Jimmie V. Thurmond III

Vice President

1. Primary Area of expertise:

Finance and Accounting

As with most organizations, TWA and TWAF have had a never-ending list of wants and needs asking for financial and human resources. We had to make decisions prioritizing the possible use of limited resources. We have to face the reality of limitations that you wish weren’t there and that sometimes the answer is “no” or “not now”. Although financial considerations were not the only criterion used for evaluating spending commitments, financial training and experience helped provide a discipline by which to make these decisions.

2. Which program resonates the most with you?

Critter Connections

Although we’ve created this publication for a number of years, recently, the demand for copies of it has exploded. It’s no secret that capturing and holding children’s appreciation for wildlife at a young age is vital for the future of wildlife conservation. This publication is doing a good job of speaking to its target audience.

3. Favorite wild place in Texas …

South Texas brush country

I grew up hunting in south Texas mainly in Webb, Maverick Counties. I did not anticipate that I would see the magnitude of changes in much of that habitat that would be detrimental to some of the native wildlife. The decline in habitat and the wildlife within it is not a faraway occurrence but is happening here at home.

4. What does “leaving a legacy” ….

Leaving a legacy for the next generation of Texans means that you have to act on behalf of wildlife conservation both in time and money as your resources permit. For over thirty years, one of the primary means through which I have acted has been TWA and TWAF. We have to inspire our children’s interest and teach them how to become our successors. I have taught my son and others that God granted us dominion over the earth and its animals, but that we were not granted license to wantonly misuse, overconsume, and destroy them. Appreciation for the gifts received goes a long way towards fostering the desire to care for those gifts.

5. If I had to pick one iconic species or outdoor tradition …

Chestnut bellied scaled (blue) quail.

These birds may not be the iconic species that define the spirit of Texas for every Texan, but they’re important to me. Since my favorite “wild place” where I grew up hunting, was the South Texas brush country, I likely have some local bias. When I was a young hunter in Webb County, these birds were plentiful where I was hunting – on a long run average roughly half the birds that we saw were bobwhites and the other half were the chestnut bellied scaled quail. This ratio generally held true in Maverick County, too. These birds thrive in some harsh country and conditions. I am fortunate that I still get to spend a lot of time in the South Texas brush county – now mostly in Dimmit County. I still see these birds, but they are not present in the numbers of my younger years, and this decline over the last 30 or more years has happened throughout most of South Texas. I do not want them to disappear. Sometimes even the toughest species need some special attention.