On The Wing Podcast

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.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined in KFAN’s Twin Cities studios for a conversation with Birds, Booze, and Buds podcaster Tyler Webster and his buddy Bruce Potter as they kick off a bird hunting adventure that will take them to Alaska in search of ptarmigan for the country’s earliest upland opener. The duo then plans to drive south to Oregon in pursuit of mountain quail and valley quail before swinging east toward Montana where they’ll hunt dusky, ruffed, sage, and sharp-tailed grouse. Episode Highlights: • The guys talk about Webster’s donation of an Arizona Mearns’ quail hunt to the organization’s National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic banquet fundraising in 2022 and he commits a follow-up adventure for the organization’s 2023 event. • A North Dakota native, Webster also provides a first-hand report about the state’s habitat conditions and the upland bird broods he’s observed so far this summer. • Bob asks the guys to share the single experience they are most-excited about occurring during their upcoming adventure, along with the single element that causes them trepidation.

This spring, longtime Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever President & CEO Howard Vincent announced his retirement following the conclusion of National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2023 coming up this February. That announcement kicked off the search for only the third person to ever lead “The Habitat Organization” during its’ 40-year history. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined for this episode by PF & QF’s Board Chair Matt Kucharski for a conversation about the process to find, interview, and hire that next PF & QF president and chief executive officer. Episode Highlights: • Kucharski explains the role of the organization’s national board of directors and reports on the overall health of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever during the pandemic. • Bob also asks Matt to explain a statement he’s frequently made over the last few months: “The board is not hiring Howard’s replacement - we’re hiring Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s next president & CEO.” Learn more about PF & QF’s President & CEO Job Posting through Cohen Taylor, an executive search firm retained for this effort.

Noppadol Paothong is a nature photographer with the Missouri Department of Conservation and an associate fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, which is an elite group of the world’s top wildlife, nature, and culture photographers. For two decades, Paothong has been documenting America’s grassland grouse species and their fragile habitat. He’s published two large-format national award-winning books, Save the Last Dance about America’s grassland grouse and Sage Grouse, Icon of the West. He also has a large photo spread coming up in PF & QF’s Upland Bird Hunting Super issue next month. Host Bob St.Pierre connected with Paothong while he was on a family vacation in Minnesota. Episode Highlights: • Paothong explains how photographing three Missouri prairie chickens dancing on a lek 20 years ago changed the trajectory of his life. • The guys also talk about Jim Brandenburg’s photography and how his work inspires Paothong’s philosophy of really knowing the wildlife he photographs to the point of wanting to “capture their souls, capture their spirits.” Find Noppadol’s stunning photography on Instagram at @npprairiegrouse

Earlier this month, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever began our 17th year partnering with Ron Schara Productions to bring our love for upland bird hunting and our habitat mission to television. In this episode, Host Bob St.Pierre swings over to the offices of Ron Schara Productions to visit with two of The Flush’s hosts, Travis Frank and Bill Schreck. This, however, isn’t your ordinary television series preview show. On the contrary, the fellas talk about some of their favorite bird hunting and bird dog stories . . . and laughter ensues. Episode Highlights: • In the spirit of the NFL Draft, the guys name the single best bird dogs they’ve ever hunted behind. • Bob tells the story of how he taught his first shorthair, Trammell, to actually say, “I love you.” • And the guys talk about being trolled in social media by commenters who say things like “those aren’t wild birds,” “you’re a terrible wingshooter,” and “your bird dog is awful.”

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by the trio of PF & QF Western biologists Al Eiden, Kellie Dobrescue, and Connor White to talk about the organization’s expanding habitat work focused on sage brush habitat in the Western United States. Episode Highlights: • Dobrescue talks about her role in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management to improve sage brush habitat through tree removal. Those efforts are creating better habitat for a wide array of wildlife from sage grouse to elk, as well as helping protect water quantity. • White also discusses his job working as the project coordinator for Idaho’s Bruneau Owhyee Sage Grouse Habitat Project. That work is focused on removing invasive juniper trees across a wide landscape of Southwest Idaho for the benefit of sage grouse, mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and water resources. • Eiden wraps up the conversation with a powerful statement about the 20 different upland bird species in the West and how PF & QF is improving upland habitat in a wide array of settings, including grasslands, deserts, sage steppe, alpine forests, and agricultural lands.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Emily Spolyar and Marissa Jensen for a conversation with Jamie Carmody who became both an artist and a hunter over the last two years. Carmody, who lives in Australia, explains how she grew up as a vegan and was motivated to become a hunter to source sustainable meats for her young family. Episode Highlights: • Carmody talks about feeling “caged up” as a youngster growing up indoors and how getting outdoors to experience nature has led her to a feeling of freedom as an adult. She also talks about finding “beauty in death” through her artwork as a way of better representing our true connection nature. • Carmody explains her creative process for drawing bird dogs with a stunning description about envisioning landscapes and dog’s love for their owner through a reflection in the pup’s eyes. Check out Jamie Carmody’s artwork at www.jamiewildart.com or by following her on Instagram @jamie_wildart

Once upon a time, Northwest Ohio’s Wood County produced the highest density of pheasants on record. That was 1940. There is a lot less wildlife habitat and a lot more people in Ohio today. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Kent Adams, PF & QF’s director of conservation delivery in the Northeastern U.S., Cody Grasser, PF & QF’s state coordinator for Ohio, and James Harris, PF & QF’s regional representative in Ohio, for a discussion about the innovate private and public land programs producing new habitat success stories in Ohio. While those success stories may never darken the sky with pheasants and quail, the habitat efforts are producing more birds, cleaner water, and greater public access in the state. Episode Highlights: • Bob talks about the passion volunteers have for the organization with stories of people tattooing PF or QF logos on their bodies and requesting usage of the logos in conjunction with funerals. • It may come as a surprise that there are 27 chapters of Pheasants Forever and 3 chapters of Quail Forever in Ohio. Combined, there are 5,000 members in the state putting Ohio ahead of bird-rich states like Kansas and North Dakota. • The guys also talk about the collaborative efforts producing a new 415-acre expansion to the state’s Big Island Wildlife Area.

At Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, our mission is focused on creating high-quality habitat for upland gamebirds. As you undoubtedly know by now, that very same upland habitat needed for pheasant and quail chicks – a diverse mix of grasses and forbs - is also critical habitat for pollinators. In this week’s episode, we celebrate Pollinator Week 2022 with PF & QF’s Anna Swerczek and Jake Swafford, along with Public Land Tee’s Sam & Josh Soholt. Episode Highlights: • Swerzcek, PF & QF’s habitat education program manager and Pollinator Week quarterback, unveils the compelling PF & QF membership offer celebrating this year’s Pollinator Week that includes three pollinator plants, a special pollinator-themed t-shirt & sticker from Public Land Tees, a subscription to the PF or QF Journal, and a PF & QF pollinator habitat sign. Only 300 of these special packages are available at www.PheasantsForever.org/PollinatorWeek or www.QuailForever.org/PollinatorWeek • Jake Swafford, a PF & QF coordinating wildlife biologist in Missouri, talks about each specific pollinator plant included in the membership kits and how they each plant provides unique habitat benefits for birds and the bees throughout the spring, summer, and autumn bloom periods. • The Soholt brothers explain their rationale for donating the t-shirts to PF & QF’s Pollinator Week efforts and how they conceptualized the shirt’s fun design.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Ted Koch, the executive director of the North American Grouse Partnership and a former U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service endangered species biologist, along with Ron Leathers, PF & QF’s chief conservation officer, for a discussion about lesser prairie chickens and their likely listing as an endangered species. As a former endangered species biologist, Koch brings a depth of knowledge about the mechanics of an endangered species listing, as well as the conservation initiatives already underway to work with landowners around voluntary habitat programs for the birds. Episode Highlights: • Koch explains what ideal grassland habitat looks like for the lesser prairie chicken using a volleyball that’s 80% covered in grass visualization, while Leathers talks about how using cattle on a grasslands landscape can help keep that volleyball 20% exposed and free from being overgrown by grass that’s too tall or encroached upon by trees. • Koch also addresses the “shoot, shovel, and shut up” mentality often associated with an endangered species listing and how voluntary conservation programs, especially CRP, can be a major opportunity for landowners in the lesser prairie chicken’s footprint. • Leathers also delivers a powerful message about how we often hear that quail are an “edge” species, but the fact they’re considered an edge species is because the edge is all we leave them. Wide open grassland habitat created for lessers will also be terrific habitat for bobwhite quail.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF biologists Al Eiden, Haley Lockard, and Andy Edwards for a conversation focused on the $1.4 billion federal legislation known as Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). If passed, RAWA would create dedicated state-based funding for wildlife habitat projects across the country targeting more than 12,000 “at risk” species, including bobwhite quail, sage grouse, lesser prairie chickens, bumble bees, and monarch butterflies. And for only the second time in our podcast’s history, watch the conversation on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/YX3DUwiiwJc Episode Highlights: • Quail Forever Program Manager Andy Edwards kicks off the conversation focusing on how the legislation would empower state agencies across the Southeastern United States to better manage early successional habitat for bobwhite quail. • PF & QF Senior Farm Bill Biologist Haley Lockard adds her perspective to RAWA’s ability to fund grassland habitat management for quail and lesser prairie chickens in the Great Plains. • PF & QF’s Western Regional Director Al Eiden also explains how Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would kickstart a 25,000-acre scaled quail project in Arizona, while also helping fund sage grouse habitat work across the West and mountain quail habitat efforts in the Pacific Northwest.

Fresh off his keynote address to PF & QF’s 208 new employees at the organization’s in-person new employee orientation, Sam Lawry joins Host Bob St.Pierre to talk about his “conservation warrior” message and to recap his 40-year career in wildlife conservation, which included a six year stint as PF & QF’s western regional director. The guys are joined by Sam’s two closest PF & QF friends in Tom Fuller, director of field services, and Chris McLeland, vice president of conservation delivery, for this episode filled with a little hyperbole and a lot of laughter. Episode Highlights: • Sam also talks about his debut book, Stories of the Past, An Arizona Game Ranger Remembering the Outlaws, and how its publication resulted in Sam’s appearance on a MeatEater podcast with Steven Rinella. • The guys also call BS on Sam’s claim to have written the book during the evenings of the organization’s out-of-town meetings when the rest of the crew was “at the watering hole.” Learn more about Sam Lawry and his book by following him on Instagram @Sam.Lawry

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Mike Neiduski, who reached his dream job at the beginning of 2022 when he was hired to be a PF & QF development officer. Neiduski’s journey to that position started more than a decade ago with his first bird dog and an introduction to conservation through the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA). Episode Highlights: • The guys talk about Neiduski’s career stops at Maryville University in Missouri, Concordia University in Wisconsin, and Elon University in North Carolina before making a career shift to the Ruffed Grouse Society. • Neiduski talks about his recently passed German wirehaired pointer, Plexi, and how her memory will live on through a Quail Forever Dog Life Membership as part of the Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign. Special thanks to NAVHDA for sponsoring PF & QF’s annual Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign. This campaign is a friendly competition that challenges you to cast a vote and donate or become a member on behalf of your favorite bird dog breed. Every dollar donated equals a vote, and every week during the month of May our generous sponsors will be giving away fantastic prizes to those who participate. Vote today at www.BirdDogsforHabitat.org – THANKS!

