Former Louisiana Wildlife Secretary Faces Federal Charges in Kickback Scheme 🧑‍⚖️

While we continue to slowly inch back towards the weekend, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get into what this beautiful Tuesday has to offer.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• Crooked Joe Jack - Former Louisiana Wildlife Secretary in hot water 🧑‍⚖️

• When cooler heads do not prevail - One man dead after dispute erupts between two fishermen 🙏

• 3 million 120 million acres - New map shows just how much public land we could lose 🗺️

• It’s a ribeye, sir - Watch as this wolf proudly carries off his latest kill 🐄 

YA BUSTED
FORMER LOUISIANA WILDLIFE SECRETARY FACES FEDERAL CHARGES IN KICKBACK SCHEME

A former bureaucrat has (surprisingly) been ensnared in a massively corrupt kickback scheme in Louisiana and was in a federal court last week with his first attempt at pleading his case. 

Jack Montoucet, the former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, has been indicted on five federal charges related to an alleged kickback scheme involving a statewide department contract. The case, which is currently unfolding in Lafayette, Louisiana, centers on accusations of bribery, money laundering, and wire fraud, with the conspiracy allegedly spanning from May 2020 to June 2022. On Thursday of last week, Montoucet appeared before Magistrate Judge Carol Whitehurst, where he pleaded not guilty to five charges stemming from a May 2025 indictment and has expressed readiness to defend himself at trial.

Montoucet served as the LDWF Secretary until his sudden resignation in October 2023, following questions about the contract at the heart of the case…

🙏 Boat Collision Sparks Fatal Confrontation Between Two Fishermen. A mid-week altercation turned fatal last Wednesday on a California lake after a pair of fishermen were unable to solve a dispute peacefully. According to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, Joshua Timothy Holtzclaw and Trenten Paul Black got into a heated discussion following a boat collision while on the water at Moss Landing Harbor that escalated when Black boarded Holtzclaw’s boat, leading to a physical confrontation. During the struggle, Black fell into the water, and witnesses reported that Holtzclaw struck him with a stick before fleeing the scene.

A nearby vessel attempted to rescue Black with a life preserver but was unsuccessful. Next up was the Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard, who were later able to recover Black’s body. The following day, MCSO announced that they had charged Holtzclaw with one count of voluntary manslaughter and set his bail at $200,000. He’s now facing upwards of 11 years in prison, but as authorities continue to seek additional statements to clarify the circumstances surrounding the deadly incident, they are emphasizing that the investigation remains active.

🗺️ New Map Highlights 120 Million Acres of Public Land That Could Be Sold From Right Under Our Noses. Big can be beautiful, but it’s certainly a matter of taste.  But when it comes to Senate bills, big and beautiful are two words that often don’t coincide with one another. And while this massive bill might be shooting for the moon with some big promises that should, and in all likelihood will, result in economic prosperity for this country, as general outdoor enthusiasts, we all ought to remain vigilant to some of the wording surrounding the sale of our public lands.

David Willms from the National Wildlife Federation has taken it upon himself to parse through the bill’s language and potential intent in just that area of interest and his findings are far more dire than most of us had originally anticipated.

An attorney himself, Willms exposed in a podcast that the bill targets “isolated” or “inefficient” parcels for disposal, ostensibly to support affordable housing, but vague definitions and loopholes could allow sales for other purposes without public input or environmental review. His findings highlight that some of the language in this bill could very well reshape the western United States by using a vague yet expansive definition worded as “associated community needs” as it pertains to the sale of available public lands.

In creating an interactive map outlining all of the possible land included, the NWF has stated that upwards of 120 million acres is now at stake - a far cry from the 2 or 3 million acres we reported on last week.

If passed, the definition of “associated community needs” will remain as ambiguous as intended. Affordable housing? Perhaps. But only if we have enough golf courses, AI data centers, shopping malls, mining operations, resorts and solar farms first, k?

1. The person you idolize isn’t as good as you think. The person you look down on isn’t as bad as you think.

2. You mean to tell me that you cooked a trio of eggs you secured from a local farmer perfectly over-easy, sopped up the golden yolks with fresh bread and washed it down with a glass of ice cold raw milk and you don’t believe in God?!?

3. What’s on your resume is not as important as what will be said during your eulogy.

4. The best choices compound.  The worst ones too.

5.  Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.” - CS Lewis 🙏

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🐄 Moose or cow? Some people seem to think this wolf found himself a moose to chomp on but to me, it looks as though this fella is getting his fill of grass-fed beef.

Pass me a ribeye, would ya?

Oh, and one more thing…