1
00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:13,480
Speaker 1: From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is

2
00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,760
Speaker 1: Cols we can Review with Ryan cal Callahan.

3
00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:22,600
Speaker 2: Now here's Cal. Okay, another special drop of Cal's week

4
00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:28,120
Speaker 2: in review this week going back to our theme of

5
00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,800
Speaker 2: exploring all these conservation groups, because the number one annoying

6
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:38,120
Speaker 2: email that I get is Hey, what conservation group should

7
00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:41,960
Speaker 2: I join? And I could give you the easy answers

8
00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:46,840
Speaker 2: and serve it to you like spoiled children, but that's

9
00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:48,720
Speaker 2: not the point of this podcast. I want you to

10
00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,960
Speaker 2: learn and make decisions on your own, so those decisions

11
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,639
Speaker 2: have greater weight. Plus you can only blame yourself. I'm

12
00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,440
Speaker 2: trying to make active participants in the concert vation community here. Okay.

13
00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,840
Speaker 2: That's that's the whole reason that you got to put

14
00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,680
Speaker 2: up with ads and my oms and oz and breathing

15
00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,040
Speaker 2: into the microphone and things like that, which honestly you

16
00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,960
Speaker 2: don't hear much of because fill the engineer as a magician. Anyway,

17
00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,760
Speaker 2: this week, everybody knows that I, you know, interact with

18
00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,920
Speaker 2: and talk about Pheasants Forever as an organization a lot. Well,

19
00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:32,759
Speaker 2: this week we have a Montana local representative of Pheasants Forever,

20
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,120
Speaker 2: Hunter Van Doncil, doncil.

21
00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,440
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, yeah, perfect, you got it.

22
00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:42,760
Speaker 2: Okay, Well this is a podcast, so you're gonna have

23
00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:47,720
Speaker 2: to speak up. Hunter. You can correct me where it's

24
00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,840
Speaker 2: necessary or even when it's not. But uh so, I

25
00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,640
Speaker 2: worked with Hunter on one topic that we'll get into today,

26
00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,120
Speaker 2: which is wildcat Bend, and I've also bugged the heck

27
00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:03,440
Speaker 2: out of him on a bunch of other cool things

28
00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:08,280
Speaker 2: that fall underneath his job description, and we'll get into

29
00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,880
Speaker 2: that as well, because it's resources that you should be

30
00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,920
Speaker 2: engaging with Pheasants Forever on that will benefit you or

31
00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:22,320
Speaker 2: your neighbors, and it's awesome stuff. So, Hunter, why don't

32
00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,800
Speaker 2: you introduce yourself? Who do you work for? What do

33
00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:27,919
Speaker 2: you do? Yeah? You bet?

34
00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,919
Speaker 1: I'm Hunter van Donsel. I'm the state coordinator for Pheasants

35
00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:37,600
Speaker 1: Forever in Montana and Wyoming. I supervise our staff of

36
00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:42,040
Speaker 1: awesome biologists and habitat specialists across the two state region

37
00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:46,040
Speaker 1: that I work in. I lead our strategic habitat initiatives,

38
00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,440
Speaker 1: work on grants, work with our awesome partners across the

39
00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,840
Speaker 1: state to try to get the biggest bang for our

40
00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,960
Speaker 1: buck in upland habitat conservation, and really make sure that

41
00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,040
Speaker 1: we improve the upland experiences across the states that I work.

42
00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:04,200
Speaker 2: And when you say improve upland experiences and states that

43
00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:06,240
Speaker 2: you work in, and you work for Pheasants Forever, so

44
00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,880
Speaker 2: obviously you mean releasing a bunch of pheasants out there

45
00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:11,280
Speaker 2: so people can shoot them, right.

46
00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,639
Speaker 1: That is not what I mean at all. We Pheasants

47
00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:19,120
Speaker 1: Forever is the habitat organization. We focus on improving the

48
00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,240
Speaker 1: habitats that upland birds and other wildlifes thrive on and

49
00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:28,120
Speaker 1: need to survive, and focus on making thriving wild populations

50
00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,200
Speaker 1: of upland game birds in the States. So we focus

51
00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,560
Speaker 1: on all the habitat needs that those species require, like

52
00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,200
Speaker 1: nesting cover, winter cover, brood cover, things that make those

53
00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:43,440
Speaker 1: species thrive on the ground for the long term persistence

54
00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:48,480
Speaker 1: of those species. So no typically does not include releasing birds.