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Jonathon Tremblay from Walton’s Inc. to talk about smoking pheasants, quail, and grouse. Tremblay discusses the advantages of charcoal, wood, and pellet grills, and the benefits of prepping game bird meat with brines, marinades, and flavor injectors. He also answers the question, “skin on or skin off for the smoker?” Episode Highlights: • The guys talk about using an expensive whiskey or bourbon during the brining process. • Tremblay talks about a variety of wood options for smoking birds before explaining why pecan is the sweet spot of flavor and affordability. Thanks to Walton’s Inc. for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast and for being a national sponsor of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. Photo by Lukas Leaf

Host Bob St.Pierre’s two-year-old German shorthaired pointer, Gitche, needs a little finishing work this off-season. Consequently, Bob is dropping her off at Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennels for “summer camp” with professional dog trainer Mike Wieben. The guys take Gitche out for a couple of runs on birds, then talk through Gitche’s performance and the training plan ahead. Episode Highlights: • Bob talks about his feelings of trepidation and intimidation that come naturally with dropping a beloved pup off with a professional trainer. • Bob details three specific areas he’d like help improving 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. Special thanks to SportDOG® Brand for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast and for being a partner in PF & QF’s annual Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign. This campaign is a friendly competition that challenges you to cast a vote and donate or become a member on behalf of your favorite bird dog breed. Every dollar donated equals a vote, and every week during the month of May our generous sponsors will be giving away fantastic prizes to those who participate. Vote today at www.BirdDogsforHabitat.org – THANKS!

Host Bob St.Pierre chats bird dogs with Kali Parmley, the editor of Gun Dog Magazine and owner of both a Labrador retriever and an English setter. Kali talks about the decision to start with a Lab, then her move to a pointing breed for her second bird dog. Episode Highlights: • Kali and Bob stumble upon the fact they both used llamas last season to get deeper into the backcountry to hunt birds. • Kali also shares a terrific story of her young setter’s unexpectedly magnificent chukar retrieve down the side of a mountain last season. This bird dog-oriented episode helps us kick off PF & QF’s annual Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign. Do you have a favorite breed of bird dog and love high quality habitat? Join us by becoming a member or making a donation at www.BirdDogsforHabitat.org – THANKS!

Host Bob St.Pierre talks with Dr. Susan Felege, an associate professor at the University of North Dakota, the newest member of PF & QF’s National Board of Directors, and a hardcore waterfowl & upland bird hunter. Dr. Felege shares her story growing up as an avid bird hunter in Pennsylvania and knowing at an early age that she was going to grow up to be a wildlife biologist. Episode Highlights: • Dr. Felege also talks about her PhD research while at the University of Georgia in which she spent five years studying bobwhite quail, predator, and habitat relationships at Tall Timbers Research Station. • The conversation then moves to North Dakota where Dr. Felege and her students are working in partnership with North Dakota Game and Fish Department to study the state’s greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse. It seems each prairie grouse species is responding differently to changing grassland habitat in the eastern portion of the state and the two species are even crossbreeding to create odd sharpie/chicken hybrids. • Bob also asks Dr. Felege for insight into the emerging concerns around avian influenza. • The conversation wraps with Dr. Felege’s perspective of her new role on PF & QF’s National Board and the unique talents she brings to the group.

Last summer, Pheasants Forever Precision Ag & Conservation Specialist Emily Spolyar joined Host Bob St.Pierre for a terrific On the Wing podcast conversation with Jennifer Riley about being a new bird hunter in Alaska. That episode served as the catalyst for Emily’s own bird hunting trip to Alaska this past March. In this episode, Emily recaps her experience that included Anchorage couple Jessie Janowski and Peter Wadsworth. Throughout the conversation, Jessie and Peter offer tips to the traveling bird hunter looking to create their own Alaskan adventure during a bird hunting season that starts in August and doesn’t end until March. Episode Highlights: • The conversation begins with Emily’s impressions of hunting for ptarmigan and grouse off skis and snowshoes for the first time. • Natives of Vermont and New York, Jessie and Peter talk about their decision to move to Alaska and how they became adult on-set hunters to procure their own meat rather than buying chickens shipped 2,000 miles to The Last Frontier. • Peter explains the couple’s backcountry skiing gear and how they prepare for bird hunts in rugged and dangerous terrain that includes avalanches, wolves, and grizzly bears. • The couple also extoll the virtues of being involved with the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association and how NAVHDA has helped accelerate their dog training and bird hunting learning curve. Photo by Peter Wadsworth on Instagram @phwadsworth

