#132 - Cartels, Gunfights, Grows & Poisoned Wildlife: The Hidden War Nobody Sees w/John Nores

"As a game warden, what's the closest you've ever been to dying in the woods?"

Episode 132 of The Wild Chaos Podcast is streaming NOW on YouTube and all major podcast platforms! Watch the full episode in studio here: https://youtu.be/MMl49aceTLI

Retired California game warden Lieutenant John Nores spent nearly three decades protecting wildlife and public lands, but his career eventually pulled him into a fight he never expected. What began with traditional game-warden work led John into illegal marijuana grows hidden deep inside California's mountains. John describes sophisticated water diversions, armed growers, toxic chemicals, poisoned wildlife, hidden camps, cartel-linked operations and raids that eventually turned into gunfights.

During one operation, John's young partner was struck by a rifle round that passed through both legs. With the mountainside still unsecured, John and his team fought to keep him alive for hours while waiting for an extraction. John says another armed grower was positioned only feet away and potentially seconds from shooting him before John's teammates engaged the threat.

John later helped build California Fish and Wildlife's Marijuana Enforcement Team, bringing together game wardens, tactical capabilities, K9s and other resources to target illegal grows while documenting their impact on wildlife, waterways and public lands.

John also takes Bam inside the world of game wardens: how much authority they actually have, the Open Fields Doctrine, where that authority can be abused, poaching investigations, undercover surveillance, hunting ethics and why some of the best wildlife officers are hunters themselves.

This conversation goes far beyond illegal marijuana. It's about the hidden dangers inside America's wilderness, the people protecting it and a war most Americans never realize is happening.

To follow John and learn more about his mission, visit: https://www.johnnores.com/hidden-war.html or purchase his best selling book here: Hidden War, 2nd edition: How Special Operations Game Wardens are Reclaiming America's Wildlands from the Drug Cartels

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