55
00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:52,560
Speaker 1: We're focused on impacting the grass and the shrubs and

56
00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:54,520
Speaker 1: things that make those birds survive.

57
00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,520
Speaker 2: And if you're like a white tail hunter, a mule

58
00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,720
Speaker 2: deer hunter, even consider throwing a buck towards Pheasants Forever

59
00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,880
Speaker 2: because what does a bird organization do for us?

60
00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,520
Speaker 1: Yeah, good habitat is good for a variety of species.

61
00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,040
Speaker 1: You know, the beautiful thing about pheasants and a lot

62
00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,080
Speaker 1: of other upland birds is that, you know, they're pretty

63
00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,120
Speaker 1: generalists in the species or the habitat requirements that they need.

64
00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:25,240
Speaker 1: They need healthy grasses, they need intact landscapes, and those

65
00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,000
Speaker 1: are the same things that are big game species required to.

66
00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,039
Speaker 1: There's a ton of overlap between whitetail habitat and pheasant habitat,

67
00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,520
Speaker 1: between sharp and tail habitat and mule deer habitat, elk

68
00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,440
Speaker 1: habitat and sage grouse habitat. I mean, the list goes on,

69
00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,400
Speaker 1: and so we're really looking at, especially in Montana and Wyoming,

70
00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:48,280
Speaker 1: improving habitat that's relevant to the state that really impacts

71
00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:50,840
Speaker 1: what people in those states care about. So in Montana,

72
00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,760
Speaker 1: it's a variety of things. It's big game and birds,

73
00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:55,840
Speaker 1: and they all intersect really nicely.

74
00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,480
Speaker 2: That's great. I just like to bring that stuff up

75
00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,400
Speaker 2: because you know, you got a big ditch chicken as

76
00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:07,360
Speaker 2: your mascot, right so, and a bunch of other fun

77
00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,040
Speaker 2: names for pheasants. But there's a big misnomer out there

78
00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,480
Speaker 2: that keeps getting brought up. You know, maybe not as

79
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,320
Speaker 2: often anymore, but it's like, well, I don't really care

80
00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,280
Speaker 2: about pheasants or put in take. I don't care about

81
00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,719
Speaker 2: put and take, you know those types of things. Do

82
00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,559
Speaker 2: you still come across that as an employee these days?

83
00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, definitely yeah. And you know, having the big

84
00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,239
Speaker 1: old rooster as our logo definitely puts us in a box,

85
00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:39,159
Speaker 1: which we definitely work on pheasant habitat. That is something

86
00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:41,400
Speaker 1: we do, but we also do a lot more and

87
00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,200
Speaker 1: habitat that's good for pheasants is good for a lot

88
00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:46,920
Speaker 1: of other species. And depending on the state you're in,

89
00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,120
Speaker 1: we try to be relevant and so in Montana we're

90
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:54,400
Speaker 1: focusing a lot on intact landscapes. You know, Montana has

91
00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,960
Speaker 1: some awesome grasslands and sagebrush habitat that we're focusing on

92
00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:02,000
Speaker 1: that's relevant to the state. We dabble in some forest

93
00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,120
Speaker 1: grouse projects and things like that. So we're really focused

94
00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:10,520
Speaker 1: on upland experiences as a whole, especially in the Western US,

95
00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,560
Speaker 1: and focusing on improving those things that have upland birds

96
00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,640
Speaker 1: in them, but also impact you know, communities and sportsmen

97
00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,960
Speaker 1: in a broader component. So yeah, we definitely hear you know,

98
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,320
Speaker 1: why do you care about pheasants? And you know, we

99
00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,320
Speaker 1: care a lot about pheasants, but we also care about

100
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:32,560
Speaker 1: great habitat that's vital for sportsmen, for communities, for agriculture

101
00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:33,760
Speaker 1: and everything above.

102
00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,920
Speaker 2: So when you talk about caring for these different communities,

103
00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,839
Speaker 2: what programs does PF have in place that that gets

104
00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:43,600
Speaker 2: that done.

