The Lost Rider Podcast with Herman Brune

Social Media director, Justin Morissey, for the National Shooting Sports Foundation gives us a preview of the upcoming 2026 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. It is the hunting and shooting industry's trade show. It is an international show expecting more than 50,000 people and 2800 vendors. The booths cover approximately 18 acres with in the Venetian, Palazio, and Caesar's conference and exhibition space. Morrisey also elaborates on the NSSF's involvement in wildlife conservation, as well as, the foundation's programs such as the  "Child Safe Program". 

#shotshow2026

#hunting

#outdoors

#ShootingSports

In an effort to untangle a hairball of information, Brune goes back for another interview with Nueces River Authority  Executive Director John Byrum. While folks are satisfied that the discharge from a seawater desal plant will go offshore into deep water, they're not as happy about brackish aquifer desal plants putting the discharge back into creeks. The hairball starts when CCA's Shane Bonnet says that the runoff would be too "fresh" for Baffin Bay. Guides in  that area fear that the runoff would be too salty. Which is correct? Cpt. Jay Nichols points out areas of dead sea grass. Ex...

The Charley Russel Museum is in Great Falls, Montana. Once a year the Western Art community gathers for an extended weekend to celebrate with "paintings in the park", a buffet and auction Friday night, and a banquet and auction Saturday night that includes pieces from eras gone by.

The last evening is when nationwide museums and collectors gather to bid on selected pieces of Charley Russel artwork. In this interview Brune visits with the museum executive director. 

The Coastal Conservation Assn. position on the discharge of desalination plants is to be in favor of deep water off shore discharge in the case of the Harbor Island seawater desal plant. As per the South Texas Water Authority's plans for a brackish aquifer desalination plant the CCA position is to use reinjection wells for the discharge. Brune interviews CCA Advocacy officer Shane Bonnet and asks, what happens when reinjection wells are no longer the answer? Are we ignoring current technology that eventually must be implemented? Will desalination bring relief to river systems and aquifers? 

Brune's commentary simplifies and seeks to make relative the geography and conservation interests that would benefit from seawater and brackish aquifer desalination. The technology to treat desalination plant's discharge is readily available and not new. Likewise, taking the pressure off freshwater aquifers, as well as, river systems is essential for municipalities, agriculture, wildlife, and the Texas Gulf Coast. Brune raises the question: Why aren't all the conservationists in Texas behind the desal projects, and why aren't they looking at such drainage basins as the lower Colorado River and standing at the state Capital with torches and pitchforks?   

Here's one of those instances when ol' Herman Willie doesn't have a guest to interview. Nevertheless, he's not short of topics. This week he's commiserating his fortune of a recent knee operation. It's a relatively new procedure that is touted as  being minimally invasive with quick recovery. But, no recovery time is quick enough to suit yours truly. Another topic is whether cell phones in the wilderness diminish the pure primal experience. Brune says they do. He says a person must be able to disconnect and reestablish life's priorities. 

Brune interviews Port of Corpus Christi Authority's Kent Britton. The discussion revolves around the largest planned seawater desalination plant in the U.S. They also talk about the amounts of oil and natural gas that are shipped out of Corpus Christi daily. One ship going to the Netherlands can power 1million homes in Europe for one month. Approximately one such ship leaves Corpus every day. The conversation also leans towards the future of desalination in South Texas. While frack water and desal discharge has historically been discarded down reinjection wells, there is  the strong likelihood that it will soon b...

In this insightful episode of The Lost Rider Podcast (and its broadcast version, News from the Camp House), host Herman Brune visits Texas A&M University to sit down with Dr. Ty Wardell, assistant professor in the Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management Department.

Wardell shares his fascinating journey from growing up in a ranching and rodeo family on the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota to earning his Ph.D. at Kansas State University and ultimately joining the faculty at A&M. His path includes years on the professional rodeo circuit, studying bighorn sheep in the Black...

Brune visits with Texas Outdoor Partners President John Shepard. They discuss the past session of the Texas Legislature, the system in which TOP operates, and the possible reemerging of the Sportsman's Caucus in Texas. Another topic of discussion was the Texas Parks and Wildlife budget. 

Water questions is a commentary from Brune. It showcases that lifelong "conservationists" in state agencies have the answers to questions that plague concerned citizens and NGO's. There is nothing new about water process technologies. When discussing water desalination: Water treatment for super saturated saline discharges was practiced in Texas, in the 1980's, during the creation of the strategic oil reserves. Likewise, major municipalities enjoy the recycling commonly known as "toilet to tap". So - why is the public unaware of the technologies that sustain the modern lifestyle? Why don't the lifelong agency "conservationists" serve the needs of providing public...

