“Absolutely fascinating to hear stories from the men and women who are protecting species that are at risk…including plants. Even more interesting to see how illegal smuggling of endangered species is often tied to other crimes. Also the humor in these stories is top notch”

Join Ed and wildlife officer Todd Vandivert, formerly of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police, talk about Operation Cody, Todd's investigation into widespread trafficking in wildlife species native to the state of Washington.

Be in the room when Ed reunites with his old friend Craig Spencer, founder of the Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit and the NGO Transfrontier Africa. Craig has a long history of combating wildlife crimes in Southern Africa. Craig and Ed discuss everything from rhino horn trafficking, to elephant ivory trafficking, to engagement with local communities and wildlife conservation education.

Join Ed in a conversation with Nkateko Mzimba and Collet Ngobeni, two rangers from the Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit based at the Olifants West Nature Reserve in South Africa. The Black Mambas patrol a 25,000 acre reserve inside the greater Kruger ecosystem that is home to elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalo, and all of the species native to the Southern African bush. Listen as the rangers describe their duties and some of their adventures and close calls protecting the important wildlife that is often under threat from commercial poachers and wildlife traffickers.

We've talked about confidential informants before. Now, you get to meet one! Pete Paxton is the best C.I. I worked with while I was a special agent. He's professional, cool as a cucumber, and very good at what he does. This is your chance to sit down with Ed and Pete Paxton to talk about what it's like to be an informant and how they interact with sworn law enforcement officers.

Plant crimes resurface this week but, this time, in the form of American ginseng! A native plant found throughout the Appalachian Mountains, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and under heavy pressure from unscrupulous commercial collectors. Join Ed and former special agent Tom Chisdock as they discuss the threats to the species, the illegal trade, and Tom's great work exposing a ginseng trafficker who also sold opioids straight from the same store that served tourists coming and going from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The abalone: A marine snail found off the coast of California and in just a handful of other places around the world. With populations crashing due to global warming, the species isn't helped by unscrupulous poachers who illegally collect abalone in commercial quantities to be sold to Asian buyers. Lieutenant Kathy Ponting is a legendary former game warden with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife who led their elite Special Operations Unit (SOU) for many years. Her plain clothes team was skilled at conducting undercover work and earned a solid reputation as one of the best surveillance teams among all of the law enforcement agencies operating in California.

Former US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Walter Duran joins us from his home in Miami to discuss his role in Operation Ornery Birds. The underground world of wildlife trafficking sometimes takes strange twists and turns and doesn't always involve exotic species from far away lands. Many wildlife species native to the United States find their way into the illegal wildlife trade. Every year, our native songbirds are trapped and sold into the exotic pet trade. This week, you're at the table to hear Walter describe how bird traffickers trap and sell wild birds native to the U.S. and why they do it. The answers will shock you. All migratory birds in the United States are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (17 USC 703) and it is a felony to sell or offer to sell, or take (capture or kill) with the intent to sell, any migratory bird or their parts.

Author Bryan Christy sits down with Ed to talk about the world of the reptile trade and reptile trafficking. Christy is the author of The Lizard King, a book that chronicles the origins and history of a reptile supply company known as Strictly Reptiles and its controversial owners Ray and Mike Van Nostrand. Bryan and Ed will talk about the late Charles "Chip" Bepler, a US Fish and Wildlife Service special agent who spent years pursuing and making a case against Strictly and Mike Van Nostrand. The story will open your eyes to the seedy underbelly of the world of "pet" reptiles and even surprise you as it exposes the intense rivalry between criminal and lawman, all-the-while telling the true story of the personal lives and emotions driving the two adversaries hell bent on defeating each other. 

Meet Captain Dan Brinson, previously with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police. Dan was an important influence on Ed, as well as a role model and mentor. Sit in on Ed's wide-ranging conversation with Dan about everything from officer discretion to the role wildlife officers can sometimes play in protecting the public from unseen safety threats. In Ed's opinion, Dan is one of the most intelligent and most ethical wildlife law enforcement officers to ever wear a badge and carry a gun. Tune in and find out why. By the end of the episode, we bet you'll agree.

Lt. George Wilson spent 36 years working as a law enforcement officer for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and recently retired as the lieutenant overseeing the FWC's statewide investigations unit. Since his retirement, George has been consulting with a private organization known as Exulans (www.exulans.net) that provides training and investigative support to emerging countries through a contract with WildAid. George and the Exulans team recently worked to help the nation of Bahamas crack down on illegal charter fishing in Bahamian waters by US based charter boat captains. George is a top-notch investigator who thinks out of the box and now he's sharing that knowledge around the world. Watch for more episodes of Nature's Secret Service with George as he and Ed had many successful joint projects during their careers. 

Forty years after US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Marie Palladini took on alligator skin traffickers, Wildlife Officer Jeff Babauta of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) was back at it trying to tackle illegal shenanigans associated with the American alligator. It's not skins this time. Now, Jeff is onto widespread laundering of wild caught alligator eggs and hatchlings, an illegal business that can rack up hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of dollars in profits for traffickers. The practice seriously hampers alligator conservation and can have dramatic impacts on alligator nesting success from year to year. 

Did you know that the very first federal law enforcement officer to ever conduct undercover work was a US Fish and Wildlife Service officer? It makes sense because the US Fish and Wildlife Service is among the oldest federal law enforcement agencies in the United States. Join Ed and his guest Mark Madison, historian for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, to hear about the earliest Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement pioneers. 

In 1962, USFWS Agent Vic Blasevic was ambushed by poachers and shot twice at close range. Join Ed and retired Special Agent Jerry Smith as they talk about who Vic was, what he was like, and how he survived those harrowing events on a dark a cold Illinois cornfield. Ed will relay the story of Vic's ambush straight from notes he took during an interview Ed had with Vic before he died. If you only listen to one episode of this podcast, this is the one.  CORRECTION - This episode references the Central Flyway but should have referenced the Mississippi Flyway.

Get ready to go on patrol in Los Angeles with Ed the Fed and Captain Michele Budish of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Get a feel for what it's like to work the front line with a hard charging warden. Will it be a night of non-stop action and excitement or routine patrol work? You'll find out as you join us for ... A Night on Patrol.

The number and quality of investigations, arrests, and cases mean nothing without good prosecutors willing to file charges and move forward with trials when necessary. For more than 20 years, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California (Los Angeles) has maintained a unit of prosecutors who are dedicated to handling cases involving environmental crime. Sit down with Ed for his discussion with Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA's) Matt O'Brien, Dennis Mitchell, and Mark Williams, three of the most experienced federal wildlife prosecutors in the country, to talk about some of their favorite cases and to learn about how the US Attorney's Office works with agencies like the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

This is the final episode of Season 2 of Nature's Secret Service. Get ready for Season 3, which will premiere in early 2026.