105
00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, across the nation, we employ over one hundred and

106
00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,280
Speaker 1: seventy five biologists across the nation, and these folks are

107
00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:57,200
Speaker 1: experts in wildlife habitat and conservation programs and agriculture and

108
00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,120
Speaker 1: so there a lot of them are really focused on

109
00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:04,080
Speaker 1: working with private landowners to figure out site specific habitat

110
00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:09,040
Speaker 1: management plans that meet wildlife objectives and agricultural objectives. So

111
00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,240
Speaker 1: those point those folks are where the rubber meets the road,

112
00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:16,280
Speaker 1: and they really provide some great expertise that helps get

113
00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:20,400
Speaker 1: wildlife habitat on the ground. We also provide direct funding

114
00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:26,240
Speaker 1: for projects that improve access to public land, purchase land

115
00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,680
Speaker 1: for habitat and for access as well. So it's a

116
00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:34,880
Speaker 1: really variety of different things. Staff that provide expertise, funding

117
00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,680
Speaker 1: for programs, advocacy, things like that.

118
00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:42,480
Speaker 2: Awesome and yeah, one that you and I know, well,

119
00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,640
Speaker 2: here is a wildcat bend in Montana. So the Lower

120
00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,720
Speaker 2: Yellowstone something that we did some fundraising for through our

121
00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:56,360
Speaker 2: land access initiative. And I mean even right now, mind

122
00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:01,120
Speaker 2: blowing that chunk of property like that is, you know,

123
00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:05,960
Speaker 2: marching towards public hunting access. Yeah.

124
00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,200
Speaker 1: Yeah, that wildcat is a great example, and I want

125
00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,240
Speaker 1: to thank you cal for and the mediator folks for that.

126
00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,920
Speaker 1: I mean, it's amazing to get that one across the

127
00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:17,640
Speaker 1: finish line. That is a three hundred and twenty eight

128
00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,840
Speaker 1: acre piece that we supported a Montana Fishlife and Parks

129
00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:28,559
Speaker 1: in the acquisition. That property closed in January, so fish

130
00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,800
Speaker 1: Life and Parks officially owns it right now. It's open

131
00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,760
Speaker 1: to boat in access and still working out some details

132
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,480
Speaker 1: on the road in the parking lot, but open to

133
00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,120
Speaker 1: boat in access and three hundred and twenty eight acres

134
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,960
Speaker 1: for that piece that fits into a larger two thousand

135
00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,120
Speaker 1: acre kind of complex that's brand new public access. It's

136
00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:50,760
Speaker 1: a it's a really cool property. It's got this awesome

137
00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:55,360
Speaker 1: cottonwood gallery, some great winter cover, and quite a few birds.

138
00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,360
Speaker 1: Saw a lot of white tail turkeys out there. It's

139
00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,440
Speaker 1: really just an awesome property that it is really going

140
00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:02,640
Speaker 1: to benefit the public.

141
00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:09,120
Speaker 2: So yeah, I mean river frontage, right, I mean real riverfrontedge,

142
00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:14,720
Speaker 2: old growth trees and variety, not a one trick pony.

143
00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's cool. I mean that river comes down

144
00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:23,800
Speaker 1: and it bends right around this property and it's it's cool. Yeah.

145
00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:25,800
Speaker 1: If folks are in that area, i'd encourage you to

146
00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,959
Speaker 1: go check out those wildcat pieces. They're they're pretty special.

147
00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:35,880
Speaker 2: But you know that wasn't Pheasants Forever per se. It

148
00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:41,920
Speaker 2: was Pheasants Forever Build a Wildlife Area program. Can you

149
00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,800
Speaker 2: tell us what that is and how that fits into

150
00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:48,120
Speaker 2: Pheasants Forever as a whole.

151
00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:50,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, you bet, you're exactly right.

152
00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:51,120
Speaker 2: Cal.

153
00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,280
Speaker 1: That's part of our Build a Wildlife Area program, which

154
00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:59,600
Speaker 1: is our flagship public access and acquisition program across the nation.

155
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,600
Speaker 1: And so through that program, we work with funders, with

156
00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:10,960
Speaker 1: federal and state partners really to pool resources and really

157
00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,560
Speaker 1: acquire more public land. You know, it's a nationwide program,

158
00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,600
Speaker 1: and we've done some awesome projects in Minnesota, across the

159
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,600
Speaker 1: Midwest and really out in Bob White Country as well.

