Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Podcast & Blast with Hal Herring

Montana-based multimedia journalist and Outside magazine correspondent Elliott Woods served as a soldier in Iraq and was an embedded reporter in Afghanistan, where he won a National Magazine Award for his work. His film about elk hunting in the Durfee Hills of Montana – a parcel of public land completely blocked by private land held by the billionaire Wilks brothers – was released in 2017. This podcast was recorded along the Flathead River.

After almost two years of trying, Hal catches up with Adam Gall, visionary fishing and big game guide who, with his wife Ana, started Timber to Table Guide Service based in Paonia, Colorado. Adam's dream: to create a guide service for people who may never have hunted before but who want to learn the entire process – from the rifle to the hunt to field dressing, butchering and cooking the very best wild game recipes. Adam's business is about experience, the heritage of ethical hunting and conservation, and the freedom of the wild Colorado public lands where it all takes place. Hal and Adam talk guiding – Adam also has a more traditional guide service called Dark Timber Outfitters – big bulls, big mule deer bucks, big trout on the Gunnison, farming and gardening on the small scale, and a lot more.

Hal goes to Washington, D.C., with Land Tawney to hunt up Land's sister Whitney, who has worked for Ducks Unlimited for seven years. More importantly, Whitney has just added a wild-eyed new conservation and hunting legend to the family line: a baby named Henry Philip who joins the group briefly in this ferociously wide ranging conversation about roots, family, waterfowl and elk – and making sure that what we love the most is around for the next generation.

In this episode Hal catches up with T. Edward Nickens, editor at large at Field & Stream magazine and author of the Total Outdoorsman Series of books. Eddie is an old-school Southern gentleman and a consummate outdoorsman and conservation leader, and he writes about it all with the depth and passion of the greatest of the Romantic poets. Eddie and Hal had a huge amount of pure fun doing this podcast. "I've read his work with respect and admiration for 15 years," says Hal, "but we'd never crossed paths until now."

Hal Herring and longtime BHA member and British Columbian Bill Hanlon swap stories in Whitefish, Montana. Hanlon tells the tale of his incredible 1999 adventure that begins with a Dall sheep hunt in northern British Columbia and ends with a wild discovery of the remains of an ancient hunter. It's a story of one hunting culture connecting with another over the centuries and into modern times. This is a hunting journey like no other, and it's not to be missed.

Hal Herring talks with David Ledford, president and CEO of the Appalachian Wildlife Foundation. They discuss Ledford's history as a biologist, the accidental wildlife boom on reclaimed mines, how the private sector works with conservation, tracking birds with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Kentucky's wildlife success story, the differences between mountain lions and bobcats, diversifying the future of coal country, fundraising for the Appalachian Wildlife Center and more.

Hal Herring talks with father and son team Barry Whitehill of Alaska and Kai Whitehill of Montana at the 7th Annual BHA North American Rendezvous in Boise, Idaho. The outfitters and BHA life members talk with Hal about growing into an appreciation of wild places, snaring a rabbit, barbecuing iguanas, occupying ancient campsites, the unpredictability of The Grizz and an adventure worthy of a Stephen King novel.

Hal Herring sits down with Johnny Carrol Sain, a writer and native Arkansan who lives in Newton County, Arkansas. They discuss the legend of the Dover Lights, learning to fly fish, Ned Christie's troubles, 30 years of bowhunting, the author David Petersen, the spiritual nature of hunting, squirrel dogs, water quality in the South, the meaning of purple paint, Robert Redford's The Unforeseen, incentivizing conservation, crappie fishing and the wild breadth of the Arkansas River.

Hal Herring talks with Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia and legendary outdoorsman, at the 2018 BHA North American Rendezvous in Boise, Idaho. They discuss Chouinard's roots, hunting jackrabbits with goshawks, replacing stuff with knowledge, a business borne of necessity, Chouinard's climbing crew, rugby shirts and corduroy pants, the Patagonia method of management, the cure for depression, national monuments, an agricultural revolution and the joys of simplicity.

