When Nick Fisher was just three years old, his family moved from Indiana to rural Bastrop County, Texas. His mom was nervous—mostly about snakes. Nick, on the other hand, was thrilled.
“I was always flipping over rocks, looking for creepy crawly creatures,” he says. “I used to gift my mom bugs—sometimes alive, sometimes not—because I appreciated them and figured she should, too.”
That early fascination became the spark for a lifelong passion. Today, Nick is a region manager at Plateau Land and Wildlife Management, where he helps private landowners across Central Texas transition from traditional agriculture to wildlife management. Since 2021, he’s helped convert over 70,000 acres to conservation-focused practices that support native wildlife and ecosystems.
Nick credits his parents and the Texas outdoors for nurturing his curiosity. He grew up fishing with his dad and camping in state parks, often with a headlamp on, searching for frogs and snakes late into the night. In high school, he became intrigued by conservation efforts aimed at protecting the endangered Houston toad, and the more he learned, the more convinced he became that he was meant for a career in wildlife. He earned his wildlife biology degree from Texas State University, where herpetology was, unsurprisingly, his favorite class.
But the road to a conservation career wasn’t immediate. For 13 years, Nick worked at H-E-B, starting as a high school bagger and rising through the ranks to store leadership. It was a demanding job—but even in the grocery aisles, Nick found ways to put his wildlife knowledge to work.
“Any time a bat got into the store, I was the one they called to safely catch and relocate it,” he recalls. “I once pulled a rat snake out of someone’s engine in the parking lot because she refused to leave until it was gone. I used it as a chance to explain how beneficial they are.”
Those moments of wildlife rescue in the most unexpected places kept his conservation fire lit. When a full-time position opened at Plateau, Nick brought with him not only field experience and a wildlife degree, but also years of leadership and customer service. It was a natural fit.
Nick joined Stewards of the Wild, the conservation leadership program of Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, in 2023. Though he joined the Austin Chapter, he quickly found his niche on the Statewide Conservation Committee, and he now serves as co-chair of its Native Habitats Subcommittee.
“I’ve met so many people through Stewards who come from completely different backgrounds—attorneys, accountants, creatives—but we all care deeply about wildlife and the land,” he says. “That sense of shared purpose is powerful.”
One of his favorite Stewards experiences was a trip to Caldwell Ranch in the Davis Mountains, where the committee gathered for a weekend of conservation planning and connection. “It was eye-opening,” he says. “It reminded me that we all have a role to play, no matter what our day jobs are.”
Through his committee role, Nick is helping organize an upcoming field trip in partnership with the Native Prairies Association of Texas. The goal is to highlight how meaningful conservation work can happen on properties of any size, from rural ranchlands to urban yards.
At home in Kyle, Nick and his wife are raising two young nature lovers of their own. His kids eagerly join him outdoors, whether it’s exploring rivers or looking for snakes (though his wife still prefers to admire the creepy crawlies from a safe distance). Nick is quick to credit her for her patience and sense of adventure. “I’m so grateful for her willingness to travel the state—and sometimes the country—with me, listening to me ramble about birds or stopping the car while I gawk out the window. She’s braved rural camping trips with no cell service and hikes where I’ve said ‘we’re almost there’ way too many times.”
“My ultimate goal is to be a leader in conservation,” he says. “Whether that’s through my job, through Stewards, or just by teaching my kids to love nature the way I do, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
