Jim Zumbo has always been enamored with everything outdoors. As a youngster he had pet spiders, frogs, snakes and praying mantises, and he spent hours observing his tropical fish. He loved to read outdoor books about animals, which ultimately led to his interest in reading. He enjoyed English classes in high school. After reading his compositions, his English teacher told him he should consider being a writer. After graduation from high school, he attended two colleges. He didn’t study journalism but earned two degrees in forestry and wildlife management. While in college he wrote an outdoor column for the student newspaper and, despite tough odds, he was able to sell a feature article to Outdoor Life magazine when he was 22 years old. After graduation he worked for 15 years as a forest ranger and game warden, and he continued to freelance write for several magazines in his spare time.

For years Jim has been heavily involved with veterans, especially combat-injured disabled veterans. Recognizing that the majority of them suffer from PTSD, he has taken more than 250 on hunts from Africa to Alaska. Some are individual hunts and many are group hunts orchestrated by the many foundations he works with as a volunteer.

He was President of Alaska’s Healing Hearts for several years and has worked with these foundations — Trinity Oaks (Texas), Hunting With Heroes (Wyoming) Sportsmens Foundation for Military Families (Florida), and Veterans Afield (Maine). For 30 years, he has been involved with (and is co-founder of) the Helluva Hunt in Wyoming which has taken 450 disabled persons antelope hunting.

Jim is widely known among local friends as a serious firewood aficionado. He can frequently be seen obtaining firewood from the national forests as well as secret spots and is proud of his woodpile which once boasted 100 cords. It’s said that he suffers from ECFD (Excessive Compulsive Firewood Disorder). During the warm summer days, you’ll find him tending his crawfish traps. This is a big deal (for him) and he claims he catches 2,000-3,000 annually from local ponds. Most are cooked and nicely frozen, assuring many crawfish meals throughout the year. Though Jim is best known for hunting and, in fact, has been called one of the foremost authorities on western big game hunting, he is a passionate fisherman. He delights in cooking undesirable fish and making them taste great. He also pickles, smokes, and cans fish. He enjoys processing his fish and animals and converts his big game into steaks, roasts, stews, burger, sausage, and jerky.