Thanks, Partner

Article by COL(R) CHRIS MITCHELL Photos courtesy of TYHP

Many TYHP volunteers are also hunter education instructors. Not only are they active hunter education instructors, TYHP volunteers account for XX of the Hall of Fame Hunter Education Instructors.

If you have attended a TYHP hunt, you have likely seen a wildlife biologist or a game warden. We do this as part of the education on a hunt. We believe seeing wildlife professionals can spark young people’s interest in a field they had not considered or weren’t even aware of.

Did you know many game wardens and wildlife biologists are also Huntmasters who run hunts? Below we are highlighting some TPWD partners who volunteer for TYHP. Obviously, in a short article, we cannot mention them all, but we want to highlight the commitment of our partners to TYHP’s mission.

The Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP) logo includes the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) simple but very recognizable green square. The “small in number but large in impact” TYHP staff are regularly mistaken as TPWD employees. In many ways we are— and we don’t mind the error.

Of course, our parent organization is the Texas Wildlife Association. It can be confusing. Just ask the TWA receptionist who answers calls many times a day from people with wildlife questions and problems. TWA and its education, advocacy, and appreciation programs are proud partners with TPWD. In fact, TYHP had its beginnings in the Wildlife Division at TPWD. Ours is a strong partnership. The ongoing link between TPWD and TYHP is hunter education. We like to say our youth hunters get to put into practice what they learn in the classroom.

Steve Hall, TPWD hunter education director, has been a Huntmaster since 1998 when he taught the first Huntmaster training and developed the first Huntmaster manual. Steve is a fixture at the Cave Creek Wildlife Management Association Super Hunt, which celebrated its 20th season in the 2022-2023 season.

When asked why he got involved in this endeavor, he said, “Professionally because it is the best answer to the five factors that create a lifelong hunter. They are providing education, providing equipment where necessary, providing mentorship, providing a threshold experience, and providing access to a place to hunt.” In Steve’s assessment, TYHP provides all this and TWA was the natural home because of its connection to so many private landowners.

John Apgar is a game warden in far West Texas and a mentor among game wardens and wildlife professionals. He has made it his personal mission to get more young people involved in hunting because he has seen the numbers of people hunting decline over the years. He has been a Huntmaster since 2010.

Not only do Agpar and his team offer some of the most exciting and challenging hunts, but the education and outdoor experience is unbeatable. Team Apgar is made up of a number of TPWD professionals. Since they represent this partnership and the future of this program, thanks go to team members Olivia Grey, Benny Benavidez, and Jose Etchart.

While we are saying thanks, Wade Anders and Jamie Hamilton deserve mention; they are not TPWD employees, but passionate TYHP volunteers. Hamilton wanted better equipment for the hunters on the hunt and made a generous donation to make it happen. With Anders’ help, the hunters in West Texas have some of the best rifle set-ups to take those long shots and do it effectively and ethically.

Retirement has not changed Albert Flores’ commitment to TYHP. Flores, who retired as a game warden in 2019, still serves as a Huntmaster on the Weld- er Wildlife Refuge. Like Apgar, Flores encouraged his fellow game wardens to get involved. If you go on a Welder hunt you will likely see Game Wardens Lerrin Johnson or Kevin Mitchell as part of the hunt’s education.

Some of the TPWD biologist young guns in the Wildlife Division are also making a splash including Austin Stolte, Chase McCrory, Gaby Tamez and James Weaver. They are all lead Huntmasters who run excellent hunts for young people in West Texas.

The example these professionals have set has encouraged new TPWD employees to get involved, like Amanda Young, Ian Witt and Megan Granger. Ian and Megan are two of the newest Huntmasters, having attended Huntmaster Training in September 2022 in Comfort, Texas.

Technical Guidance Biologist Joyce Moore has been a fixture at TYHP Super Hunts. She has taught a lot of young people and parents about whitetails and wildlife management in general over the years. James Rice, superintendent at the Albert & Bessie (ABK) State Natural Area, is responsible for opening more state properties to TWA and TYHP. His interest in making headway on deer management has resulted in many years of hunts on ABK.

Game wardens and biologist are not the only ones leading hunts. Immanuel Salas, an avid bowhunter, runs a new archery hunt for us at Lake Georgetown on Army Corps of Engineers property. Renan Zambrano has run hunts in Brown County for five years. We would be remiss if we did not mention Carter Smith, former TPWD executive director, who not only has been a champion of TWA and TYHP but set the example by hosting a TYHP hunt on Dobbs Run, his family ranch, for many years.

The partnership is strong and growing stronger every day because of those who are willing to give a most precious commodity—time.