POMA member Brandon Butler’s cabin was recently burned down, in retaliation for turning in a poacher. His co-host Nathan “Shags” McLeod has started a GoFundMe to help Brandon replace his river raft and some other equipment. Please consider donating to help, if you can.

Brandon Butler’s cabin was burned down in retaliation for turning in a poacher during deer season. Brandon is the former executive director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, a noted outdoor writer and my co-host on the Driftwood Outdoors podcast. He has done so much for Missouri conservation over the last decade, and now has suffered a catastrophic loss at the hands of poacher.

For five years, Brandon poured his heart and soul into developing Driftwood Acres. He created a special place where people could experience nature and the beautiful, wild scenery of the Missouri Ozarks. He generously shared this cabin and property with countless others, and was especially proud of how many children spent time there playing in the creek, floating rivers and disconnecting from their devices for a little while.

Brandon had filled his cabin with so many sentimental pieces of his and his family’s past. The fire, set by an arsonist, took everything. He lost more family heirlooms than you can imagine. No amount of money can bring those items back, but we can help him and show support for a man who is suffering because he took a stand for wildlife and for all ethical hunters against the criminal culture of serial poachers.

I can’t count how many times Brandon rowed me and others down the Current River and other waters, letting us fish while he captained his raft. He was always glad to give others the opportunity to fish and experience the river. But like so many more possession of his, the raft was lost in the fire.

I think it would be wonderful if the conservation community would rally around Brandon and put him back on the water in the best float boat Missouri has ever seen. I know his spirit is only going to be strengthened from this experience, and that moving forward he will fight even harder for conservation, wildlife and the ethical use of our natural resources.