WISCONSIN (NBC 26) — As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on NBC 26, we’re introducing you to Lt. Juan Gomez with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Gomez has been with the DNR since 2008.
When he first began his career as a field warden he was stationed in Burlington (Racine County) which encompassed portions of Kenosha County.
His career then took him to Walworth County where he spent several years there.
In 2017, Gomez was promoted and began supervising wardens across Fond du Lac and Sheboyagan Counties.
While this man has turned his love for the outdoors into a career, this wasn't initially how he grew up.
“I did not grow up hunting fishing, my family wasn’t an outdoor family,” Gomez said.
Gomez was born and raised in Chicago and as a city boy it wasn’t until his family sent him to a summer camp in Eagle River, where he first became exposed to outdoor recreation.
“My passion for the outdoors maybe not associated with the hunting or fishing aspect that I have with my job started to grow. I was introduced to boating, fishing at a younger age but it was through the camp lifestyle,” Gomez said.
Watch video below to learn more about Gomez's upbringing and how he first immersed himself with the outdoors:
Years later Gomez went on to attend the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.
It was during his time there that he experienced what it was like to be living in Wisconsin during hunting season.
“I saw a lot of dead deer carcasses on vehicles. I found it strange at the time what activity was taking place and what I was seeing," Gomez said.
As that quickly sparked his curiosity, he soon met with an advisor.
With guidance from that advisor Gomez soon enrolled into a hunter safety course.
“I found it interesting listening to their conversation pieces, their experiences, their line of work, which then encouraged me to continue to look down that path of becoming a conservation warden,” Gomez said.
Watch below as he further explains his path in becoming a conservation warden:
As a Spanish speaker he says his bilingual skills have also been an asset to the job.
From time to time he gets to meet with other Latinos he encounters on the job.
“my interaction with Latinos in the field was more in the fishing side of things. I didn’t encounter that many Latinos in the hunting side,” Gomez said speaking from his encounters in the field.
For now as this city boy is now raising three little ones, he says he can’t wait to continue immersing his children in outdoor recreation.
Gomez explains what he's done in the past to help immerse new hunters into the activity. He's been fortunate to have organized several learn-to-hunt programs.
Watch video below to learn more:
