In this episode, Wayne sits down with Nevada Game Warden James Mortimore from the floor of the Sheep Show® in Reno, NV — complete with bugling elk echoing in the background! From rescuing kayakers in monsoon swells on Lake Mead to blow-darting mountain lions and tracking illegal alligator sales on Facebook, James has lived the full spectrum of wildlife policing in one of the most diverse law enforcement landscapes in the country. His stories from Las Vegas to Reno show the grit, humor, and sheer unpredictability of being a modern Nevada warden.
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North American Game Warden Museum
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Here’s what we discuss:
- The “Las Vegas warden”
- Crowded urban ponds and busy boat patrols made every day unpredictable
- Watching for the folks who pack up quickly when a warden shows up
- A wild monsoon rescue in six‑foot swells
- For Colorado River wardens, rescue calls are everyday business
- Low water levels reveal old mob‑era secrets – and the jokes that came with it
- “I think that’s why we got our water back.”
- An illegal alligator seller learns the meaning of “take a bite out of crime.”
- Blow-darting mountain lions in neighborhoods and on golf courses
- Dealing with a sedated mountain lion while a homeowner complains through their doorbell cam
- Moving from Vegas to Reno and learning the world of bears and mountain lions
- The importance of biologists and cross-team collaboration
- Nevada’s pay and retention challenges
- Covering massive patrol areas – sometimes thousands of square miles during vacancies
- Poaching investigations built using GPS dog collar data
- Odd urban cases: “dinosaur bones,” sea turtles, and surprisingly realistic bald eagle replicas
- Working with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and other federal partners
- Learn more about Nevada wardens in the new Animal Planet series, Nevada Wild!
Credits
Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores
Producer: Jay Ammann
Warden’s Watch logo & Design: Ashley Hannett
Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches
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