Hal Herring talks with historian and conservationist Lamar Marshall in Calloway, North Carolina. They discuss Lamar's work with members of the Cherokee nation to conserve the Bankhead National Forest, the Forest Service policing their own, good stewardship of the Earth, converting hardwood to loblolly pine, preserving cultural heritage on public lands, mapping historic trails in North Carolina, the importance of chestnuts, hunting and fishing in the South, homesteading, Lamar's favorite books, and much more.

Hal Herring talks with historian and conservationist Lamar Marshall in Calloway, North Carolina. They discuss Lamar's work with members of the Cherokee nation to conserve the Bankhead National Forest, the Forest Service policing their own, good stewardship of the Earth, converting hardwood to loblolly pine, preserving cultural heritage on public lands, mapping historic trails in North Carolina, the importance of chestnuts, hunting and fishing in the South, homesteading, Lamar's favorite books, and much more.

Hal Herring talks with Brandon Butler, Executive Director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri. They discuss Missouri's historic conservation ethic, Indiana's Kankakee swamp, bowhunting and Fred Bear, Brandon's place in eastern conservation and his first trip west, bringing back whitetails and turkeys, the special culture of the Ozarks, staying active in democracy and much more.

Hal Herring talks with Tony Bynum, prolific professional photographer and conservationist. They discuss life in East Glacier, the fundamentals of photography, traveling in Africa, documenting prairie landscapes, the tenets of wilderness, going where no one goes, completing long-term projects, Tony's favorite shots, the combination of background and light, joining BHA, and much more.

Hal Herring talks with firearms instructor Tiger McKee in Langston, Alabama. They discuss their longtime friendship, why training matters, bench rest accuracy, the field as the final exam, confidence as a barometer, the four fundamentals of marksmanship, natural point of aim, the importance of dry-firing, Tiger's Shootrite Firearms Academy and much more.

Hal Herring sits down with John Snow, Shooting Editor at Outdoor Life. They chat about the longevity of Outdoor Life, fishing as a first love, tricking people into eating squirrel, the importance of day four in the backcountry, leaving New York City, the story behind the 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, monolithic bullets and choosing calibers, and much more.

Hal Herring sits down with Ryan Busse, BHA National Board Chair. Busse lives in Kalispell, Montana and he's an avid fisherman, bird dog lover, and elk chaser. They discuss BHA's contagious energy, raising conservation-minded kids, wandering the country alone, gerrymandering, natural resource issues in modern politics, the economic value of public lands, voting against our own self-interests, dreams of a new political life, Hal's suspicions of the liberal left, and much more.

Hal Herring sits down with BHA's Sawyer Connelly and Trey Curtiss and with BHA member Jim Giese to talk about BHA's Hunting for Sustainability program. They discuss Hunting for Sustainability and the program's origin, Jim's evolution as a hunter, BHA's rapidly growing Collegiate Club program, learning to hunt on your own, Trey's 2017 bull elk, Sawyer's first deer, teaching others how to hunt, and much more.

Hal Herring sits down with Roy Jacobs, a hunter and longtime BHA member and Montana chapter board member in Pendroy, Montana. Hal and Roy talk about the history of Pendroy and northern Montana, relics of war on the Rocky Mountain Front, living and hunting in Africa, mosquitoes in Alaska, how gear has changed hunting, the evolution of bowhunting, traditional vs. compound archery, Montana's hunting seasons, how private landowners benefit wildlife, the necessity of protecting wilderness, Florida's backcountry, and much more.

Hal talks with hunters Hannah Jean Nikonow and Liza Sautter. They discuss growing up as hunters, being Millennials, the political nature of hunting, hunting with your parents, hunters education, squirrel hunting, the Bitterroot Mountains, knowing your limits, flock shooting, the positive side of social media, and much more.

Outdoor writer Hal Herring catches up with his good friend Kevin Timm of Seek Outside. They discuss getting into fishing as kids, knowing the country, mountains vs. water, elk acting like bighorns, mountaineering in Colorado, peakbagging, being a mentor, giving up on elk, hunting with kids, building better tents and what it means to be "pure granola." And so much more.

Hal Herring talks with Ron Mills of Mills Wilderness Adventures. They discuss Ron's guiding business, stories from the Bob Marshall Wilderness, what makes a good horse, how mules and horses differ, and much more.

Outdoor writer and BHA Podcast & Blast host Hal Herring sits down with Kris Millgate of Tight Line Media. They discuss the occupation of Malheur Wildlife Refuge and penguin walks on ice, being comfortable in the face of danger, Millgate's trajectory in the world of journalism, ecology as economy, childhood and public lands, trapping and tracking grizzly bears, what grizz smell like, predators on the landscape, wildlife management, living in small towns, honesty as the best policy, and much more.

Outdoor writer and BHA Podcast & Blast host Hal Herring talks with Chris Hunt, Brett Prettyman, and Mark Taylor of Trout Unlimited. They talk the adventures they've had, the areas they work in, fly fishing blackwater swamps, grizzlies and cutthroats in Yellowstone, bucket biology, dead bodies on the Blue Ridge Parkway, whiskey & fly fishing culture, restoring habitat for native brook trout, the history of shad, dams and city ponds, the Clean Water Act and the myths around it, and much more.

Hal Herring sits down with Rich Landers of The Spokesman-Review and Pat Wray, freelance writer and author of multiple books, including A Chukar Hunter's Companion. The three writers discuss the transition of traditional media and how to be a writer in today's climate, a journalist's responsibility, what it means to freelance, the world of upland hunting, catch and release fishing, hognose snakes, game management and wolves, the art of chukar hunting, bird dogs, and much more.

Hal Herring talks with Mark Norquist of Modern Carnivore and Chef Lukas Leaf, both are BHA Minnesota Board Members and active volunteers in our Minnesota Chapter, and both have worked consistently on substantial issues in Minnesota's Boundary Waters. The trio discusses adult hunter education and the factors drawing in new hunters, the merits of wild game, venison's bad rep, foraging for mushrooms, mining the BWCA, the interconnectedness of the BWCA watershed, why dirt is important, and much more.

Hal Herring talks with Jim Posewitz, writer and ethicist, and founder of Orion: The Hunters Institute, as well as Andrew Posewitz and Land Tawney. The four gentlemen discuss the history of conservation, Jim's first deer, why we see the animals we see on public lands today, balancing sports and hunting season, the North American Wildlife Conservation Model, the power of people within a democracy, trophy animals and what they represent, how to write a college paper, protecting fisheries in 1864, the pull of Montana and the West, and much more.

Hal Herring talks with Anthony Licata, Editorial Director of the Bonnier Lifestyle Group, including publications Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Popular Science, and Saveur. They discuss Licata's journey in the world of publishing, legendary outdoor writers, the importance of hunting and fishing with family, fishing stripers alongside humpback whales outside of Brooklyn, the art of being a modern generalist, BHA's hard hunting membership, the unlikeliness of American public lands, and so much more.

Hal Herring talks with Steven Rinella, author, hunter, and host of the television show MeatEater. The two outdoor writers discuss squid jigging, 9/11, fishing in the Lake Huron, trapping in Michigan, heading West, fish before dams, the recovery of multiple species, short-sighted conservation, what came before us, hunting as tangible goods, outdoor recreation, people as watermelons, unspoiled places, hunting in the jungle, native wildlife vs non-native wildlife, and much more.

Hal Herring talks with Randy Newberg, Land Tawney, and Mike Schoby from this spring's Rendezvous 2017 in front of a live audience. The fellas discuss outdoor writing, the Smith River mine, hunting as participants, the vast diversity of our public lands, hunting internationally, that one place you'd hunt anywhere in the world, audience questions, and more.

Hal Herring and Land Tawney kick off BHA's first episode of 'Cast and Blast with discussions of a public land sheep hunt, hunting with your children, wolverines & other predators, our public lands heritage, and much more.