Training Center Overview

Administration Building from the Courtyard

Texas Game Wardens are known as being among the best-trained conservation officers in the country.  They also have a proud lineage.

In 1946 the first Texas Game Warden Academy was held in College Station.  That first class had 14 students; it lasted four months.  The academy moved to Austin in 1975.  Based in a converted Austin warehouse, it was becoming encroached on all sites by neighborhood development.

A New Home near Hamilton

The Police Activities League approached the agency in 2005 about donating more than 200 acres of the ranch it owned in rural Hamilton County.  This became the next home of the Texas Game Warden Training Center.  The first cadet class graduated there in 2009.  This facility has also combined training for both Game Warden and Park Police Officer cadets, who train together in the same cadet classes.

Multi-Year Project

The development of this modern training center has been and continues to be a multi-year, multi-million dollar project.  Private donations and corporate sponsorships have been a critical factor in realizing the vision of a world-class facility.  Donations are sponsorships are still actively being sought, as there are a few more structures that need to be built.

Site Infrastructure

The Texas Game Warden Training Center started with road construction, water and electric improvements and expansion,  It continued with upgrades to existing facilities, security fencing, walkways, site signage, and other enhancements.  Today it operates numerous modern buildings, its own water supply, and acres of nearby fields.  The entire complex is used exclusively to train commissioned conservation officers for the State of Texas.

Energy Conservation

All buildings have been designed according to the State Energy Code, which adopted the International Energy Conservation Code.

Ongoing Operating Costs

One goal of the capital campaign is creating an endowment fund sufficient to satisfy operating costs over and above those that were incurred by the former Austin training facility.