Victor Emanuel

Austin | Ecotourism Guide

The founder, owner and manager of one of the largest American ecotourism guiding services and travel agencies (Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, or “VENT”, based in Austin), Mr. Emanuel was well known as a birder who also sought to promote and protect the habitat that the wildlife he loved depend on. He joined the Outdoor Nature Club in Houston as a child, formed the first Audubon Christmas bird count in Texas in his teens, served as executive director of the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, and served on the boards of a number of state and national conservation groups, including the Texas Ornithological Society, RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, Nature Conservancy of Texas, and other groups. One of his last efforts was to spur formation of the non-profit Victor Emanuel Young Naturalist Camp Scholarship Fund to promote the study and love of the natural world.