In second grade, a teacher asked Brent McCarty to draw a picture of what he wanted to be when he grew up. Although he didn’t really know what animal training meant, Brent drew himself conducting a three-ring circus.
Years later, he is deeply involved in wildlife conservation and family life. Brent serves as the interim branch manager at the Salato Wildlife Education Center, an education-based division of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He also has a newborn, Grayson. The stress from juggling work and family has been tough lately, but Brent and his wife, Holly, wanted the new family member.
“I don’t know what I’d do without him,” says Holly of Brent. The two met in high school, attended Eastern Kentucky University together and married years later in 2008.
However, the future of the wildlife education center remains unpredictable.
The Salato Center’s expenses should call for over $1 million dollars a year, but it runs on about $700,000, Brent said. Much of wildlife conservation in Kentucky is paid for by hunting and fishing licenses. A federal excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment helps the wildlife center, but it simply isn’t enough.
“Donations are great, but they aren’t consistent, and they aren’t near what hunting and gathering and fishing licenses will pay for,” says Brent. “Who knows where the funding source of the future is going to come from?”
Despite the fact that the education center lacks money, Brent strives to educate the public and raise awareness about the conservation of wildlife. His passion extends into his personal life. Brent has two rescue animals at home: Peach, a 7-year-old schnauzer poodle mix and Hank, a savannah monitor lizard.
Brent hopes that future generations of children in Kentucky, starting with his son Grayson, will grow up with a greater appreciation of wildlife thanks to his work.
