Colonel Grahame Jones Interview
FlatsWorthy had a brief chat with Colonel Grahame Jones on Curlew Day.
FW: I’m here with Colonel Grahame Jones. Can you tell about your position with the Texas Game Wardens?
GJ: I am the Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Law Enforcement. I’ve been in this position about 3 years, but I’ve been a Game Warden for 28 years.
FW: Where did you grow up?
GJ: I grew up in Houston and grew up fishing the Christmas Bay and Galveston Bay complex. So salt water fishing and conservation related to the coastal areas are very near and dear to my heart.
FW: How did you first become aware of FlatsWorthy?
GJ: I became aware of FlatsWorthy a couple years ago. I was fascinated by the way it brought together a lot of people. Whether you call them stakeholders or user groups, it’s people who care about the resource in different ways. What I was impressed with was the way FlatsWorthy brought them all together, brought them all to the table to talk about what matters to all of us.
FW: How important will this Curlew be to your mission?
GJ: It’s very important in a lot of ways. It’s important not only for what it allows us to do operationally in the areas it will allow our Game Wardens to get to in the bay system. But I also see this as a paradigm shift. It’s also somewhat psychological in the way the vast groups of people who got behind this fundraiser effort to support our Game Wardens. From the guides to the folks who enjoy going out and looking at different birds and wildlife, folks who like to fish, commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen. It’s important for all those reasons. The main thing is, all those groups supported us in this purchase. Without FlatsWorthy we wouldn’t be coming to the table at all.
FW: Any final words?
GJ: I’d just like to say that I really appreciate what Chuck Naiser and Chuck Nash have done, along with our local Game Wardens. We wouldn’t be here without them as well. They are out there protecting our natural resources every single day, and I want to give kudos to those men and women. They are the most professional law enforcement officers I’ve ever been around.