On The Wing Podcast

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever co-workers who love creating upland habitat and hunting for greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse. That trio includes PF’s North Dakota State Coordinator Emily Spolyar, PF’s Minnesota Public Lands Specialist Becca Kludt, and PF & QF’s Nebraska Coordinating Wildlife Biologist Ben Wheeler. Episode Highlights: · The group starts with a conversation about identifying the type of habitat greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse favor. They also describe the difference in grassland height preferred by prairie grouse compared to pheasants. · The conversation then moves into each participant’s tips for how to hunt sharp-tailed grouse and greater prairie chickens. · The discussion is rounded out with a forecast for greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse with an emphasis on Nebraska, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Check out PF & QF’s 2023 Prairie Grouse Primer for our state-by-state forecast. https://pheasantsforever.org/primer

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Director of Communications Jared Wiklund and Development Officer Jake Hanson to announce the organization’s new Public Access To Habitat (PATH) program. PATH opens to South Dakota landowners for enrollment on September 1st and to hunters for public hunting access later this autumn. Ben Brettingen, onXHunt’s Regional Manager, also jumps into the conversation to deliver the program’s first $250,000 contribution, in partnership with South Dakota Tourism, which will result in the PATH program’s first 10,000 acres of open access. Episode Highlights: · The group has gathered in northern Wisconsin to run their bird dogs together before setting up the podcasting gear and camp chairs for a conversation about bird dogs, upland hunting, and public access. · Wiklund explains how the creation of the Aberdeen Pheasant Coalition in 2013 was the precursor for this new statewide PATH program launching in South Dakota this autumn. · Hanson reminisces about predicting the future during episode 143 of On The Wing podcast while on the 2021 Rooster Road Trip, then directs landowners interested in learning more about PATH to connect with a PF Farm Bill Biologist in South Dakota. Special thanks to onXHunt and South Dakota Tourism for kicking off our new PATH program with the effort’s first contribution. Use the code PFQF at onxhunt.com for 20% off.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Ben Fleischacker, SCHEELS product development & sourcing expert AND a Pheasants Forever volunteer, along with PF & QF’s Erica Divan and Andy Fondrick for a conversation about the new line of PF & QF upland apparel and gear. The trio of avid bird hunters and bird dog owners talk about their philosophical approach to building the store’s assortment for the upcoming year. Episode Highlights: · Each individual talks about their favorite new apparel items in this year’s line that includes products from Simms, Orvis, and the SCHEELS Outfitters line. · The group also discusses the tagline “Purchase with a Purpose” and how SCHEELS has contributed to three new wildlife areas creating upland habitat and public access. Check out all the new Pheasants Forever items at PFStore.org and Quail Forever items at QFStore.org.

Host Bob St.Pierre welcomes Tim Springer, professional dog trainer and owner of Dynamic Retrievers, for a conversation about understanding a dog’s mental state. Joining the conversation are PF & QF’s membership marketing manager Emy Marier and public relations specialist Casey Sill who’ve both been training their young black Labrador retrievers with Springer this summer. Following a quick training session, St. Pierre and his guests break down the ins-and-outs of DIY retriever training, from blind retrieves and marking, to basic obedience in the house — all centered around the importance of understanding your dog’s mental perspective. Episode Highlights: · Marier talks about how Springer’s background in behavioral science resonated with her as she embarks on training her second bird dog, a one-year-old Lab named Lou. · Sill explains how his four-year-old Lab, Bruly, recently came up short on a hunt test and Springer walks through the training steps to help Bruly succeed the next time. Learn more about Tim’s training methods at www.DynamicRetrievers.com

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Director of Conservation Education Programs Colby Kerber and Hunting Heritage Program Manager Ashley Chance to talk about the organization’s brand new and FREE online educational video series. The How to Hunt Upland Birds online course features the stories of five hunters chasing a wide array of upland bird species in five different geographic regions. Videos include a mix of compelling personal narrative films and short how-to videos. Check out the video series trailer at www.howtohuntuplandbirds.org Thanks to our partners making this project a reality: • Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program • Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service • Backcountry Hunters & Anglers • Becoming an Outdoors Woman • Midwest Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies • Minority Outdoor Alliance • North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association • Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society • Modern Carnivore

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Chief Conservation Officer and biologist Ron Leathers to discuss the basics of pheasant and quail nesting season, while debunking some common myths. The guys also chat about what this year’s spring and summer conditions could mean for upland birds as state natural resource agencies head into August roadside counting. Episode Highlights: • Leathers explains the differences in what happens when a hen pheasant loses a NEST to factors such as predation, weather or haying versus what happens when a hen pheasant loses a BROOD that was successfully hatched. Then, Leathers runs through the similarities and differences in the quail nesting and reproduction biology. • Leathers closes the conversation emphasizing the need for more grassland habitat. In fact, he explains America’s Great Plains are the fastest disappearing ecosystem on the planet and our continent’s version of the rain forest.