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dr. Adam Janke, an assistant professor and extension wildlife specialist at Iowa State University, to talk about pheasant and quail research helping determine “where birds live on farms.” PF & QF’s Director of Government Affairs Jim Inglis is also part of the conversation to explain how he uses Adam’s scientific research in Washington, D.C. to create and improve agricultural policy for wildlife and natural resources. Episode Highlights: • The guys start the conversation with Dr. Janke drawing an analogy from the “Moneyball” concept used in baseball to habitat quality and wildlife population health evaluation. • Dr. Janke recounts his undergraduate project while studying at Ohio State University in which he lived with bobwhite quail over the course of two winters to learn about the bird’s response to winter weather and habitat. • The group also talk about cover crops, using drones to capture & radio collar birds, and roadside surveying upland birds.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by MeatEater’s Ryan “Cal” Callaghan for an entertaining conversation that took place during National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2022 in Omaha. Known for his big game adventures on MeatEater, the host of Cal’s Week in Review dives deep into his love for Labrador retrievers, bird hunting, and wild upland places. Episode Highlights: • Throughout the episode, Cal marks his journey in the outdoors through the lives of four female yellow Labrador retrievers. • Cal also talks about the harrowing experience to save his new pup, Snort’s, life after a rattlesnake bite in the deep Idaho wilderness last September. Every bird dog owner who hunts “Snake Country” should listen and learn from this one. • The guys close the episode with thoughts on the Grasslands Act and the panel Cal moderated during Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic devoted to the legislative #ActForGrasslands concept. This is the final installment of three episodes recorded live from the show floor at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Omaha. Be sure to check out our previous two episodes with Doug Duren and Christine Peterson.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Christine Peterson, president & board chair for the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America. A professional journalist, Peterson has written and reported for Outdoor Life, National Geographic and Outside magazines. She also served as a speaker on the Public Lands Stage at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2022 in Omaha. Episode Highlights: • Peterson shares her journey of becoming a hunter as an adult and the funny story of bagging her first rooster pheasant. • St.Pierre talks about his appreciation for Peterson’s Instagram account @she.will.roam, and Peterson explains her goal of portraying an outdoor lifestyle as the parent of a young child through the social media channel. Peterson also talks about her family’s excitement around the arrival of a new puppy to follow immediately after returning from Omaha. • Peterson was born and raised in Wyoming and talks about the state’s under-rated stature as a bird hunting destination along with the state’s controversial “Corner Crossing” public lands court case. This is the second installment of three episodes recorded live from the show floor at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Omaha. Look for next week’s episode with MeatEater’s Ryan “Cal” Callaghan.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by MeatEater’s Doug Duren and PF biologist Matt Morlock for a conversation recorded at Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Omaha. Duren talks about his personal conservation ethic, “It’s not ours, it’s just our turn,” as well as his new endeavor linking private landowners with people willing to work on habitat improvements to gain public access known as “Sharing the Land.” Episode Highlights: • Known for hosting whitetail, turkey, and rabbit hunts on Meateater episodes, Duren explains his passion for “The Habitat Organization” and why he’s been a speaker on the Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic’s Habitat Stage the last five consecutive events. • Having appeared on plenty of podcasts with Steven Rinella and Joe Rogan, St.Pierre asks Duren what question those famous interviewers should have ask but didn’t. That leads to a conversation ranging from the Grateful Dead to Duren’s family connection to the character Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from the famous baseball movie, Major League. • Morlock, PF’s state coordinator for both North Dakota and South Dakota, provides a late winter review of how each state’s pheasant populations are surviving dramatically different winter weather conditions. This is the first installment of three episodes recorded live from the show floor at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Omaha. Look for episodes with public lands advocate and journalist Christine Peterson and Meateater’s Ryan “Cal” Callaghan in the coming weeks.

Host Bob St.Pierre and PF & QF’s Hunting Heritage Program Manager Colby Kerber are joined by Dennis and Adam Brune, family members and owners of ALPS OutdoorZ, for a conversation about the organization’s Path to the Uplands stage at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic. The group also talks about ALPS OutdoorZ evolution as an outdoors retailer, conservation supporter, and PF & QF national partner. Episode Highlights: • The father & son duo of Dennis and Adam Brune discuss ALPS OutdoorZ’s philanthropic commitment to wildlife habitat conservation, as well as their passion for sharing the hunting lifestyle through their corporate philosophies. • Kerber previews the lineup of speakers on the Path to the Uplands stage covering the topics of hunting heritage, shooting sports, R3, and the organization’s Women on the Wing initiative. See the full Path to the Uplands stage lineup at https://bit.ly/35dauYG. National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic will take place in Omaha, Nebraska on March 11-13. Tickets are on sale at www.PheasantFest.org.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Hank Shaw, a chef, food writer, and outdoorsman who runs the wild foods website “Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.” Shaw is also the author of the cookbook, Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail and will be the keynote speaker at the Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic National Banquet on Saturday, March 12th in Omaha, Nebraska. Episode Highlights: • Shaw talks about becoming an adult-onset hunter and how his views on hunting, habitat, and wild foods have changed over time. It’s this journey through the stages of being a hunter that will serve as the foundation for his keynote address, which he has titled “Drumstick Diplomacy.” • Shaw also discloses work on his next book focused on the cuisine of Northern Mexico, which will include some quail hunting, fishing, and foraging. National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic tickets are on sale at www.PheasantFest.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Cristin Weber, a precision agriculture & conservation specialist and farmer from South Dakota and Jeff Lakner, a South Dakota farmer and rancher. The group talks about the current Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) signup going on right now and how CRP benefits a farm’s soil health and profitability, while also delivering wildlife habitat, water quality, and carbon benefits. Episode Highlights: • Cristin Weber explains how she puts CRP and other USDA conservation programs to work on her farm, while also assisting other South Dakota producers examine their operation’s input & yield data while exploring conservation options to make their farms more profitable. • Jeff Lackner discusses how CRP is a piece of his farm’s larger puzzle and how important leaving a farming, ranching, and conservation legacy is to him as his son and daughter-in-law join the operation. • Weber also talks about how quickly wildlife populations can respond to new CRP acres by retelling of an epic South Dakota pheasant flush on her property. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologists are available to talk over conservation options with landowners. Find a biologist close to you by visiting www.PheasantsForever.org/CRP

