk and you could look over the top of the walls in there and see your partners in the other room. And we had a great time. But from there, we’re now on 200 acres, we have about 7 buildings, like an auditorium that can seat over 70 people, we can sleep 80 people in our dorms and our buildings out here, full service kitchen. All of that was kind of through the foundation of all these buildings out here was built with private donations from our constituents and the people in the state of Texas. So just amazing stuff when you come in here and you see this place, what having good relationships with your community can do.

Randy S. Fisher: Another thing, Ramsey, I want to be clear on this. What gear up does, we provide specialty gear. Our Texas game wardens, they have all the necessary gear they need to do their job professionally. But what we’re able, the dimension we’re able to add to it, and I think Jason could speak to that is we’re able to bring, for example, a thermal drone or maybe the state can afford to have one or two, well, we’ve got private donors that will make sure every region has one or two or three. So that’s kind of what the focus of gear up has been, is to make sure our Texas game wardens have the gear, the specialized gear that they need, no matter what the situation may be. So I just want to be clear that I don’t want people to think on your podcast that our game wardens are not provided what they need to do. They’re provided with everything they need. But what we do is we, we kind of add, we’re an added dimension to what they have.

Ramsey Russell: That’s right. But now Randy, right out the gate you all would hope to raise $50,000 your initial year, and you got it the first month. From your chair today, what does it mean to be a part of something that directly supports Texas game wardens in the field? And in your view, why do you think Texans, which has got to be the leading state in number of outdoor men’s and women, why do you think they’ve rallied so much behind this cause?

Randy S. Fisher: I’m amazed every day at this program. I think the people are passionate about it because they have the same vision that I have for his conservation and preserving what we have for future our kids, grandkids and so forth. And it just amazes me at the people that want to give to this program. One of my companies, Ramsey, we distribute commercial fitness equipment and do that all over the United States, but based here out of Houston. And I tell everyone I’d be a gazillionaire if I could sell fitness equipment as well as I sell the Gear Up for Game Warden program. Since we started this program, I have not had one person that I’ve asked to contribute to this program not give. And be it either a pair of snake boots or a pair of both, everything in between, I have yet to have anyone tell me no. And just to see the passion that the people have for this program, like I said, it amazes me every day.

Ramsey Russell: What about you, Austin? You’re the guy that’s in the trenches day to day. What does your role as Program Director involve?

Austin Taylor: I mentioned earlier on the podcast about our Texas game wardens having probably the toughest job in the world, I like to think that I have probably one of the coolest jobs in the world when it comes to interacting with maybe our volunteers or leadership council, seeing communities come together where we have grassroots fundraising efforts to essentially have a goal of trying to fund a specific piece of equipment or pieces of equipment and seeing that come to permission and then actually putting this equipment directly in the field for use. Now, the program I oversee is the S. Reed Morion Gear up for Game Wardens program. Our mission is to provide specialty gear and equipment for our Texas game wardens to maintain safety and ensure the highest level of service for the people of Texas. Randy mentioned as far as the state, they do provide the basic necessities for game wardens to do their jobs, but there’s definitely a critical need for specialized equipment across the board. I have about 20 dedicated volunteers across the state where we ask them to do one thing, and that’s once a year, let’s put on a fundraiser. Let’s see what the needs are in the community, bring those community members and let’s set a goal. Let’s try to get the equipment purchased. In addition to regional fundraising efforts, we also partner with landowners to fund specific equipment that will go directly to their local game warden. The foundation also actively seeks funding for equipment via grants. The foundation has an incredible grant team that is very successful in finding and acquiring those funds.

Ramsey Russell: As donations come in, how do you actually prioritize where those funds go? What I mean, what’s the process from fundraising to getting the gear in the hands of Texas game wardens?

Austin Taylor: Sure, absolutely. I would say maybe 95% of the funds that we receive, they’re already allocated to either a specific piece of equipment that we’re trying to fund or a specific region. So if a donation comes in, like through our website, that’s just a general donation, or in area of greatest need, we’ll use that funds to actually fund the next piece of equipment that’s on the top of the priority list. Like on, on the website, each region has their top 4 priority equipment needs. And then, we’re just shy of funding a piece of equipment, we’ll use those funds that allocated for area of greatest needs to actually get the equipment purchased and put into the field. I work directly with each region’s major to establish what equipment is needed for their area, and once the equipment is funded, I immediately order the equipment and have it delivered to the nearest law enforcement office. The equipment is then designated a property number and then assigned to a game warden.

Randy S. Fisher: Yeah, Ramsey, I want to follow that up. From the time we received the funds, sometimes within 15 days, the gear is in the game warden’s possession. Austin doesn’t mess around. And just to brag on Austin a little bit, if you ever need to go buy a new car or anything, take him with you, he’s the ultimate negotiator.