Host Bob St.Pierre visits with Luc Ramthun, PF & QF’s senior corporate partnerships account executive, about the journey he’s been on with his first bird dog. The guys talk about Ramthun’s breed selection of a large Münsterländer, picking a puppy out of a litter, and training his pup for the upcoming hunting season. Episode Highlights: • Ramthun, a diehard fly angler, equates training his own bird dog to catching trout on a fly he has tied himself and explains how the Upland Institute, an online video-based training series, has been particularly helpful in training his bird dog independently. • St.Pierre also shares the stories of each of his first four bird dogs’ wild roosters and the serendipitous connection between them all.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Director of Sustainability Brent Rudolph for a conversation with Peter Byck, a filmmaker and professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability. The discussion focuses upon Byck’s new four-part documentary, “Roots So Deep (You Can See the Devil Down There).” The film’s trailer articulates its premise as “a big ole research project about farmers and scientists who are figuring out if the way cattle are being grazed can actually help solve climate change. In the process of looking for common ground between farming and science, the common ground is the dirt right beneath their feet.” SPOILER ALERT: Bobwhite quail play a surprising starring role throughout the documentary. Episode Highlights: • The film chronicles ten neighbors in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky who are managing their cattle operations through two distinctly different methods of grazing over a ten-year period. A team of scientists measure the differences these two grazing methods have on soil, water, insects, birds, biodiversity, climate resiliency, and carbon sequestration. • Two members of the famous country music band, Alabama, participate in the documentary as cattle ranchers and bobwhite quail lovers. Check out the trailer for “Roots So Deep (You Can See the Devil Down There)” at www.CarbonCowboys.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Travis Frank, host of The Flush, and Mitch Petrie, vice president of programing at Outdoor Channel, to preview the television show’s new 2023 season of adventures. The guys also talk about the evolving world of hunting television in the face of a culture cutting the chord on cable and satellite services. Episode Highlights: • Petrie tells the story of meeting Frank for the first time at a Pheasants Forever banquet and offering him a job the following day. • Frank breaks down some of his favorite episodes of the coming season that includes an Alaskan adventure chasing three species of ptarmigan and a hunt with Trampled by Turtles’ frontman Dave Simonett that included ruffed grouse, woodcock, and pheasants. • Petrie also talks about the hot streak Outdoor Channel owner Stan Kroenke is on as owner of the St. Louis Rams, Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, and Premier League’s Arsenal. The Flush airs on Outdoor Channel at the following times (all times Eastern): • Mondays at 9:30am • Wednesdays at 12:30pm • Fridays at 3:30pm • Saturdays at 8:30am • Sundays at 6:30am

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Habitat Education Program Manager Anna Swerczek and Monarch Joint Venture’s Executive Director Wendy Caldwell for a special Pollinator Week episode. The group’s conversation centers upon the habitat intersection between pheasants, quail, and pollinating insects with special attention focused on the monarch butterfly. Episode Highlights: • Swerzcek compares pollinator habitat plantings to food plots for pheasant and quail chicks who feast on the insects these pollinator plants nurture. • Caldwell explains the fascinating migration and life cycle of monarch butterflies. She also heralds the benefits of PF & QF’s habitat mission for pheasants and quail, and highlights that habitat work’s benefits to monarchs and a wide array of pollinating species. • Swerzcek also breaks down this year’s special Pollinator Week offer which includes a PF or QF membership, a Pollinator Week sticker, and six pollinator plant plugs that are geographically-appropriate based upon the purchaser’s location. Learn more at PheasantsForever.org/PollinatorWeek or QuailForever.org/Pollinator Week.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by a group of folks who have trained their bird dogs together every Wednesday night for the last four years under the tutelage of amateur dog trainer John Zeman. In a change-up in formats, St.Pierre starts and ends the episode talking to John Zeman with six rounds of conversations in between. Episode Highlights: • David Abel talks about his two wirehaired pointing griffons and his plans to bird hunt on horseback while camping this coming hunting season. • Callie Brown talks about the fun process of introducing her husband, Chris, to bird hunting and bird dogs through her long friendship with the Zeman family. • Xoua Shower Xiong & Andre Xiong talk about becoming adult-onset bird hunters as a young married couple, and the importance their shorthairs now occupy in their lives. They also talk about their love for chasing prairie grouse in the Nebraska Sandhills. • Julia Schrenkler returns to our podcast reminiscing about how her first shorthair, Wren, lead her to become a bird hunter ten years ago, and the importance of Wednesday evenings with the Zeman group for training her new pup, Nixie. • Richard Hansen explains the circumstances leading him to getting a German shorthair as the COVID pandemic started and how his pup, Debbie, has pushed him headfirst into training, bird hunting, and wildlife habitat conservation. • Paul Godfrey offers a variety of “dad” jokes as he explains his reactivation back into hunting through the addition of a Brittany puppy after coaching youth hockey during the last thirty years.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Keng Yang and Matt Addington, a professional photographer turned filmmaker, for a conversation about the creation of the film, “A Bird Dog Named Kaiya,” which is the story of Yang’s introduction to bird hunting. Growing up in urban America as a first-generation child of parents who immigrated from Laos, Yang found himself conflicted with his culture’s history of subsistence hunting. It was a bird dog that changed Yang’s perspective on hunting, while also mending a fractured relationship with his father. Episode Highlights: • Yang also joined St.Pierre for episode 200 following a cold Minnesota pheasant hunt. During that January episode at the beginning of the NFL Playoffs, Yang predicted the Minnesota Vikings would win the Super Bowl, so the group has fun reminiscing about that bold prediction. • Addington discusses how photography has added a sixth stage of his evolution as a hunter where he sees dogs, habitat, and hunting in a unique angle through a camera lens. Watch the “A Bird Dog Named Kaiya” at www.PheasantsForever.org/Kaiya with special thanks to the film’s presenting partners at Purina Pro Plan, Toyota, and Benelli.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dr. Jessica McGuire, a wildlife biologist and Quail Forever’s Working Lands for Bobwhite Quail Framework Coordinator, and Joe Burnam, Georgia DNR’s red-cockaded woodpecker biologist who also has an extensive background in bobwhite quail biology. Burnam and McGuire discuss how focusing on creating great red cockaded-woodpecker habitat using prescribed fire on the southeastern United States’ open pine woodlands also can help create a bobwhite quail population explosion. Episode Highlights: • McGuire explains the shared habitat need for an open pine forest between the red-cockaded woodpeckers living near the canopy to the gopher tortoises living at ground level (and sometimes underground), and bobwhite quail living on the ground and in between. • Burnam explains the “Safe Harbor” program that incentivizes landowners to create habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker by removing the fear around the Endangered Species Act. • McGuire points landowners to learn more about conservation programs available for improving wildlife habitat in the southeastern bobwhite quail range by visiting with a Quail Forever biologist. Find a QF Biologist near you. Reminder: Document the bobwhite quail you encounter to help us measure their nationwide population by using the new Bobscapes mobile app.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dave Simonett, lead singer of the band Trampled by Turtles, and Mike Wieben, head dog trainer at Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennels, for a conversation about Simonett’s two bird dogs. The conversation starts with a focus on Hrbek, Simonett’s Australian shepherd mix breed rescue, then transitions to Maxon, Simonett’s new German wirehaired puppy currently being trained by Wieben. Sincerest THANK YOU to SportDOG Brand for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast. Episode Highlights: • Simonett discusses his relatively new love for bird hunting and how it has reprioritized his autumn calendar and opened his eyes to the value of public lands. • The guys also compare the artistry of songwriting with the artistry of training a dog to reach its full potential as a bird dog. • Simonett also talks about his growing outdoors writing endeavors with recent stories in Garden & Gun magazine and Tom Beckbe’s Field Journal. Sign up for Simonett’s new newsletter, GOOD RECORD, at his website www.DeadManWinter.com Learn more about the collaboration between Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, and Trampled by Turtles through this fantastic article by Javier Serna that originally appeared in Outdoor News.

In this episode, hosts Marissa Jensen and Rachel Bush of PF & QF are taking over the podcast for a special Mother’s Day edition. They are joined by two special guests to celebrate the ups, downs, and in-betweens of raising a family outdoors. This episode’s guests include Susan Felege, PF & QF Board of Directors and Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of North Dakota, and Kata Miller, North Carolina Women on the Wing Quail Forever Chapter president. The episode is all about these mothers doing their best to raise their children with a love and appreciation for hunting and conservation. Episode Highlights: • Kata and Susan share the ways they get their families outdoors. • We all know that getting our kids outside can be challenging at times, but the rewards are worth it. Our guests share some of the challenges they’ve faced as well as those ah-ha moments. • Even when you think your kids aren’t listening or learning from you, they surprise you with their astute observations of nature when you’re least expecting it . . . and sometimes kids say the funniest things! • Secrets and snacks, our guests share what works best for them through the good times and the bad.

If given a choice, would land managers be better off adding pheasant nesting habitat in a few larger chunks or dispersed as a bunch of little tracts across the landscape to mitigate the impact of predators on pheasant populations? Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dr. Scott Taylor, the National Wild Pheasant Conservation Plan Coordinator, to talk about scientific research assessing small and large tracts of nesting habitat for pheasant reproduction. Episode Highlights: • Dr. Taylor discusses the importance of looking at pheasant habitat from “a neighborhood” point of view. • The guys also break down the importance of nesting cover, brood-rearing habitat, winter cover, and food plots as landowners approach maximizing their land for pheasant populations. Read Dr. Scott Taylor’s new essay, “Play Small Ball or Swing for the Fences?” on pheasant nesting cover and how tract size plays into reproduction success. https://pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Pheasants-Forever/Play-Small-Ball-or-Swing-for-the-Fences.aspx

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Tom Reed, Greg McReynolds, and Reid Bryant, the three principles behind the new Mouthful of Feathers book. Each participant previews their contributions to the upcoming book of short stories focused on bird hunting and bird dogs with a heavy dose of literary prose absent of how-to essays. Episode Highlights: • Byrant, host of the Orvis Hunting and Shooting podcast, recounts assembling a group of outdoors writers at a northern Minnesota grouse hunting lodge in 2017 that included Reed, McReynolds, and St.Pierre all meeting for the first time. • McReynolds, who works at Trout Unlimited with Reed, talks about the intersection between Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, and Trout Unlimited as the habitat created through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) benefiting upland game birds and cold-water fish species. The new Mouthful of Feathers book will be available in a print edition this summer and includes stories from Quail Forever Editor Chad Love and PF & QF’s Conservation Leadership Program Manager Marissa Jensen.