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF National Board Chair Matt Kucharski and Western Regional Director Al Eiden for a recap of the first day’s hunt in Mearns’ quail country. The hunting party broke into two different groups and found themselves following opposite hunting strategies in search of birds. NOTE: This episode was recorded LIVE from quail camp around a campfire. Episode Highlights: • Eiden talks about the economic and cultural importance of quail hunting to the communities of Sonoita, Patagonia, and Nogales, Arizona. • Kucharski leads the conversation of the day’s quail hunt and recaps his pup’s enthusiasm for hunting an unfamiliar landscape in search of a new species of upland bird. Special thanks to Arizona Backcountry Llamas for making this hunt possible. And thanks to ALPS OutdoorZ and Thorogood Boots for sponsoring this content. Be sure to listen to episode 1 of this two-part backcountry quail hunting and camping trip

After a 26-hour drive from Minnesota to southern Arizona, Host Bob St.Pierre and PF & QF Chairman of the National Board Matt Kucharski are joined around the campfire by veteran quail hunting buddy Wade Zarlingo for a Mearns’ quail hunt. As a means of getting deeper into the backcountry, Chris Dunn, the owner of Arizona Backcountry Llamas, has brought five llamas to the adventure to haul in camping gear, food, and water for the crew’s three-day hunt. NOTE: This episode was recorded LIVE from quail camp around a campfire. Episode Highlights: • St.Pierre and Kucharski start the conversation talking about their previous Mearns’ hunt in Arizona, and why they felt compelled to drive (rather than fly) all the way from Minnesota. HINT: They wanted to hunt over their own bird dogs! • Zarlingo and Dunn explain how they both got started raising llamas and explain the advantages of using llamas on hunting and camping trips. Special thanks to Arizona Backcountry Llamas for making this hunt possible. Thanks to ALPS OutdoorZ and Thorogood Boots for sponsoring this content.

As part of our ongoing Path to the Uplands content series, host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Chad Love, Quail Forever Journal editor; Marissa Jensen, our organization’s Women on the Wing and Path to the Uplands leader; and Andy Edwards, Quail Forever’s Quail Program Manager to discuss and debate late season quail hunting tips. Episode Highlights: • Referencing his new Path to the Uplands article titled “The Path to Late Season Quail Hunting Success,” Chad Love leads the conversation by outlining the food and cover attributes he’s looking for when chasing a variety of late-season quail species. • The group also banters about tactics for locating birds that have been pressured all season and the challenges in picking out a single bird on the covey rise. Thanks to our Path to the Uplands sponsors SoundGear, Federal Ammunition, SportDOG BRAND, and ALPS OutdoorZ.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologists Kent Adams, Jim Inglis, Cody Grasser, and Ben Beaman for a conversation focused on the connection between the organization’s wildlife habitat mission and clean water. Episode Highlights: • Adams starts the episode explaining how the organization’s wildlife habitat efforts improve water quality in streams, rivers, lakes, and even oceans. Ultimately, Adams explains, it’s the organization’s ability to deliver water quality benefits that has made our wildlife habitat efforts relevant across the eastern United States. • Inglis, a PF employee for more than two decades, explains how Pheasants Forever chapters in Ohio linked the organization’s wildlife habitat efforts to improved water quality in Lake Erie benefiting the walleye fishery during the late 1990s. • Grasser talks about the brand new 415-acre Mallett project in Ohio that will now be providing critical habitat for wildlife, water quality benefits to the public, and access to hunters. • St.Pierre and Beaman have fun reigniting their Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula jabs as fellow Michiganders.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever’s Dr. Jess McGuire and Andy Edwards for a discussion with Dr. James Martin, a hardcore quail hunter, bird dog owner, and associate professor at University of Georgia. During the conversation, Dr. Martin breaks down four bobwhite quail research projects he’s currently working on, while dropping a few quail hunting gems he’s learned from his studies over the years. Episode Highlights: • Dr. Martin and his students are studying how many bobwhites can be shot in one area and still maintain a sustainable wild population. The group also chat about whether or not season length and bag limits influence the long-term health of a wild population. • The group takes on the ultimate quail “moneyball” question: Is there a magic acre number or a key percentage of habitat for a wild, sustainable population of bobwhite quail? • Dr. Martin also talks about studying the behavior of bobwhites in response to hunting. As part of this project, researchers are investigating what non-productive points mean relative to a bird’s location. Some fun bird dog breed jabs ensue among the crew.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Tom “Carp” Carpenter, Pheasants Forever Journal editor, and Marissa Jensen, our organization’s Women on the Wing and Path to the Uplands leader, to offer tips for FINDING and HUNTING late season roosters. Episode Highlights: • The crew’s conversation riffs off Carp’s recent blog, “The Path to Late Season Pheasant Hunting Success” starting with tips first focused on where to FIND late season birds that have survived the hunting pressure over the last few months. • The discussion then transitions to both the mindset and mechanics for HUNTING late season roosters, including Carp and Marissa sharing stories about working cover and finding tight-holding birds on the second pass. Thanks to our Path to the Uplands sponsors SoundGear, Federal Ammunition, SportDOG BRAND, and ALPS OutdoorZ.

While gamebird research isn’t a part of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s mission statement, the organization often collaborates with research scientists from the most acclaimed universities in the country to inform the organization’s habitat creation and restoration efforts. In this episode, Bob St.Pierre is joined by Mississippi State University’s Dr. Mark McConnell as well as Quail Forever’s Dr. Jess McGuire and Andy Edwards, for a discussion focused on five different research projects Dr. McConnell and his students are currently working on related to bobwhite quail, habitat management, and precision agriculture. Episode Highlights: • Dr. McConnell talks about his love of quail hunting and how that passion for hunting influences his research science. He also talks about hunting with his standard poodle and coins the phrase “it’s cool to like quail again.” • Through Dr. McConnell’s “Scale of Effect” project, he explains that the research is attempting to understand how habitat management on public WMAs in Mississippi influences bobwhite populations on those public lands. As importantly, he’s also trying to gauge how that management influences bobwhite populations beyond the boundaries into the surrounding private property. • Singing from the same scripture as every other quail biologist we’ve ever had on our podcast, Dr. McConnell speaks passionately about the critical importance of prescribed fire to bobwhite quail habitat management for population health and growth. • The crew also talk about the theory that vocal bobwhites are the ones that get eaten by predators first in a population. Do silent bobwhites live longer or is that mythology?

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Michigan State Coordinator Ben Beaman for a conversation about hunting pheasants, ruffed grouse, and woodcock in the duo’s home state. The guys also discuss Michigan’s Adopt-a-Game-Area Program and the importance of intensive habitat management in preventing grasslands from becoming woodlands void of pheasants, especially in states east of the Mississippi River. Episode Highlights: • Beaman starts the conversation talking about his college years in Wyoming which leads to an interesting tangential discussion asserting that Wyoming may be one of the most underappreciated destinations for upland and waterfowl hunters. • St.Pierre also explains why he is a “Yooper” and Beaman is a “troll” in Michigan parlance. • The discussion also covers the “Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative” and how it produced the Adopt-a-Game-Area program. Likewise, Beaman explains the different types of habitat work occurring on these public areas, their importance for the state’s wild pheasant populations, and how people can help.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Jonathon Tremblay from Walton’s Inc. to talk about caring for game bird meat from the moment it leaves your bird dog’s mouth to the time it hits your plate as a delicious meal. Tremblay also discusses Walton’s deep connections to hunting and conservation as a company, and how the pandemic changed the way Americans approach meat. Episode Highlights: • Jonathon talks about the two seasonings Walton’s developed specifically for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever: Roasted Ringneck Rub and Bold Barbecue Quail. • Bob reminisces about the comical old days of freezing birds in a block of ice, which resulted in a full freezer early into the hunting season. Check out Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s “A Bird in the Bag” video series with Walton’s Inc. • Crispy Half-Roasted Pheasant • Quail Meatballs

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Andrew Vavra, Logan Hinners, and Aaron Black-Schmidt for a lively discussion answering questions submitted by the organization’s social media followers about this year’s Rooster Road Trip. And for the first time in our podcast’s history, watch the conversation on our YouTube channel. (LINK) Episode Highlights: • The crew tackle questions about bird dogs, public lands etiquette, hunting forecasts, upland gear, and road tripping soundtracks. • Watch, listen, and read all about this year’s Rooster Road Trip through North Dakota and South Dakota at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Maxus II shotgun and join/renew your Pheasants Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. Thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2021 sponsors: • Browning • Thorogood • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • South Dakota Tourism • Apple Auto

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Andrew Vavra, Ben Lardy, and Hunter Buth for the final leg of the 2021 Rooster Road Trip in South Dakota’s Glacial Lakes Region. The crew talks about finding birds around cattail edges in this beautiful landscape filled with lakes, hills, and public land habitat. Episode Highlights: • Buth, the newest and youngest member of the Pheasants Forever employee team, provides some interesting thoughts on viewing the uplands through the eyes of a hardcore waterfowler. • Lardy, the organization’s soil health & habitat specialist and one of the funniest employees on the Pheasants Forever team, talks about his love for the region and some fun local trivia involving vinegar and polka. • Check out the companion video that accompanies this podcast episode at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Maxus II shotgun and join/renew your Pheasants Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. Thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2021 sponsors: • Browning • Thorogood • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • South Dakota Tourism • Apple Auto

The Rooster Road Trip crew moves to South Dakota where they ride a major weather swing from cold and rainy to beautiful and sunny as they hunt Aberdeen Pheasant Coalition walk-in lands and state-owned Game Production Areas. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF Director of Marketing Andrew Vavra and the organization’s new South Dakota Regional Representative Jake Hanson. Episode Highlights: • The crew talk about the innovative community-based conservation collaboration that started with the Aberdeen Pheasant Coalition and has now grown to Mitchell and Chamberlain. • Hanson talks about his personal journey as an adult-onset pheasant hunter to On the Wing Podcast listener to PF chapter volunteer to becoming a new PF employee. • Andrew provides the birdy play-by-play for all the hits, misses, and retrieves with a tailgate pheasant dinner to close out the episode. • Check out the companion video that accompanies this podcast episode at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Maxus II shotgun and join/renew your Pheasants Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. Thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2021 sponsors: • Browning • Thorogood • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • South Dakota Tourism • Apple Auto

