Volunteers Vital for Wildlife, Parks, Outdoor Education
March 31, 2011
Tom Harvey, 512-389-4453, tom.harvey@tpwd.texas.gov
Note: This item is more than 13 years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
AUSTIN – April is National Volunteer Month, and folks who love state parks, hunting and fishing in Texas have plenty tocelebrate. In 2010, volunteers provided close to 955,000 hours of service worth an estimated $16.9 million to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Texas State Parks and Historic Sites alone receive volunteer service worth approximately 290 FTEs annually, saving TPWD’s State Parks Division almost $10 million per year in avoided costs for administrative, maintenance, interpretive, and park host duties throughout the state.
But volunteers are also vital for wildlife management areas and state fish hatcheries. And TPWD has entire education programs that are built upon and could not function without large and well-trained corps of statewide volunteers, including hunter, boater and angler education and archery instruction.
Volunteers support TPWD’s traveling Life’s Better Outside Experience at partner events. They also make possible programs like Texas Master Naturalists, Texas Nature Trackers, the Texas Youth Hunting Program, Coastal Expos, and more.
Links to volunteer opportunities are on TPWD’s Get Involved web page.
News reporters who want to explore story angles involving specific TPWD volunteer efforts, or people interesting in volunteering for particular opportunities, may contact any of the agency volunteer coordinators listed below.
- Angler Education Instructor Program (statewide)
Ann Miller, Program Coordinator, (512) 389-4732, ann.miller@tpwd.texas.gov - Archery Instructor Program (statewide)
Burnie Kessner, Program Coordinator, (979) 862-7341, burnie.kessner@tpwd.texas.gov - Battleship TEXAS/San Jacinto Battleground (LaPorte)
Beth Tragus, Volunteer Coordinator, (281) 479-2431, ext. 244, beth.tragus@tpwd.texas.gov - Boater Education Instructor Program (statewide)
Nancy Herron, (512) 389-4362, nancy.herron@tpwd.texas.gov - Buffalo Soldiers Heritage & Outreach Program
Luis Padilla, (512) 389-8569, luis.padilla@tpwd.texas.gov - Crab Trap Clean-up (coastal regions)
Art Morris, (361) 825-3356, art.morris@tpwd.texas.gov - Coastal Expo (statewide)
Kris Shipman, Program Coordinator, (512) 389-8737, kris.shipman@tpwd.texas.gov - Hummingbird Roundup (Statewide)
Mark Klym, Program Coordinator, (512)389-4644, mark.klym@tpwd.texas.gov - Hunter Education Instructor Program (statewide)
Terry Erwin, Program Coordinator, (512) 389- 8140, terry.erwin@tpwd.texas.gov - Fish Hatcheries:
- A.E. Wood Fish Hatchery (San Marcos)
Rob Schmid, Hatchery Manager, (512) 353-0572, rob.schmid@tpwd.texas.gov - Jasper Fish Hatchery (Jasper)
Reese Sparrow, Hatchery Manager, (409) 384-2221, reese.sparrow@tpwd.state.yx.us - Dundee Fish Hatchery (Electra)
Dennis Smith, Hatchery Manager, (940) 586-1203, dennis.smith@tpwd.texas.gov - Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery (Graford)
Dale Lyon, Hatchery Manager, (940) 799-2301, dale.lyon@tpwd.texas.gov
- A.E. Wood Fish Hatchery (San Marcos)
- Life’s Better Outside® Experience (statewide)
Trey Hamlett, (512) 389-4361, trey.hamlett@tpwd.texas.gov - Old Tunnel WMA (Fredericksburg)
Nyta Hensley, Manager and Volunteer Program Coordinator, (830) 990-2659, nyta.brown@tpwd.texas.gov - Project WILD Coordinator (statewide)
Kiki Cory, Program Coordinator, (512) 389-4369, Kiki.corry@tpwd.texas.gov - Sea Center Texas (Lake Jackson)
Connie Stolte, Volunteer Coordinator, (979) 292-0100, connie.stolte@tpwd.texas.gov - STATE PARKS (statewide)
Lori Reiley, State Parks Volunteer Program Coordinator, (512) 389-4746, Lori.Reiley@tpwd.texas.gov - Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (Athens)
Mona Farmer, Volunteer Coordinator, (903) 670-2228, mona.farmer@tpwd.texas.gov - Texas Master Naturalist (statewide)
Michelle Haggerty, Program Coordinator, (830) 896-2504, mhaggerty@ag.tamu.edu or michelle.haggerty@tpwd.texas.gov - Texas Nature Trackers (statewide)
- Marsha May, (512)389-8062, Marsha.may@tpwd.texas.gov
- Lee Ann Linam, (512) 847-9480, leeann.linam@tpwd.texas.gov
- Texas Outdoor Family (statewide)
Chris Holmes, (979) 229-2886, chris.holmes@tpwd.texas.gov - TEXAS YOUTH HUNTING PROGRAM (statewide)
Jerry Warden, 210-930-2177, jwarden@texas-wildlife.org - WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS (statewide)
Dennis Gissell, 512 389-4407, dennis.gissell@tpwd.texas.gov
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