Bobwhite quail have long been known as a “fire bird,” because of their positive population response to habitat improved through fire management. In this episode, host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three PF & QF employees for a conversation covering the science and art of using prescribed fire as a wildlife habitat management tool for bobwhite quail. The trio includes Missouri State Coordinator Andrew White, Missouri Prescribed Fire Coordinating Wildlife Biologist Wes Buchheit, and Missouri Habitat Specialist Crew Leader Dylan Jacobs. Episode Highlights: • White describes the importance of early successional habitat for bobwhite quail and explains how fire is utilized to maintain the integrity of grasslands as an ecosystem. • In a fascinating sequence, Jacobs equates prescribed fire to an artform, his drip torch to a paint brush, and a natural landscape to a canvas. • Buchheit explains how QF’s efforts to embrace fire through government policy, partnerships, and public education are turning the tide for the state’s quail populations. • Each participant also puts in words of support for their favorite bird dog breed during this month’s Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign. They also debate whether or not the Simpson’s dog, “Santa’s Little Helper,” is a vizsla.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by John Laux, PF & QF’s habitat protection program manager, and Eric Sytsma, PF & QF’s habitat protection development officer, for a conversation about creating public lands through the organization’s Build a Wildlife Area program. Since its first land acquisition in 1986, PF & QF have created more than 220,000 acres of permanently protected and publicly accessible upland wildlife habitat. The Build a Wildlife Area program is one of the organization’s signature tools helping grow that acre total even larger. Episode Highlights: • Laux explains the variety of ways PF & QF work with federal and state agencies to permanently protect critical habitat and create public access. Agencies interested in discussing a land acquisition with PF & QF should connect with Laux at [email protected]. • Sytsma adds to the discussion with his knowledge around the role chapters, donors, and corporate partners play in helping fund permanent protection. Donors interested in learning more about land gifts should connect with Sytsma at [email protected]. • All told, the organization averages a 14-to-1 match for leveraging donor contribution toward a land acquisition. In fact, acquisitions in the state of Minnesota even reach a match averaging 40-to-1. BIRD DOGS FOR HABITAT and BUILD A WILDLIFE AREA Bird Dogs for Habitat is an online popularity contest with a purpose. From April 1st through 30th we’re challenging people to cast a vote and make a donation on behalf of their favorite bird dog breed. Every dollar donated equals one vote and every donation will help create more permanently protected and publicly accessible places for our bird dogs to roam via our Build a Wildlife Area program. Head to www.birddogsforhabitat.org to vote! And thanks to our partners at Orvis, Purina Pro Plan, SportDOG BRAND, Ruff Land Kennels, and North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Mike Wieben, head dog trainer at Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennel, for a conversation with PF & QF’s Logan Hinners, the proud new owner of a young Labrador retriever puppy named “Trek.” Over the course of the episode, Wieben coaches Logan on properly introducing Trek to birds, gunfire, water, and electronic dog training tools. Episode Highlights: • Logan describes his hopes for Trek to become a “5-tool” bird dog who will accompany him in the uplands, in the duck blind, and in search of shed antlers. • Wieben explains the importance of separating obedience training from bird & gun introduction to build a puppy’s prey-drive and foster a pup’s connection to fun associated with birds. • Wieben also discusses the various SportDOG BRAND® e-collars available for training and hunting. BIRD DOGS FOR HABITAT Bird Dogs for Habitat is an online popularity contest with a purpose. From April 1st through 30th we’re challenging people to cast a vote and make a donation on behalf of their favorite bird dog breed. Every dollar donated equals one vote and every donation will help create more permanently protected and publicly accessible places for our bird dogs to roam via our Build a Wildlife Area program. And on top of this, every week our generous sponsors are supplying fantastic prizes that are eligible to anyone who voted. This week, SportDOG has provided a SportTrainer 1275 as a prize for one lucky donor. Head to www.birddogsforhabitat.org to vote! And thanks to our partners at Orvis, Purina Pro Plan, SportDOG BRAND, Ruff Land Kennels, and North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Marilyn Vetter for her inaugural podcast interview as the organization’s new president and chief executive officer. The conversation starts off fast and fun with Vetter explaining how she was tapped for jury duty her first week on the job at PF & QF, then moves into a wide range of topics from bird dogs to volunteerism to her SWOT analysis of the organization and her vision for The Habitat Organization’s future. Episode Highlights: • Vetter talks about developing a passion for the uplands while growing up on the family cattle farm in North Dakota, then becoming a bird hunter with her high school sweetheart and now husband, Clyde. • She also explains the role bird dogs have played in her personal life and volunteer ethos. • This must-listen episode lends important insight into our new leader’s perspective on how our habitat mission won’t change. The vision of how we accomplish those habitat goals, however, must constantly evolve to be successful. Learn more about Marilyn Vetter in the press release announcing her as the organization’s 3rd CEO in our 40-year history. https://pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Pheasants-Forever/Pheasants-Forever-and-Quail-Forever-National-Board-of-Directors-Select-Marilyn-Vetter-as-New-Preside.aspx

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Chief Development Officer David Bue to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Call of the Uplands campaign coinciding with the retirement of longtime PF & QF President & CEO Howard Vincent. Episode Highlights: • Vincent revisits the important moments of his four decades with Pheasants Forever; including the story of Quail Forever’s creation and the personal promise behind the Sage Grouse Initiative. • Bue and Vincent talk about the campaign’s 11 million acres of habitat improvements and the 2 million acres of access created, as well as how Call of the Uplands has changed the trajectory of the organization’s future. • Vincent also explains the impetus for the new fighting roosters tattoo on his right arm and unveils plans for a covey of flushing quail on his left arm as an illustration of his lifelong commitment to upland habitat. Learn more about the Call of the Uplands accomplishments by visiting our campaign summary. https://pheasantsforever.org/celebrate

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by four Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologists who are also experts in the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). PF & QF’s Rachel Bush, Brittney Viers, Andy Houser, and Nate Fore talk about why bird hunters should care about CRP and discuss the unique opportunity for CRP enrollment open to landowners through April 7th. Episode Highlights: • Bush, a biologist from North Dakota, explains the importance of CRP for upland birds, hunters, water quality, and soil health. • While CRP has always been synonymous with pheasant habitat, Viers, a biologist from Tennessee, explains the value CRP brings to the mid-south and southeastern U.S. for landowners interested in creating bobwhite quail habitat. • Houser, a biologist from Nebraska, explains how the private lands enrolled into CRP are the foundation to walk-in access programs across the country. Interested in learning more about CRP and conservation options for your property, contact a Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologist near you by visiting www.PheasantsForever.org/CRP or www.QuailForever.org/CRP

On January 20th, we posted a blog titled, “Like Pheasants? Thank a Coyote,” on the Pheasants Forever Facebook page. That article generated a whopping 430 shares and 369 comments ranging from unhinged vitriol to unapologetic praise. The response on Instagram was similarly passionate. In this episode, host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dr. Tim Lyons and Dr. Nicole Davros, both biologists with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and Aaron Kuehl, PF & QF’s habitat programs national director who also received his master’s degree in animal ecology from Iowa State University where he studied predator movement and activity. The group discuss the science behind the blog’s premise and answer the more popular questions on the social feeds generated by the post. Episode Highlights: • In what may be a surprising reaction, Kuehl thanks the social media commentors for their passion about pheasants and for their pushback on the science. • The biologists discuss the role coyotes play as predators of adult pheasants and pheasant nests. They also explain the complex relationship between coyotes, fox, and pheasants. • Lyons explains “compensatory reproduction,” and how coyotes will actually produce more litters when their populations are suppressed.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by MeatEater’s Ryan “Cal” Callaghan, Sharing the Land’s Doug Duren, and PF & QF biologist Matt Morlock on the final day at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic. The group recaps their upland bird hunting seasons, recent wildlife habitat trends, and takeaways from this year’s record-breaking event. Episode Highlights: • Callaghan relives a serendipitous pronghorn and pheasant hunt in Montana last season. • Duren talks about his excitement around a new project on his forested property to improve the land as ruffed grouse habitat. • Callaghan explains his affinity for the young PF & QF biologist team working with landowners to improve the landscape for wildlife.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by European bird hunter Miguel Canaverde and Project Upland filmmaker Kevin Erdvig for a conversation about the new film “Lapland Grouse” debuting at Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Film Fest later this week in Minneapolis. The new film is about Portuguese native Canaverde’s relocation to Sweden where he’s fallen in love with the country’s upland bird hunting opportunities, especially for capercaillies, a Eurasian forest grouse species. Episode Highlights: • The film “Lapland Grouse” will be a part of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s second-ever Film Fest kicking off National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2023 in Minneapolis on Thursday, February 16th. • Canaverde and his Bracco Italiano bird dog will be featured in the upcoming spring issue of Project Upland’s magazine. • And, special thanks to the musical group Trampled by Turtles for allowing Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever to use their song “On the Highway” as our new podcast intro music. Learn more about National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic at www.PheasantFest.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by representatives from Ruffed Grouse & American Woodcock Society, North American Grouse Partnership, Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, Minnesota Prairie Chicken Society, and Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society to preview the brand new GROUSE TRAIL addition to National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic taking place in Minneapolis on February 17-19, 2023. Episode Highlights: • Sam Tillman of the Ruffed Grouse & American Woodcock Society and Jodie Provost of the North American Grouse Partnership both preview their respective talks on the Public Lands Stage. Provost also describes the new show floor attraction of a grouse viewing blind with video of each grouse’s spring dancing ritual. • All five grouse groups provide overviews of their organization’s conservation efforts and talk about the special membership offers and incentives they’ll be rolling out at the event. • Provost announces a Grouse Trail Happy Hour occurring at 4pm on Saturday, February 18th that’s being sponsored thanks to onX and will also generate donations for PF & QF’s Build a Wildlife Area program for public land creation. Learn more about National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic at www.PheasantFest.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Habitat Education Program Manager Anna Swerczek and The Flush TV’s Travis Frank for a conversation previewing the family-friendly attractions at this year’s National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic coming up in Minneapolis on February 17-19th. Episode Highlights: • With winter tightening its grip across much of the country, St.Pierre starts the conversation with a recap of his recent trip to sun-splashed Arizona where he was hunting scaled, Gambel’s, and Mearns’ quail. • Swerczek provides an overview of the Youth Village and Pollinator Pathway sections of the event, while Travis Frank previews his talk on the Path to the Uplands Stage. • St.Pierre also leaves an Easter egg in the conversation about retiring President & CEO Howard’s Vincent’s plan to unveil a pheasant and quail tattoo during this year’s event after losing a wager with the PF & QF employee team. Learn more about National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic at www.PheasantFest.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Public Relations Manager Jared Wiklund for a fun and wide-ranging conversation with Keng Yang. The guys start by recapping the trio’s snowy pheasant hunt to close out the Minnesota season, then talk about Yang’s journey from anti-hunter to hardcore, every-single-free-day pheasant hunter. Episode Highlights: • St.Pierre explains how the group navigated snow drifts up to their nipples to find pheasant hunting success in the Minnesota cattails on the closing days of the state’s pheasant hunting season. • Yang talks about how the addition of a German wirehaired pointer changed his perspective from anti-hunter to a person who loves hunting, and is adamant about giving back to wildlife habitat conservation as a volunteer for Pheasants Forever and a variety of other conservation groups. Keng Yang will be speaking on the Public Lands Stage at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2023 in Minneapolis on February 17-19.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three Pheasants Forever biologists to discuss the impact this year’s severe winter weather has been having on pheasant populations across the country’s northern tier of states. Those three biologists include Private Lands Conservation Program Manager Rachel Bush from Bismarck, North Dakota; Minnesota State Coordinator Tanner Bruse from Marshall, Minnesota, and South Dakota and North Dakota State Coordinator Matt Morlock from Huron, South Dakota. Episode Highlights: • Bush explains the philosophy of “putting the kitchen next to the bedroom” when designing quality pheasant habitat to best survive severe winters. • Bruse breaks down the good and bad of seeing pheasants in open agricultural fields during the winter. Are they stressed and vulnerable or taking advantage of accessible food? Or both? • Morlock delivers a few zingers as he talks about cattails (nature’s hot dogs), hot lunch (corn kernels in steaming cow pies), and the OG’s of surviving winter (sharp-tail grouse).

As we near National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic and the celebration of our 40th anniversary, we’re turning the spotlight on Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapter volunteers, the true lifeblood of our organization’s habitat mission. In this episode, host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Will Clayton, the organization’s senior regional representative to introduce “The Year of the Volunteer” concept. To bring life to the celebration of volunteers, we’ve got four dynamic chapter officers lined up to talk about their motivations for volunteering. Those chapter volunteers include Austin Roby in Ohio, Cayla Bendel from North Dakota, Clay Denny out of Missouri, and Mike Coyle of Kentucky. Episode Highlights: • Each individual volunteer talks about their motivations for getting involved with a local Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever chapter and how those expectations resulted in friendships, on-the-ground habitat results, fun times, and cherished memories. • Coyle highlights the importance of the organization’s unique, locally empowering model in which chapters retain 100% local control of the funds they generate through their efforts. • St.Pierre closes it out with an interesting anecdote about being contacted for use of the PF or QF logos in tattoos and casket engravings as evidence of how important the organization becomes to people’s identities. Check out more Year of the Volunteer Content - https://pheasantsforever.org/forever-one - https://pheasantsforever.org/forever-two

At this year’s National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic coming up in Minneapolis this February, we’re presenting a special hands-on course called BIRD DOG TRAUMA TRAINING. It’s the brainchild of our very own David Gutierrez, PF & QF’s senior regional representative for the southwestern U.S. and a former Green Beret turned habitat conservation warrior. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Gutierrez for this episode, along with one of the Bird Dog Trauma Training session’s experts, Tom Sager, who is also a fellow serviceman with the unique role of training U.S. military special operations teams to take care of their canine partners. Bird Dog Trauma Training Seminar Where: At National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2023 inside the Minneapolis Convention Center When: Thursday, February 16th, Friday, February 17th, and Saturday, February 18th 8am to 3pm daily Who: Sessions are limited to 20 participants each day What: Each session includes training with Tom Sager, Dr. Seth Bynum, and Jerry Snetsinger, aka “The Trap Doctor.” Registration is $500 per participant and includes a PF or QF Dog Life Membership and a custom field trauma kit Learn more at www.PheasantsForever.org/K9Trauma or contact David Gutierrez for more details at [email protected]

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Gun Dog Supply’s Steve Snell to talk bird hunting, dogs, and bird dog gear. Steve is a passionate bird dog man and likely among the country’s top traveling wingshooters racking up truck miles in search of covey flushes from his home in Mississippi to his quail hunting properties in Texas to public lands destinations in Montana and beyond. Episode Highlights: • The guys reminisce about a quail hunting trip together on which Bob bagged his first-ever blue quail after making the 17-hour drive from Minnesota to West Texas to hunt over his own bird dogs. Snell also explains his love for hunting “cheating” blue quail (also known as scaled quail and cottontops) over big running English pointers. • Snell explains the Gun Dog Supply origin story and shares the business’ top-selling bird dog gear items, while also offering some sage advice for what to list on a bird dog’s ID collar. • Just back from a quail hunting trip to Texas, Snell provides a recap of his hunt and an overview for the rest of the Texas quail season.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three of the country’s foremost quail biologists to talk about past, present, and future efforts to count bobwhite quail and how that population data is used to create high quality quail habitat, more birds, and better hunting opportunities. Those quail biologists include Quail Forever’s Working Lands for Bobwhite Quail Framework Coordinator Dr. Jessica McGuire, Georgia DNR’s Quail Coordinator Dallas Ingram, and University of Georgia Associate Professor Dr. James Martin. Episode Highlights: • Ingram and Martin explain how bird dogs are used to help count fall bobwhite coveys, while taking fun jabs at each other’s favorite bird dog breeds in the process. • McGuire also discusses how landowners who are interested in fostering higher quail populations on their property can get involved with counting quail as a means of better understanding what factors need to be improved on a particular piece of land. • Martin also talks about how his grad students at the University of Georgia are using new technology to make significant strides in our understanding of quail population dynamics.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Nate Akey, PF & QF’s first-ever employee to hold the title of “Social Media Strategist” for a discussion about his new job and his relatively newfound passion for mountain quail. Episode Highlights: • Holding a master’s degree in aquatic biology, Nate tells his compelling story about how a love for photographing his bird dog changed the trajectory of his career. • Nate also talks about his move from Michigan to Oregon and what he’s learned about mountain quail habitat, hunting, and cooking along the journey. • The guys finish up with a lightning round conversation about strengths, weaknesses, and audiences currently following Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

This is the fifth and final episode from Rooster Road Trip XIII. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Graphic Design Manager Logan Hinners, and Video Production Specialist Aaron Black-Schmidt to recap this year’s trip to Montana. The group tackles a wide array of crowd-sourced questions sent our way through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We laughed and we cried (literally) during this super fun conversation putting a bow on this year’s Rooster Road Trip. Episode Highlights: • Vavra kicks off the conversation with controversy by asking everyone to name THE SINGLE BEST BIRD DOG BREED for the uplands . . . chaos ensues. • Can a bird dog smell the difference between a rooster and a hen? You may be surprised by the group’s answer. • And there were lots of questions about preferences in gear, guns, and states to hunt. We tackled them all, including our favorite memories from this year’s Rooster Road Trip. Check out all of our Rooster Road Trip videos, podcasts and photo galleries at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Citori 725 shotgun and join/renew/extend your Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. And special thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2022 sponsors: • Browning • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • Apple Auto

This is the fourth episode from Rooster Road Trip XIII. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Director of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Senior Regional Representative Renee Tomala, Corporate Partnerships & Product Development Coordinator Erica Hill, and Montana Regional Representative Chad Harvey to recap the trip’s final day in Montana. A mixed bag of pheasants, sharpies, and Huns were all in the air, but was the group finally able to complete the full Montana mixed bag during one walk? Episode Highlights: • With temperatures touching 80 degrees just three days earlier, the group is greeted by the first snowstorm of the season making for challenging conditions for hunters and bird dogs alike. • St.Pierre blames a missed rooster over a point on wearing too many layers of clothes and Vavra compares him to Ralphie from “The Christmas Story.” Check out the companion video accompanying this podcast episode at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Citori 725 shotgun and join/renew/extend your Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. And special thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2022 sponsors: • Browning • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • Apple Auto

This is the third episode from Rooster Road Trip XIII. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Director of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Senior Regional Representative Renee Tomala, and Graphic Design Manager Logan Hinners to recap the third and fourth days of the group’s Montana hunt. Day 3 was spent battling strong winds on the picturesque Wolf Creek Block Management Area, while rain-soaked roosters highlighted Day 4’s hunt across the stunning Coffee Creek Block Management Area. Episode Highlights: • Vavra recounts the hilarious story of finding an impressive, but stinky, pair of pronghorn sheds. How bad did they smell? So bad that Tomala wouldn’t approach a dog on point that was downwind from Vavra. • Tomala takes us through a rooster-filled sequence during a rainstorm at Coffee Creek where her shooting skills and her bird dog Quill’s pointing prowess were both put on display. Check out the companion video accompanying this podcast episode at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Citori 725 shotgun and join/renew/extend your Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. And special thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2022 sponsors: • Browning • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • Apple Auto

