Nature’s Secret Service, S2 Ep06: Kathy Ponting

Lieutenant Kathy Ponting is a legend among game wardens of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (formerly the California Department of Fish and Game). A second-generation warden, Kathy rose to the rank of lieutenant and oversaw the elite Special Operations Unit. Unlike uniformed wardens assigned to patrol work, the wardens in SOU were plain clothes investigators and worked as a cohesive unit on long-term or highly complex investigations usually involving illegal commercialization of wildlife or egregious take of wildlife. Wardens in SOU were known to work insanely long and unpredictable hours and had a reputation for being extremely tenacious and dedicated to the mission. Positions in SOU were not easy to come by and not every warden was a good fit. Join Ed for his conversation with Kathy about her team's effort to save the California abalone population from decimation.