In a rare step away from environmental technology issues Brune interviews Darren Amundson. Amundson is the inventor of fishdonkey. It's an app that allows catch and release fishing tournaments without ever killing a fish and eliminates any chance to cheat the judges. The interview takes place at the Associated Great Lakes Outdoor Writers Conference in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 

Shane Mahoney joins us from Labrador, Newfoundland. He is the leading worldwide expert on the North American Wildlife Conservation Model. Shane clears up the history concerning the model, and brings to light the fact that the actual name wasn't devised until the early to mid 1990's. He agrees that the model existed in function prior to that time, and that the 1937 Wildlife Reclamation Act put teeth into the model with financial mechanisms - but the words/name "North American Wildlife Conservation Model" were not uttered until the 90's. He agrees that giving the model its name has made teaching its...

In this thought-provoking episode of The Lost Rider Podcast, host Herman Brune welcomes renowned conservationist Shane Mahoney, a leading authority on the North American Wildlife Conservation Model. Together, they explore the history, structure, and lasting importance of the model that underpins modern wildlife management in the United States and Canada.

Mahoney explains how the model, though rooted in early 20th-century conservation movements led by figures like Theodore Roosevelt, was not formally named until the mid-1990s. He shares how its seven foundational principles came to define the relationship between sustainable use, regulated hunting, and the broader conservation...

To prove that The Lost Rider isn't a nerd stuck on environmental technology, we take a side-step and visit with two of our favorite gun writers. Brune met Sheriff Jim Wilson shortly after the first organized cowboy action club in Texas held their annual "Trailhead" event at the Brune Land & Cattle Co. Also, on today's broadcast is Shane Jahn. Both Wilson and Jahn live in Alpine, Texas. The bulk of their gun writing focuses on the old thumb busters and Winchester rifles. Today's interview is in the spirit of saying "howdy" to friends.         

  Brune interviews Texas State Farm Bureau Director Greg Buenger about screwworms. Many Texans don't savvy the damage caused by the possible infestation. Brune's own experience was treating calves and collecting larvae in 1967. It's a daily chore that turns into a career. The mechanisms to battle the scourge was dismantled when the '67 eradication program pushed the flies below Panama. However, Mexico stopped their program and screwworms have been reported within 70 miles of the Rio Grande. The U.S. government has sent U.S. dollars for Mexico to reinstitute their program and  facilities, and is building facilities in Texas. The concern is...

There is a brackish aquifer water desal plant planned for South Texas. The news about this topic went out before planning was complete. Directors are still addressing the public's concerns about managing the super-saline discharge, as well as, studying their options for management. Brune and STWA Director John Marez discuss the longstanding technology available to quell these concerns. Despite having waste water technology in place for decades the general public is woefully ignorant, as well as, distrusting. It will be the STWA's job to implement good practices, and to keep the public advised into perpetuity. Currently, freshwater to Kingsville...

August, 2000 - August 2025, twenty-five years reporting weekly on water issues, technology, the North American Wildlife Conservation Model, and finding answers to the questions that otherwise go unanswered. 

Nueces River Authority Executive Director John Byrum details a few of the complexities of desalinating seawater. The project is slated to be on Harbor Island at Port Aransas. Byrum explains both how the intake and discharge are managed. Water process technologies are not new to Texas. Reclamation of minerals from super-saline concentrates may have been implemented at the 1984 Byan Mound Strategic Oil Reserve drilling, and we know that super-saline c...

Mrs. Rhonda Kennedy explains to listeners that the Port Mansfield Cut was opened by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1957. While Port Mansfield is no longer a sea-going port, the cut is instrumental to the health of the Lower Laguna Madre. It also allows access to the Gulf from Port Mansfield. Presently, the Cut is silting shut and the Army Corps of Engineers has no plans to continuing its dredging. The people in Port Mansfield are looking for more interested parties to help keep the Cut open. 

The Alamo: Brune interviews Lee Spencer White.

Mrs, White was a key figure in stopping the Centotaph from being moved, as well as, certifying the history is not reimagined to suit a leftist agenda.

The building and surrounding plaza are being restored and renovated. Mrs. White, the Descendents of the Alamo, The Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and the Sons of the Republic of Texas played essential roles in making the public aware and working with the Texas Historical Commission and the Texas General Land Office to secure the integrity of Texas History.

Florida WIld Woman and wildlife biologist Christina Wilson and native Floridian Charlotte Hartley, Florida Man Official Merchandise Owner, Artist, and Pinup Model talk about wrangling snakes, developing a pinup community with a Florida twist, and using social media for brand development.

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The Dallas Safari Club is active in promoting and advocating the North American Wildlife Conservation Model. In this interview Brune and Executive Director Corey Mason discuss DSC's involvement with the Texas Outdoor Writers Assn.'s Youth Writing Awards, the wildlife conservation model, and also the ongoing efforts to squelch anti-hunting and anti-conservation movements internationally. This interview helps to illustrate how leftist agendas in the form of Cash Cow Controversies take money from well-meaning contributors and use it in ways that negatively impact wildlife conservation. 