This is the second episode from Rooster Road Trip XIII. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Director of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Corporate Partnerships & Product Development Coordinator Erica Hill, and Montana Regional Representative Chad Harvey to recap the group’s hunt at the Teton River Wildlife Area. The Teton project was created through PF & QF’s Build a Wildlife Area program and is a wonderful illustration for Vavra’s selection of the “mixed bag” theme for this year’s Rooster Road Trip as the area provides critical habitat to a wide array of wildlife species, ranging from pheasants and Huns to moose and grizzly bears. Episode Highlights: • The crew discuss gathering for the morning’s hunt started with bear spray distribution and overall safety precautions to take on a bird hunt in grizzly bear country. • Hill also shares the thrilling story of her Lab, Oak, making his first water retrieve on a rooster dropping into the Teton River during the day’s hunt. Check out the companion video accompanying this podcast episode at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Citori 725 shotgun and join/renew/extend your Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. And special thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2022 sponsors: • Browning • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • Apple Auto

This is the first episode from Rooster Road Trip XIII. True to the Rooster Road Trip’s ethos, this year’s event takes place all on publicly-accessible lands in search of an upland mixed bag of pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, and Hungarian partridge in Montana. To kick off this year’s trip, host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Director of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Montana State Coordinator Hunter VanDonsel, and the organization’s new Social Media Strategist Nate Akey for a conversation about the intersection between upland birds, pronghorns, water quality, and public access in Montana. Episode Highlights: • VanDonsel explains Montana’s “Hydration for Migration” initiative to help address inadequate water for livestock, which also produces critical grassland habitat for pronghorns, sharp-tailed grouse, and a wide array of other upland wildlife species. Thanks to participating landowners, this approach has resulted in 29,681 acres of grasslands enrolled in long-term protection agreements with thousands of these acres also enrolled in Montana’s Block Management program providing public access to hunters. • The crew recount the first day’s hunt producing fast and furious sharp-tailed grouse action; including, St.Pierre’s own two-mile sharpie retrieve. Check out the companion video accompanying this podcast episode at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Citori 725 shotgun and join/renew/extend your Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. And special thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2022 sponsors: • Browning • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • Apple Auto

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever employees to chat about last weekend’s upland bird hunting openers in Nebraska and Texas, while also previewing the November 12th opener in Kansas. Episode Highlights: • PF & QF Nebraska State Coordinator Kelsi Wehrman kicks off the conversation with a recap of her opening weekend in which she completed the state’s “Upland Slam” by bagging a bobwhite quail and a ring-necked pheasant to go with a sharp-tailed grouse and greater prairie chicken taken earlier this autumn. Wehrman also talks about the need to pre-scout for quality habitat this season as the on-going drought has had a dramatic impact on some of the state’s traditional upland destinations. • Texas Regional Representative Dustin McNabb echoes Wehrman’s thoughts about the impact of the drought on habitat conditions and upland bird numbers. He also offers an entertaining story of a unique bobwhite quail and sandhill crane mixed bag and closes with a reminder that Texas is home to some big rattlesnakes . . . so come prepared. • Michael Coleman, PF & QF’s conservation coordinator in Kansas’ Red Hills, rounds out the episode with a preview of the Kansas pheasant and quail season set to open on Saturday, November 12th. Coleman joins Wehrman and McNabb with concerns about the on-going drought but offers a few tips where bird numbers may be stronger based upon better habitat conditions. There are many PF & QF chapter banquets being held around the country in conjunction with upland hunting seasons. Find a calendar of all PF & QF chapter banquets and events at www.PheasantsForeverEvents.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is fresh off the Minnesota pheasant hunting opener with a recap of his weekend at KFAN’s “The Captain” Billy Hildebrand’s family cabin in Sauk Centre where the group focused on federal Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs). In this quick-hitter episode, St.Pierre throws out a few tips to help other bird hunters find early season success. Episode Highlights: • Echoing Renee Tomala’s recap of the North Dakota opener during last episode of the podcast, St.Pierre’s hunting group also found lots of young roosters in the field during the Minnesota opener. • With the corn harvest ramping up, St.Pierre predicts this coming weekend will be a banner opportunity for bird hunters across the upper Midwest. • And, of course, Bob has a story about following the dog when the line of hunters wanted to walk a different direction . . . did Bob listen to his own advice?

We’ve finally reached the best time of the year – opening day! Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Renee Tomala, PF’s regional representative for North Dakota; Matt Morlock, PF’s state coordinator for South Dakota & North Dakota; and Eric Sytsma, PF & QF’s regional representative for Iowa; to provide opening weekend forecasts from three big pheasant hunting destinations. The conversation also includes tips for opening weekend success and highlights PF’s banquet calendar of events being held in conjunction with opening weekend celebrations. Episode Highlights: • North Dakota’s season opened last weekend, so Tomala provides the first in-field report for 2022. Spoiler Alert: she talks about how hunting this year’s lush habitat SLOWLY is a key ingredient to success. • Morlock reports on this weekend’s upcoming “traditional” pheasant hunting opener for South Dakota and why this year looks to be the best in a decade for the nation’s “Pheasant Capital.” • Sytsma rounds out the conversation highlighting the upland hunting prospects for Iowa that includes pheasants, quail, and Huns. Find a calendar of all PF & QF chapter banquets and events at www.PheasantsForeverEvents.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Logan Hinners, PF & QF’s lead graphic designer, for a conversation with Joel Pilcher about taking a leap of faith to chase his childhood dream of becoming a wildlife artist. The guys also talk about Hinners’ vision for the rooster and bobwhite quail that Pilcher created using charcoal, and became the images embodying PF & QF’s monumental Call of the Uplands campaign to improve 9 million acres of wildlife habitat. Episode Highlights: • In a fascinating portion of the conversation, Pilcher talks about the major differences in his process and mental focus as he works on fine art projects versus digital graphic design artwork. • Pilcher’s stunning crowing rooster and whistling bobwhite artwork are now available on t-shirts through our partners in conservation at Orvis. And thanks to Orvis’ generosity, all proceeds from these shirt sales will go directly to PF & QF’s Call of the Uplands campaign.

