In just five years, the Texas Game Warden K-9 Unit has become an invaluable asset to the communities game wardens serve. The ten K-9 teams that make up the unit lead the way in critical search and rescue missions, along with poaching investigations and evidence recovery. The K-9 teams are in high demand across the state, often traveling hundreds of miles a day to complete their calls to duty.

Texas Game Wardens need an eleventh K-9 team to serve the people of Texas. Through the new TPWF program, Gear Up for Game Wardens, TPWF is raising $6,000 to launch a new K-9 team. An additional team will increase the ability of Texas Game Wardens to respond swiftly, serve the citizens of Texas, and assist other law enforcement agencies as needed.

You can help us put another K-9 team on the ground to serve the people of Texas.

Hanging out with a fisheries biologist on the Devils River is just one of the many cool outings that a young professional can experience as a Stewards of the Wild member. From learning how biologists use a seine net to study river organisms to learning about the success of bighorn sheep restoration in West Texas, these young professionals are experiencing and learning about the wild things and wild places of Texas.

Now, thanks to a partnership with the Texas Wildlife Association, Stewards members have even more opportunities to get involved in conservation-related events and activities. A new “Friend of TWA” option is now available to all members.

The Friend of TWA option will grant Stewards members access to additional meetings, socials, events and communications related to TWA’s mission to serve Texas wildlife and its habitat.

Leo Villa is one of more than 100 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) employees who suffered catastrophic losses when Hurricane Harvey swept across Texas. Villa lives and works in Rockport, where Harvey slammed ashore as a Category 4 storm on Aug. 25. Villa’s home was one of thousands damaged from Rockport to Jasper as a result of the storm and the flooding in its aftermath. Thanks to generous donors, TPWF was able to assist 122 TPWD employees with emergency relief funds. The TPWD Employee Relief Fund disbursed more than $314,000 to affected employees.

“We are very appreciative of the outpouring of support we have seen from our friends and partners,” said Carter Smith, TPWD Executive Director. “On behalf of the hundreds of TPWD employees up and down the Texas coast who were affected by the storm - Thank You! We are incredibly grateful to all who have so generously contributed to helping our team and their families rebuild after this terrible disaster.”

Stewards of the Wild members got directly involved to help, too. From search and rescue missions in the harrowing days after the storm to helping TPWD employees like Leo Villa clean up the mess, Stewards members were ready to lend a helping hand.

Watch the video to see how Stewards members helped Leo Villa.