In this installment to the organization’s popular Rooster Road Trip adventure, Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Andrew Vavra, Renee Tomala, and Emily Spolyar to recap the crew’s second pheasant-filled day in North Dakota. The team starts the day on a fresh PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen) parcel with NDSU biologist and PF Chapter President Ben Geaumont leading the hunt. Episode Highlights: • Vavra provides the play-by-play of the crew’s hunt through another birdy PLOTS tract filled with kochia and wild flushing roosters all leading to a field edge monster flush. • Check out the companion video that accompanies this podcast episode at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Maxus II shotgun and join/renew your Pheasants Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. Thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2021 sponsors: • Browning • Thorogood • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • South Dakota Tourism • Apple Auto

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Andrew Vavra, Renee Tomala, and Emily Spolyar to recap the first day of the organization’s annual Rooster Road Trip. Recorded live from Emily Spolyar’s home on the prairie, which was once a North Dakota pheasant hunting lodge. The crew details a very birdy start to the 2021 Rooster Road Trip on the state’s publicly accessible lands. Episode Highlights: • Emily and Renee talk about relocating to North Dakota for their roles with Pheasants Forever, resulting in a deep appreciation for the state’s hunting, fishing, and outdoors opportunities. They also talk specifically about the state’s PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen) program and how Emily identified the parcel filled with birds for the crew’s golden hour hunt. • Check out the companion video that accompanies this podcast episode at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. While there, enter to win a Browning Maxus II shotgun and join/renew your Pheasants Forever membership featuring an attractive new field knife made by Browning. Thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2021 sponsors: • Browning • Thorogood • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • South Dakota Tourism • Apple Auto

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever’s Andrew Vavra, Marissa Jensen, and Renee Tomala from the field. In fact, this episode was literally recorded live on a gravel road next to a North Dakota PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen) parcel as the crew prepared to kick off the twelfth annual installment of the organization’s popular Rooster Road Trip. Episode Highlights: • As with all previous Rooster Road Trip events, the Pheasants Forever team of employees, biologists, and chapter leaders will only hunt public lands during the six-day trip through North Dakota and South Dakota. Along the way, the crew will highlight the organization’s efforts to improve habitat and public access. • Andrew Vavra, the organization’s director of marketing and Rooster Road Trip quarterback, talks about this year’s shift to an episode-oriented format. Watch this year’s preview video at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org. • Check out the terrific Rooster Road Trip membership offer featuring a Browning field knife and enter to win a Browning Maxus II shotgun at www.RoosterRoadTrip.org Thanks to our Rooster Road Trip 2021 sponsors: • Browning • Thorogood • SoundGear • Ruff Land Kennels • Federal Ammunition • Garmin • South Dakota Tourism • Apple Auto

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Douglas Spale, a hardcore bird hunter and newest member of the Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever National Board of Directors. The guys talk about Douglas’ Nebraska roots, his “Bird Dog in the City” blog series, and how our podcast episode with Erik Petersen changed his life’s trajectory. Episode Highlights: • The guys kick off the conversation with Spale’s impressions upon returning from his first ruffed grouse and woodcock hunt in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, a stark contrast to the Great Plains where Spale is accustomed to bird hunting. • Spale shares the poignant stories of his adoption, the important role hunting plays in his connection to family, and the tremendous bond formed with his first young Lab pup upon returning to the city following his father’s recovery from cancer. • Douglas also talks about the absence of Black role models in bird hunting throughout his childhood and how he’s hoping to help fill that niche with Erik Petersen’s son, Kasa.

Tom “Carp” Carpenter, editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal, joins host Bob St.Pierre to add color to his recent PF Journal story “Hunting With the Wind.” In the podcast, as in the printed story, Carp offers eleven tips for handling wind during a bird hunt. Episode Highlights: • Bob admits to historically not paying very close attention to wind conditions in favor of assessing habitat and following the dog, while Carp breaks down the error of Bob’s old ways. • Carp talks about his journaling habits and how that informs his hunting strategy during different times of the year and under different conditions. Thanks to SportDOG BRAND, a national sponsor of PF & QF’s habitat efforts, for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Reid Bryant, host of the Orvis Hunting and Shooting Podcast, and Chad Love, Quail Forever Journal’s editor, for a free-flowing conversation covering strong opinions about bird hunting influencers on Instagram and great bird hunting literature. Episode Highlights: • There is clear chemistry between Bryant and Love who share a mutual passion for literature featuring bird hunting themes and settings from icons the likes of Jim Fergus, Annie Proulx, Harry Middleton, Guy de la Valdene, Steve Bodio, Norman Maclean, David Guterson, and Rick Bass to name a few. • The guys also talk about the new collaboration between Orvis and Quail Forever centered around some fresh artwork from Jay Dowd (AKA @upland_lowlife on Instagram). You can purchase the limited-edition Orvis and Quail Forever collaborative Covey Call Tee featuring artwork from Jay Dowd here: https://www.orvis.com/orvis-and-quail-forever-covey-call-tee/3EAF.html

Tom Carpenter, editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal, joins host Bob St.Pierre to break down his recent article about identifying quality pheasant habitat by focusing on grass, grain, and winter cover. Episode Highlights: • Bob and Tom talk about the importance of grass and forb identification as part of a hunter’s ability to locate birds. They also spend some time discussing how grass density plays into recognizing a good place to bird hunt. • The guys also chat about finding pheasants, quail, and sharp-tailed grouse around different agricultural crops like corn, soybeans, sorghum, wheat, and sunflowers. Thanks to SportDOG BRAND and ALPS OutdoorZ for being partners in our Path to the Uplands content series. #PathToTheUplands

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Director of Government Affairs Jim Inglis for a conversation with Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s Chris Horton and Kent Keene. Chris and Kent explain how CSF works on three different government levels (federal, state, and gubernatorial) to advance habitat, hunting, and angling legislation across the country. Episode Highlights: The crew goes around the horn on a variety of legislative issues, including: o Right to hunt & fish amendments at the state level o Dedicated funding for natural resources at the state level o Funding for conservation through sports betting and lottery funds o The history and facts around the 30X30 concept AND why hunters & anglers should embrace this initiative o Plans for the 2023 federal Farm Bill o The guys even have some fun banter focused on an Oklahoma proposal to create a bigfoot hunting season.