Chris Geib, CDO of the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation talks about Great Loop Challenge, a fundraising event supporting the The Sunshine Project, which unites over 20 U.S. cancer centers and rapidly advances treatment trials for children with cancer.

Captain Red Flowers talks about smashing the world record for completing the Great Loop Challenge, a continuous loop around the entire eastern U.S. waterway circuit in order to fundraise this important research.

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Alpine based, Froylan Hernandez, the Desert Bighorn Sheep Program Leader for Texas Parks & Wildlife, talks about being charged with the restoration and management of the desert bighorn population in Texas in the face of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi)

Brune talks about BS (Blue Sky) Salesman. Whether its Climate Change, Covid, or the anti-hunting and anti-gun crowd the world is full of BS (Blue Sky) Salesman. In a hilarious turn of events there is now a left-wing media platform akin to Twitter or X that calls itself Blue Sky.

~ You can't make this stuff up. 

Blast from the Past: In light of DOGE cracking down on fraud and the abuse of tax dollars: Here is an older radio show pointing out how the CDC ran out of its lane into the gun control debate/movement. It was done in the name of public health. Should the CDC spend tax money on such studies, or is it an example of an every-growing bloated bureaucracy?   

Rebecca Jones, outdoor advocate on the Board of Directors for DSF, Texas Wildlife Association and HerUpLand discusses using her professional business experience to help these organizations grow.

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Gray Thornton President and CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation, and formerly with SCI and DSC, discusses involving the public in wildlife conservation.

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El Campo based Chad Waligura, Owner of Able Outdoors, outdoor journalist, and C7 quadriplegic, discusses fabricating equipment so that folks with spinal injuries may continue to hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors.

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Jason Paul, Owner of family run company Stinky Pants Fishing, talks about the successful pursuit of making a better stringer and getting into Bass Pro Shop.

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Lance Stancik is Owner and Operator of Pintail Hunting Club in Garwood, Texas, home of the Waterfowl Brigades youth camp, speaks to the changing nature of waterfowl hunting on the Texas Gulf Coast.

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Chef Josh Schwencke Owner and Operator of Gastronomy out of San Antonio and Executive Chef of Big Sheep Foundation and WomenHunt talks about wild game cooking, Gastronomy Live events, and teaching people how to cook wild game. 

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Brandt MacDuff, Brooklyn based author and advocate for the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, speaks on his endeavors to teach urban americans the nuts and bolts of wildlife conservation.

Brune sits down with Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham.  The commissioner proceeds to outline the duties of the GLO as the state's steward of oil and gas leases, veteran's care and services, the restoration and historical conservation of the Alamo and surrounding plaza, managing the state's deed archives, and more. The GLO is one of numerous Texas state agencies with conservation programs.

Continuing the interview with Chris Parish, CEO and Executive Director of the Peregrine Fund speaks about the Aplomado Falcon, habitat reclamation in South Texas, and helping land owners continue agriculturally while also sustaining habitats for wildlife.

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Dr. Mary Bowden gives her rendition of treating people during the COVID Pandemic and the roadblocks instituted against her by the Biden Administration, Houston Methodist Hospital, and The Texas Medical Board. Most recently Dr. Bowden won/settled her lawsuit limiting the FDA as per that agencies' job description. Dr. Bowden is an advocate for hydroxychloroquine, monoclinal antibodies, and Ivermectin. She also points out the growing number of victims suffering side effects from the unproven COVID shots. More of her testimony may be found in the book Volume 2 of "Canary in a Post-COVID-19 World".

Chris Parish, CEO and Executive Director of the Peregrine Fund speaks to the success of hunter participation in decade long studies on lead bullets.

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New Executive Director Allie Biedenharn for Texas Brigades youth conservation academic camps explains purpose and direction of teaching youth in the outdoors.

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Brune interviews long time Texas Outdoor Writers Association supporter and nuclear energy expert John Thompson Jr. They discuss where nuclear power is used today and its future possibilities. Can nuclear power help Texas' future water demands through cheap energy for desalination? Can it elevate concerns about the power grid? Can proponents dispel safety concerns? Is there a problem with waste?

Brune introduces Scott Dorenkamp to his audience. Dorenkamp is the Professional Cowboys Association Government Relations Executive. It is his job to address animal activist concerns pertaining to rodeo, and to alleviate those concerns at federal and state levels.

Outdoor writer Larry Weishuhn stops by the News from the Camp House to tape a radio/podcast with Brune for his own production. Meanwhile, Brune does the same.  The two outdoor communicators hash out the negligence of the outdoor industry to  promote and advocate the 1937 North American Wildlife Conservation Model. They discern that without that information the public suffers the lack of information needed to make and understand wildlife management. The model should be in every school curriculum, as well as, promoted by every federal and state conservation agency, conservation-minded NGO's, publishers, editors, writers, etc.