Ramsey Russell: I’ll remember that.

Randy S. Fisher: We have purchased or we have raised a little over $6 million, I’ll let Austin give you a specific number. But I would say that we have probably put close to $7 million, $7.5 million worth of gear in our game warden’s hands. And that wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for Austin’s negotiating skills with all of our vendors. And we’ve got a pretty good vendor list that want to be part of this program. So just remember, next time you need a new car, give Austin a call, he can run down there to Mississippi and help you out.

Ramsey Russell: Heck, I’m being more practical, I’m thinking we hit that taco truck, we can get him negotiate, buy two, get one free or something.

Austin Taylor: Well, that’s why there’s a Randy special on the board.

Ramsey Russell: What equipment is most commonly requested? What gets used most in the field there in Texas, Austin?

Austin Taylor: I would say just generally anything that’s going to be used for anti-poaching. So anti-poaching equipment, search and rescue gear, those are definitely number one. Providing night vision and thermal units are definitely a true game changer for our Texas game wardens. I’m a huge proponent of them. And these are definitely life saving devices, not only for maybe a person that’s lost out in the field or they’ve been injured, it’s equipment that I think that the general public also can really identify with, that there is a need for that. You think about, we were talking about poaching earlier, I think poaching over the years has definitely changed. I mean, you used to hear about people using spotlights, spotlighting deer, I don’t know if you have that anymore now that you have thermal capabilities, people running thermal scopes on their guns nowadays. And if our game wardens don’t have that same equipment, they’re fighting an uphill battle.

Ramsey Russell: That thermal stuff is amazing. The only time I’ve ever used it, I was in the UK and we actually used it during the late afternoon hours. We were hunting these little Chinese water deer, which about the size of a cocker spaniel. And when they laid down, they put their head down just to lay down. And they would lay down in this cut wheat field and it looked like an empty field until you put the thermal on it. You say, there’s one, there’s one, and you just find one and wait them out to poke his head up, it’s amazing technology is what I’m saying. I can see where it would be used in a wide array of stuff. Randy said that you all have raised about $6 or $7 million to date, Austin. How far does that go across such a big state?

Austin Taylor: Sure. Since October of 2017, we’ve raised right at $6.3 million, $2.9 million being within the last 2 years.

Ramsey Russell: Wow.

Austin Taylor: It’s making a big difference. We’ve been able to successfully purchased 3 airboats, well over a dozen thermal, top of the line thermal drones, inflatable boats, search and rescue inflatable boats, shallow drive, like pro drive boats and motors. I think we’ve probably funded in the neighborhood of 75 to 80 thermal units and night vision kits. I think if you go back 7, 8 years ago, there is a huge impact that we’ve made for our Texas game wardens specifically to make their job safer and more efficient.

Randy S. Fisher: And for the community, as Jason said, how important it was for the community. And my numbers may not be exactly correct on this, but about a year ago, as Major Bussey talked about working with other organizations within the community, we had an elderly gentleman that was lost and had early stages of dementia maybe and was lost. And it was in the middle of the summer, which summers here are brutal. And the local sheriff’s department had been looking for 3 or 4 hours and then they called the local game warden and he happened to have the thermal drone with him, was able to bring it and literally in less than 90 seconds, they located this gentleman. So, I think that, not only for what the importance of the game wardens, but just something like that is, here’s a gentleman, he was probably on his way to dehydration, had no clue where he was at, people, they’ve been looking for him by foot and searching. And then here’s a game warden shows up with a drone that Gear Up was able to give to the game wardens. And less than 90 seconds later, they know exactly where he is and they get right to it.

Ramsey Russell: Man, what a great story. Austin, Randy, what are you all’s vision? What’s the future vision for gear up looking ahead? Is it more regional support, more outreach, more tools, more of the same or more of all? Where do you all want this Gear Up for Game Warden program to go?

Randy S. Fisher: Yeah, I think we’ve only scratched the surface far as the people that know about it. And my goal as –

Ramsey Russell: We lost him. There you go. Say that again. What was your goal?

Randy S. Fisher: My goal is to have more people know about this program. I think we’ve only scratched the surface on the amount of people that know about it. And I think over the next decade I would like to really see us do what we’ve done the last 2 years. We’ve gotten a lot more involvement as the numbers show by donations that we’re more and more people are finding out about it. My goal I put on our group is at 2027 October, our goal is how raised $10 million. So I’m hoping we blow through that sooner than then. But not many start-up 501Cs raise a million dollars a year out of gate, especially something specialized like this. But my goal is for more exposure to the public.