Host Bob St.Pierre visits with David Nolt and filmmaker Erik Petersen about the production Long Way Home released by Pheasants Forever earlier this month. Long Way Home is a film about loss, second chances, identity, bird dogs and the power of hunting to connect people to places all through the eyes of Nolt and captured through Petersen’s camera. Episode Highlights: • Bob compares Long Way Home to Field of Dreams and shares his perspective on the parallels between “having a catch” and “going bird hunting” with one’s father. • Nolt puts into words how bird hunting opened up his ability to write the film, which ultimately served as a cathartic release during the grieving process following his father’s death. • Nolt also updates listeners on the furry star of the film, his veteran Lab, Leroy, and English Setter, Lucy. • But perhaps the most fascinating component of the discussion is Erik Petersen’s insight into the artistic process going into creating the film. From scripting to shot selection to editing, it’s a real treat to listen to the podcast right after watching the film and then hearing Erik’s artistic decision-making process. Thanks to Purina Pro Plan, Orvis, and South Dakota Tourism for bringing Long Way Home to our members and supporters. If you haven’t yet watched it, check it out at www.PheasantsForever.org/LongWayHome

This week, ten organizations have joined forces to unveil a vision for new grasslands conservation legislation modeled upon the successful North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). Host Bob St.Pierre leads a discussion with the presidents & chief executive officers of three of those partner groups. Through this important conversation, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Howard Vincent, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ Land Tawney, and National Wildlife Federation’s Collin O’Mara demonstrate an obvious chemistry that has created a bond of friendship resulting in a powerful collaborative vision for grasslands conservation. Episode Highlights: • NWF’s O’Mara details the history behind the concept and provides an “inside the beltway” sneak peek for how the idea will move into actual legislation. • PF & QF’s Vincent explains how this voluntary private lands grasslands and sagebrush tool would complement the Farm Bill, CRP, and the conservation efforts of USDA by living at the Department of the Interior under the NAWCA model. • BHA’s Tawney extolls the virtues of polite persistence in his call upon hunters and anglers to take action in support of this important grasslands conservation concept. Learn more about the North American Grasslands Conservation Act at www.ActForGrasslands.org Partners include:  Pheasants Forever  Quail Forever  National Wildlife Federation  Backcountry Hunters & Anglers  The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership  North American Grouse Partnership  World Wildlife Fund  National Deer Association  Izaak Walton League of America  Land Trust Alliance  Wildlife Mississippi

Oklahoma State Professor Dwayne Elmore returns to the podcast with his better half Leslie Elmore, Quail Forever’s coordinating biologist for Oklahoma. Whistle along as the couple share their love for quail, habitat, cooking, and of course bird dogs with host Bob St. Pierre. Episode Highlights: • The pair share their path to the uplands and how they became Oklahoma’s leaders for quail research and habitat restoration. • Leslie shares her expertise on the connection between bats and quality quail habitat. • Dwayne and Leslie give Bob tips on the hot spots for the 2021 quail season based on habitat and monsoon seasons this year across the southwest.

Larisa Harding, Arizona Game & Fish Department’s small game program manager, and Jim Heffelfinger, Arizona Game & Fish Department’s wildlife science coordinator, join host Bob St.Pierre for a conversation about Arizona’s Gambel’s, scaled, and Mearns’ quail. Larisa and Jim tag-team a fascinating discussion about how each of these three quail species reproduce at different times and gravitate to different habitats, making this year’s wild weather conditions a boon for some and a bust for others. Episode Highlights: • Arizona has endured an extreme drought for more than a year, so the conversation starts with an overview of how drought in a desert impacts habitat and subsequently each quail species. • The late summer has brought a much-needed reprieve to the dry conditions. Larissa and Jim break down how that rain is going to help the three different species of Arizona quail, especially Mearns’. They also provide an early forecast for the quail hunting season ahead. • The group closes out the episode with an overview of habitat projects Quail Forever chapters are working on in Arizona to help improve conditions for each of the quail species.

Host Bob St.Pierre and Precision Agriculture & Conservation Specialist, Emily Spolyar, talk with new upland bird hunter Jennifer Reilly about chasing challenging species right out of the gates. Reilly started her upland journey in pursuit of chukar, progressed to mountain quail, and now lives in Alaska where she is figuring out ptarmigan. Episode Highlights: • The episode kicks off with Spolyar (@ecspolyar), who is based in North Dakota, providing an August pheasant report as the drought persists across the Dakotas. • Reilly (@nuclear.flower) explains becoming addicted to chukar hunting with her English setter, as well as why she’s drawn to the rugged mountain terrain over more wide-open fields of grass. • After a move from California to Alaska, Reilly tackles another new upland bird in the ptarmigan. Only this time she attempts wingshooting from snowshoes and cross-country skis.