160
00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:25,199
Speaker 1: And so these are really you know, a variety of projects,

161
00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:27,600
Speaker 1: but typically the ones I've seen is we're really helping

162
00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:31,360
Speaker 1: a state or federal agency acquire these properties and so

163
00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:35,320
Speaker 1: whether they need funding to get those over the finish line,

164
00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,680
Speaker 1: if they need somebody to hold and manage grants, if

165
00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,920
Speaker 1: the timing, you know, the federal process can take years

166
00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,520
Speaker 1: and years to get a project acquired, and so oftentimes

167
00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:49,960
Speaker 1: we'll step in and front the money, make the timelines

168
00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,600
Speaker 1: go quicker, and make sure those projects get across the

169
00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:57,120
Speaker 1: finish line. And so in twenty twenty three alone, nationwide,

170
00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:01,520
Speaker 1: we've helped acquire over fourth thousan acres just in twenty

171
00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:05,719
Speaker 1: twenty three and really had an incredible list of partners

172
00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,840
Speaker 1: nationwide that have made these happen. So we're really looking

173
00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,800
Speaker 1: at gearing up that build a Wildlife Area program, looking

174
00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,400
Speaker 1: for support and looking for awesome projects.

175
00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:21,240
Speaker 2: Heck yeah, access and habitat habitat and access to it.

176
00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,360
Speaker 2: And I do want to circle back because I feel

177
00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,520
Speaker 2: like we skipped it a little bit and it's a

178
00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,800
Speaker 2: point that needs to be hammered home. Why not just

179
00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,760
Speaker 2: introducing pheasants, just throwing pheasants out on the landscape. Why

180
00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:41,880
Speaker 2: isn't that the approach versus you know, the slow firmer

181
00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:48,199
Speaker 2: approach of planting, curating grasses, forbes, brush, et cetera.

182
00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a variety of ways to come into that

183
00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:55,680
Speaker 1: you know, discussion. And for me, you know, I really

184
00:11:55,720 --> 00:12:00,280
Speaker 1: look at return on investment. I see stocking program that

185
00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:04,520
Speaker 1: their intent is to increase populations as being kind of

186
00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:08,200
Speaker 1: a welfare like program. Right, You're just putting it out

187
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:13,400
Speaker 1: there with really no likelihood of success. Those stock birds

188
00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,520
Speaker 1: over ninety percent of them are going to die within

189
00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:19,480
Speaker 1: the first six months. They're not going to make it

190
00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,800
Speaker 1: through winter. It really becomes a put and take sort

191
00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,440
Speaker 1: of program which just has ethical considerations, and really the

192
00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:31,200
Speaker 1: long term benefit of that is really not there. And

193
00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,560
Speaker 1: so if you focus on that long term approach of

194
00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:38,000
Speaker 1: having healthy habitats that can support populations, that's really where

195
00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:40,560
Speaker 1: the rubber meets the road. And so you know, there's

196
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:46,280
Speaker 1: certain very few places where you can you know, start populations,

197
00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,120
Speaker 1: but really you need that habitat to be there. That

198
00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,400
Speaker 1: habitat has a carrying capacity and you can't just pour

199
00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:56,679
Speaker 1: in extra birds to augment that population. And so habitat

200
00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:01,480
Speaker 1: is really the only way to increase your local populations

201
00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:05,719
Speaker 1: and really have that long term wild and thriving population

202
00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,960
Speaker 1: that really you know, makes up the experiences that we

203
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,760
Speaker 1: really care about. You know, for me, why I love

204
00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,560
Speaker 1: upland hunting and and outdoors is really the feeling that

205
00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,480
Speaker 1: I get out there the wild places, that I experience

206
00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,360
Speaker 1: experiences in them with my daughter and my friends. And

207
00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:24,600
Speaker 1: it's really more about that as a whole and not

208
00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,520
Speaker 1: just pulling the trigger. And I think that's what Pheasants

209
00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,520
Speaker 1: Forever is really about, is improving those habitats for those

210
00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:35,920
Speaker 1: birds and thereby improving the experiences of sportsmen to go

211
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,120
Speaker 1: out there and enjoy that. So but really the return

212
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:43,560
Speaker 1: on investment, I think it's much more cost benefit to

213
00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,360
Speaker 1: improve the habitat, even though it might take longer.

214
00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,600
Speaker 2: How long would we have to wait? Like what's the

215
00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:56,240
Speaker 2: ability for a wild bird to you know, find new habitat?

216
00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:58,480
Speaker 2: Like how far will they travel?