When Douglas Spale, a Black man adopted into a mixed-race family from Nebraska, heard a request for more diverse role models in the upland hunting world during episode #86 of this very podcast, he answered the call. That’s the premise of the recently released Pheasants Forever film “Ripples,” produced by Erik Petersen, father of an adopted Black son who made that original request for more diverse role models in the uplands. Host Bob St.Pierre chats with Spale and Petersen about their personal stories leading up to the film and how their families are now forever connected through a shared love of the uplands, bird dogs, and hunting. Episode Highlights: • Spale’s black Labrador retrievers are featured prominently in the film, so it’s a startling surprise for Bob to learn Spale is picking up an English Setter puppy next month. • Petersen and Spale talk about the portions of their story not seen on camera, the feelings of trepidation making the film, and the feedback they’ve each received since “Ripples” was released to the public on September 1, 2022. Thanks to Thorogood Boots for sponsoring Ripples.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Marissa Jensen, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s education & outreach program manager and Women on the Wing initiative leader, for a conversation with Maia Larson, PF & QF’s first-ever fire and public lands program manager. In this newly created role, Larson will deliver strategic focus to the organization’s prescribed fire programs to improve habitat, while also providing direction to the organization’s habitat improvement efforts on private lands across the country. Episode Highlights: • Larson talks about the drip torch tattoo covering her right forearm, and why prescribed fire is so important to wildlife habitat that it has become a part of her identity. • Jensen provides an overview of the organization’s Women on the Wing initiative and points listeners to https://pheasantsforever.org/wotw for the latest news and calendar of events. • Larson also talks about living next to a public Wildlife Management Area in Arkansas and the value public lands mean to her personally. Thanks to Irish Setter Boots for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever Journal Editor Chad Love to break down his Upland Bird Hunting SUPER issue article titled “7 Traits of the Successful Public Land Quail Hunter.” While a “listical” article in format, the conversation brings forth valuable quail hunting nuggets. Episode Highlights: • Love coins the term “upland familiarity bias” and explains how that tendency is handicapping traveling bird hunters from finding quail in new terrains. • The pair of Gen Xers lament their slowing metabolisms and the need to run, bike, and cross-country ski as a means of staying in bird hunting-shape during the off season. They also daydream about a pharmaceutical company being able to synthesize the adrenaline rush of a quail covey rise into an injectable narcotic. • Love also explains his phrase “baby-bear porridge weather,” and its application to quail hunting pressure. This is a companion to episode #179 with Pheasants Forever Journal Editor Tom Carpenter breaking down public land tips for pheasant hunters.

Host Bob St.Pierre returns to Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennels where pro dog trainer Mike Wieben has been training St.Pierre’s three-year-old German shorthaired pointer, Gitche, to be a better retriever. The guys talk about Gitche’s progress as a retriever and focus on St.Pierre’s role in maintaining Gitche’s training after her return home and throughout the hunting season ahead. Listen back to episode 165 for the first portion of this conversation about Bob’s hopes for Gitche and Wieben’s training plans. Episode Highlights: Wieben talks through the three areas he’s been working on to improve Gitche’s performance; 1) strengthening her retrieve, 2) steadying her point, and 3) teaching her “place,” so she can go for a cast & blast canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this September. Wieben also explains how water retrieving helped Gitche focus her retrieving skills even though St.Pierre doesn’t intend for her to do much waterfowl hunting. The guys also talk about how technological innovations like eCollars, GPS, and even drones have improved dog training and bird hunting. Special thanks to SportDOG® Brand for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Jordan Martincich, PF & QF’s director of development, for a conversation with Jim Millensifer, a long-time PF & QF volunteer and donor who is also president of the Kansas Governor’s Ringneck Classic. The guys chat about the organization’s 9-million-acre Call of the Uplands campaign and how the Kansas Ringneck Classic has contributed acres, access, and dollars to the campaign. Long-time hunting buddies, Martincich and Millensifer also debate the prowess between pretty dogs (Setters) and ugly dogs (wirehairs). Episode Highlights: • Martincich and Millensifer explain the origins of the Kansas Ringneck Classic, how it’s become a cherished event for the community of Colby, Kansas, and how it’s become a critical fundraiser for PF & QF’s habitat mission. • Millensifer also talks about his passion for hunting upland birds from his native Colorado to his current home in western Kansas, and to destinations as far south as Arizona up to the northern ruffed grouse woods of Minnesota. In the process, he explains what scares him to death about the future of the uplands. This week at Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, we’re celebrating our Build a Wildlife Area efforts to create more public habitat for you and your bird dog to enjoy. Donate $50 or more to our Build a Wildlife Area program this week and our podcasting partner OnX will reward you with an Elite Membership worth $99.99. Thank you OnX!

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever Journal Editor Tom Carpenter to break down Carp’s Upland Bird Hunting SUPER issue article titled “7 Traits of the Successful Public Land Pheasant Hunter.” To kick off the conversation, Carp offers his theory that the way a person approaches a hunt – spirit, attitude, mindset, effort, energy, heart, outlook – are qualities as important to bagging birds as being a smart upland hunting tactician. Episode Highlights: • The guys talk about people’s ability to generate excuses not to hunt early season, mid-season, and late season, while breaking down all the positive reasons to chase longtails all season long. • The duo discusses the most productive days to take off from work for the birds to have settled down after the weekend and to best escape pressure from other hunters. • Carp explains why he uses the onX Hunt app all year long before falling asleep in bed each night. Use the code PHEASANTS or QUAIL during checkout at onXhunt.com for 20% off your onXmaps subscription.