The Lost Rider Podcast with Herman Brune

This is a fast-moving interview with the Nueces River Authority Executive Director, John Byrum. It is an update on the progress of the largest seawater desalination plant in the U.S. being built near Port Aransas on Harbor Island. Brune relates to Byrum that Public Trust is at an all-time low, and asks whose responsibility is it to establish good will? Should state senators and representatives be more active in their respective communities? Instead of saying the public needs to attend hearings, shouldn't they be campaigning in their districts advocating water process technologies? Is the mainstream media too uninformed and shouldn't the outdoor communications industry be more involved? Legislators brag about keeping boys out of girls' restrooms and sports - but that's an absolute no-brainer. How about raising the bar on accomplishments? Why is the TCEQ the only state agency, with a conservation program, that refuses to attend media conferences or give interviews? It's simple to see why Public Trust is suffering.

Brune visits with documentarian Paul Fuzinski about the making of Chester Moore's film about Great White Sharks off the Texas Gulf Coast. Fuzinski explains the traveling and time involved on this particular project. The filmmakers gathered interviews and video content from the Texas Coast to the Atlantic Northeast. He also elaborates on the distances traveled by tagged sharks and their seasonal territories. Fuzinski is currently putting together a documentary with H. Brune, aka. The Lost Rider, concerning federally designated wilderness areas beginning with Wyoming's Washakie Wilderness. Brune and Fuzinski are also collaborating on a presentation updating the current visibility of The North American Wildlife Conservation Model. 

Executive Director of the CM Russell Museum, in Great Falls, Montana, Duane Braaten joins the Lost Rider listeners to relate interesting aspects and nuances of the legendary western artist Charlie Russell's life. Brune and Braaten discuss perspectives of the 1880 to 1920 era and what it took to become a nationally renowned artist, and how Russell's paintings and sculpture helped shape the public's view of the American West. Braaten also explains that Russell was the real deal when it came to being a cowboy, and that he was also good at listening to his wife. She was instrumental in his travels back to the Eastern United States to promote his endeavors. 

Farm Bureau Director Greg Buenger provides update information concerning screw worms found in Texas.

Presently, 100 million sterilized larvae are flown from Panama and dispersed weekly. Buenger says that 500 million were dispersed weekly during the epidemic in the 1960's.

A Texas facility to produce sterilized flies should be ready near the end of 2027. A Mexico facility is also being built. Buenger also says that his experience with injectable Ivermectin should be a reasonable fly deterrent.

Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon everyone to keep a watchful eye on all livestock and pets. Screw worm flies lay their eggs in open wounds and the larvae are flesh-eating. Please give this your utmost attention.

In a rare departure from issue related topics, Brune and Troy Fowler talk about the simplicities of knowing your archery equipment. Both gentlemen have experience hunting Big Game and guiding archery hunters. Fowler reiterates the importance of matching arrow and broadhead weights to game that's being hunted. Much like a person upgrades from a 270, 308, or 30.06 with whitetails - to a 300 Win Mag for elk, a hunter must consider upgrading and trading speed for energy when hunting with a bow and arrow. 

The Lost Rider Podcast featuring Aaron Weishuhn

This episode of The Lost Rider Podcast features host Herman Brune sitting down with Aaron Weishuhn, the manager of the Colorado County Groundwater Conservation District (GCD). The two discuss the pressing realities of water management, local conservation efforts, and the political and environmental battles over Texas water resources.

Key Topics Discussed:

• History of the GCD: The Colorado County GCD was established around 2009 to ensure local citizens maintained a voice in their water management, rather than ceding complete control to state mandates.

• Current Drought Conditions: Colorado County has been operating under a drought warning since March following a dry fall and winter, marking the first step toward potential mandatory water cutbacks.

• Permitted Water Users: If drought conditions worsen, mandatory cutbacks would primarily affect permitted users with large-scale operations, such as high-production agricultural irrigation and major commercial wells, rather than exempt domestic or livestock wells.

• Aquifer Recharge and Dynamics: The conversation details the three layers of the Gulf Coast Aquifer system—the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers—and how the Colorado River interacts with these groundwater sources depending on the region.

• Proposed LCRA Reservoir: A major point of concern is the Lower Colorado River Authority's (LCRA) proposed off-channel reservoir in Colorado County, which includes a conceptual transmission pipeline designed to transport surplus water back to Austin and Travis County.

• Environmental and Economic Concerns: Weishuhn outlines the potential negative impacts of the LCRA project, including the removal of water from the local ecosystem, the threat to the Matagorda Bay system, and the risk of devaluing local property and tax bases.

• Shifting Stream Behaviors: The episode highlights a concerning ecological shift where local creeks and streams, which historically gained water from natural springs and aquifers, are now losing water into the depleted aquifers.