217
00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:04,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know a pheasants home range is typically pretty small.

218
00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:10,120
Speaker 1: But the one thing about upland birds is their reproductive potential.

219
00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,480
Speaker 1: They are you know, they're putting all their resources in

220
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,680
Speaker 1: you know, new chicks and nesting. Right. They don't live

221
00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,920
Speaker 1: generally that long, but a hen can really put out

222
00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,480
Speaker 1: a lot of young birds if the conditions are right.

223
00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,560
Speaker 1: And so if you have habitat that gets them to

224
00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,560
Speaker 1: survive over winter and get them to produce healthy nests.

225
00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,200
Speaker 1: That's going to survive. I mean, you can really multiply

226
00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:37,040
Speaker 1: a population quickly and so it doesn't have to take

227
00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:39,800
Speaker 1: that long. You know, weather plays into it in a

228
00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,360
Speaker 1: big way. But really what I'm thinking about is how

229
00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,160
Speaker 1: can we get more birds to survive overwinter, and how

230
00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,880
Speaker 1: can we get birds to produce more nests and so

231
00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,040
Speaker 1: more grass that's undisturbed in the nesting season, more thick

232
00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,640
Speaker 1: cover for birds to hold over on. You can really

233
00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,680
Speaker 1: see population increases year by year if the conditions are right.

234
00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,480
Speaker 2: That's cool, that's cool. Yeah, it's a wild thing we

235
00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,560
Speaker 2: all want to think about. Like that old kg rooster

236
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:11,360
Speaker 2: that is outsmarting us, right, or that's the inevitable reason

237
00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,880
Speaker 2: that we missed it or walked past it or the

238
00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,120
Speaker 2: dog didn't pick it up right away. Is it's this

239
00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:22,200
Speaker 2: old man that's seeing a lot of seasons. But what

240
00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,440
Speaker 2: is the average life expectancy?

241
00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,640
Speaker 1: Oh, it's not very long. I mean most of the

242
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,120
Speaker 1: birds that you're killing out there year to year are

243
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:32,880
Speaker 1: young of the year. I mean they're young. And so

244
00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:34,840
Speaker 1: a two year old bird, you know, in his second

245
00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,000
Speaker 1: fall season has been around the block, right, And so

246
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,600
Speaker 1: I don't have a great number on the exact average

247
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,960
Speaker 1: life expectancy, but it's not very long. I mean, most

248
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,280
Speaker 1: of those birds that folks are killing are juvenile, and

249
00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,640
Speaker 1: so an old bird is hard to come by, and

250
00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:52,960
Speaker 1: the bulk of what's out there in the fall is

251
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,960
Speaker 1: coming from that nesting season. That's why weather and habitat

252
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,520
Speaker 1: is so important, and year to year it can change.

253
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,600
Speaker 1: You know, We've had some great years in Montana and

254
00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,600
Speaker 1: this year's shaping up to be pretty good too. But yeah,

255
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,200
Speaker 1: they don't live that long a couple of seasons.

256
00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,720
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's interesting too because like when I've my

257
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,800
Speaker 2: very first pheasant hunt, I remember my grandpa being like, well,

258
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:20,960
Speaker 2: kids can still shoot a hen, right, and you know, no, no, no, no,

259
00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,600
Speaker 2: But I mean this was I guess not you know,

260
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:27,400
Speaker 2: all that long ago, right, I'm forty, It would have been,

261
00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:32,880
Speaker 2: you know, twenty six years ago, twenty seven years ago,

262
00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,040
Speaker 2: and but my grandpa like kids can shoot a hand

263
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,680
Speaker 2: and having to dig through the rags and make sure

264
00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:43,720
Speaker 2: we're you know. But there was that idea that I think,

265
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,000
Speaker 2: and you may know this better than I do, that

266
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,840
Speaker 2: the leniency on shooting a hen was like an enforcement

267
00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:55,680
Speaker 2: slash hunter recruitment problem, Like you know, if we make

268
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,160
Speaker 2: it illegally illegal, then a kid's going to make a

269
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,680
Speaker 2: mistake and we don't want to have them get a ticket.

270
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:07,280
Speaker 2: But now nobody ever thinks about that. It's like if

271
00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:12,680
Speaker 2: you're hunting wild birds, not like purely on a put

272
00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:17,080
Speaker 2: and take dog training situation, it is, you know, just

273
00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:21,080
Speaker 2: not fathomable that you could kill a hen.