Austin Taylor: And just to add to that, one thing to think in mind or to keep in mind about this program and I think one thing that makes it successful and unique compared to other programs, since it is a program of Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation, 100% of the funds that we raise goes directly towards the purchase of a piece of equipment. So if I’m working with a landowner and they want to get their game warden a thermal unit, the donation they make is the exact amount that I get the thermal unit at wholesale cost.

Randy S. Fisher: And as that’s something good point to bring that up Austin. But since day one we’ve been able to, a 100% if Ramsay, you wanted to buy a pair of snake boots for the guys out in West Texas, you can go on there and it’s $300 or whatever the cost is. Well, all $300 that you give go to that specific item. There’s no operating money taken from your contributions or anything. And I’m involved with a lot of 501-Cs and I dare to say there’s probably not anybody else out there with the ability to do what we’re able to do with that.

Ramsey Russell: Never heard of such.

Randy S. Fisher: That’s another biggie of why people like this program. We’re not buying carpet for the Austin’s new office there with funds. Every bit, every dime that you contribute goes to whatever the item is that you want to purchase.

Ramsey Russell: 100%. Thank you all for sharing that, that’s an important need to know. For folks listening that do want to get involved with Gear Pp for Game Wardens, how can they donate and how can they connect with what Gear Up is doing?

Austin Taylor: That’s a great question, Ramsey. I would recommend visiting gearppforgamewardens.org. We have a short 4 minute video on the main page that really shows a great overview from top to bottom of the program itself. We also have some incredible success stories on the media tab. And on our website you can also enter your email address to join our newsletter distribution, that way you’re able to stay up to date on the equipment that we’re putting in the field. You can also make a donation directly on the website by clicking on the map if you want to designate your funding to go to a specific regional area or specific piece of equipment. Also, all of my contact information is on our website, so if you want to talk to me about giving opportunities or about hosting a fundraiser, I’m all for it. You’ll also be the first to hear about our 5^th annual online auction when it becomes live. Each year we have really, truly one of a kind hunting and fishing opportunities, experiences, gear, custom firearms that are not available anywhere else. And that’s what helps feed the program, that’s what funds the program itself. So I highly recommend signing up for those email notifications. And then I also recommend for your listeners to take a look at Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation’s website, that’s tpwf.org and see some of the incredible projects that the foundation has led over the past, 30 plus years.

Ramsey Russell: Thank you all. Final thought, the average Texan does not interact with game wardens daily, let alone maybe even during the course of a year. I mean, they don’t. Why should they care and why should they support this gear up program?

Austin Taylor: I’ll go back to how we started the conversation. Our Texas game wardens are the best there are. And I truly feel that they deserve the best. Whether it’s the best possible equipment that we can make their jobs easier and more efficient. And that in turn just ensures the highest level of service for the people of Texas.

Ramsey Russell: What do you think, Randy? I mean, even in the great state of Texas, hunters are a minority, except on opening day of dove season. I’ve heard that on opening day of dove season, the largest armed force on earth shows up to Bucky’s before they go dove hunting. But I mean, to the average guy beyond the hunters, why do you think they should care and support this program?

Randy S. Fisher: Well, back to dove season, I have petitioned the governor to make it a national holiday and I know, Bucky’s, like you said, you can’t even pull in there on the opening day. But I think due to everything that the game wardens do, even the person that doesn’t hunt like we went back to in facing a hurricane coming in here, we’ve got the full force of all the game wardens down here on the coast ready to search and rescue and so forth. And one other thing that we didn’t hit on, but our Region 4, which is Houston, they teach active shooter training. So as we all know, active shooters are in schools or wherever, but the game wardens are part of that. So not only is it just wildlife, but it’s first line of defense that they’re involved with. And let me tell you, you’ve never been part of a hurricane, and I’ve been a part of a few of them down here, it’s pretty intense. And to know that you’ve got them standing by for search and rescue is huge. So that’s why I think whether it’s $2 or $20, people should contribute to this program.

Ramsey Russell: Thank you all very much for coming on today and talking about this exciting program. I appreciate your time and I appreciate what you’re doing for wildlife conservation, I really do. Thank you all very much. Any parting thoughts?

Randy S. Fisher: Well, you have an open invitation to come down in Port O’ Connor, so the best time. And then in our fishing, we get to do something pretty special down here that I never got to do it in Arkansas. We duck hunt in the morning, if we don’t get our limits, we go out and tear the redfish and the trout up in the afternoon, then go jump in the blind and try to finish our limit up. So it’s one of the few places that you can hunt morning or afternoon.

Ramsey Russell: Fantastic. Thank you all very much. And folks, thank you all for listening to episode of MOJO’s Duck Season Somewhere podcast where we’ve been talking about Gear Up for Game Wardens program in the great state of Texas, supporting law enforcement off the pavement. The links that Austin mentioned are below in the caption. See you next time.

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