In this undated file photo, Brent McCarty is seen with a hawk. McCarty worked with Lincoln (not pictured), a bald eagle featured in a 2026 Super Bowl commercial. COURTESY OF BRENT MCCARTY

BY NICOLE GRAY, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

Brent McCarty, a parishioner of St. Martin Parish in Rome, Ky., first began working with birds of prey at the American Eagle Foundation when he was 19 years old. At the time, he had just completed his freshman year of college in the Wildlife Management program at Eastern Kentucky University. He viewed the opportunity as relevant experience for a future career, not yet realizing how deeply it would shape his life.

“I knew this would be a relevant experience,” McCarty explained. “I did not know, at the time, that I was going to fall in love with the public education side of wildlife management. I knew it was going to affect my career, but I didn’t know how.”

One of the most significant relationships formed during those early years was with Lincoln, a bald eagle McCarty began working with when the bird was still young. At the time, Lincoln was six and had relatively recently developed the white head and tail markings that bald eagles acquire around age five. Among staff, he was often referred to by his release tag number, “2-H,” though his proper name was always used publicly. Watching Lincoln mature reinforced for McCarty the patience, responsibility, and attentiveness required when caring for wildlife.

The idea of stewardship resonates deeply with McCarty and is central to his vocation.

“It really is the reason I got into this career in the first place,” he said. “I really feel like God calls us to take care of His creation.”

That conviction was strengthened through his studies and later through his work with birds of prey. He learned that hunting can be an important tool for managing healthy wildlife populations and gained a deeper understanding of the natural cycle of life and death.

Brent McCarty serves as a lector during Easter Mass in 2025. McCarty, an active parishioner at St. Martin in Rome, Ky., integrates his faith into his work with endangered wildlife. COURTESY OF NICOLE GRAY

McCarty did not begin hunting until he was 28, approaching it as an active participant in conservation rather than simply as a hobby. During his time at the American Eagle Foundation, he witnessed firsthand what happens when birds scavenge on carcasses contaminated with lead fragments from bullets.

“As a result,” he said, “I always hunt with nontoxic ammunition.”

This ensures that any hawk, eagle, owl, falcon, vulture, or other scavenger will not suffer lead poisoning from an animal he harvests.

McCarty’s Catholic faith informs both his work and daily life. Active at St. Martin Parish, he sees stewardship as a way of honoring God’s gifts.

“Faith teaches me that, just like the gift of creation, I should not squander my God-given talents,” he said. “I try to remember that putting in a hard day’s work is a way to glorify God. There are days when I fail at that.”

In February, Lincoln appeared in a Budweiser Super Bowl commercial, bringing unexpected national attention to work that typically happens behind the scenes. McCarty views moments like this as opportunities.

“Things like that Super Bowl commercial can draw attention to conservation in ways that normal means of education cannot,” he explained. With bald eagles approaching a significant milestone — the end of a 20-year monitoring period following their removal from the Endangered Species Act in 2007 — McCarty sees this moment as a success story.

“It’s a very big goal to reach,” he said. “Science achieved that goal.”

Reflecting on his life’s work, McCarty is most grateful for balance. His job’s flexibility allowed him to transfer from Frankfort back to Owensboro, giving him time with his family.

“I get to watch games and go to school programs,” he said. For McCarty, stewardship is not just about caring for wildlife, but about faithfully caring for all that God has entrusted to him.

Nicole Gray is the director of communications for St. Martin Parish.

Originally printed in the March 2026 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.