274
00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,320
Speaker 1: Right, right, I mean it's roosters only, and some of

275
00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:27,560
Speaker 1: that's the beauty of a pheasant, right you can tell

276
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:31,640
Speaker 1: pretty easily, should be really easily. You know, sometimes they

277
00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:33,840
Speaker 1: trick you, but you know, you can tell the difference

278
00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,200
Speaker 1: between a rooster and a hen, and that really is

279
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:41,040
Speaker 1: great because the hen is what matters for populations, right.

280
00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,760
Speaker 1: Roosters you know too much. Rooster's survival can actually be

281
00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:49,320
Speaker 1: a weird thing for competition over you know, food resources

282
00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:52,679
Speaker 1: in the late winter and early springing and different things

283
00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,240
Speaker 1: like that. So you really want the hens to survive,

284
00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:59,760
Speaker 1: you know, sharp tail sage grouse, mountain grouse. You can't

285
00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,360
Speaker 1: tell on the wing and so there, you know, it's

286
00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:06,760
Speaker 1: a different situation, but yeah, it's right now. It's yeah,

287
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,080
Speaker 1: you wouldn't you wouldn't fathom thinking about shooting a hand

288
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,480
Speaker 1: out in the in the wilds for sure.

289
00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,080
Speaker 2: Right, And it's as long as you uh see those

290
00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:21,600
Speaker 2: hens out there, I mean, there's there's hope. You're like, Okay, yeah,

291
00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,640
Speaker 2: this is a great spot. Maybe not today, but there

292
00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,000
Speaker 2: will be birds here in the future, right yeah, which, yeah,

293
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:35,200
Speaker 2: which is cool. So yeah, I want to talk about

294
00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,679
Speaker 2: the other thing that I've bugged you on in the past,

295
00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:42,320
Speaker 2: and and this falls into something people don't consider pheasants

296
00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:47,000
Speaker 2: forever on the private side of the fence has a

297
00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:55,160
Speaker 2: really robust infrastructure of help, whether that's farm bill implementation,

298
00:18:55,480 --> 00:19:01,359
Speaker 2: farm bill program im implementation, or like I was bugging

299
00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:05,800
Speaker 2: you on, was trying to look at some properties that

300
00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,760
Speaker 2: came up for sale that I could potentially build in

301
00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:16,560
Speaker 2: easements to basically like my business plan if I could

302
00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:21,680
Speaker 2: actually muster up the courage and financial strength to actually

303
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:23,080
Speaker 2: buy a place, right.

304
00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:25,240
Speaker 1: So yeah, can you.

305
00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,760
Speaker 2: Talk a little bit about that, you bet?

306
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,160
Speaker 1: You bet. So I'll talk more specifically to my team

307
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,880
Speaker 1: in Montana, but this is true across the whole nation,

308
00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,480
Speaker 1: and so I really see my staff in Montana as

309
00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,040
Speaker 1: the one stop shop for a landowner to come in

310
00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,520
Speaker 1: there for support, and so that support can be really

311
00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,040
Speaker 1: broad in nature. It could be support on you know,

312
00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,080
Speaker 1: habitat specifics, you know what's going to get more birds

313
00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:52,359
Speaker 1: across the winner, you know, things like that. But it

314
00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:57,840
Speaker 1: can also be support with funding for specific projects or

315
00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:02,000
Speaker 1: for easements or you know, really anything that a landowner

316
00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:08,280
Speaker 1: might need where there's an intersection between wildlife habitat and so, yeah,

317
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,959
Speaker 1: my folks are the one stop shop. They're often sitting

318
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,520
Speaker 1: in natural Resource Conservation Service offices, so they have really

319
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,200
Speaker 1: the power of the entire four billion dollar farm bill

320
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,800
Speaker 1: at their disposal, where they're really working hand in hand

321
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:27,960
Speaker 1: with producers to work on cost share programs for a

322
00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:32,760
Speaker 1: variety of different projects. They also have access to Fishlife

323
00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:36,159
Speaker 1: and Parks programs. Fishlife and Parks has an awesome upland

324
00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,320
Speaker 1: game bird program as well as a migratory bird program

325
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:43,760
Speaker 1: that works with private landowners that has funding and habitat

326
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,760
Speaker 1: and access. There's also a suite of other conservation partners

327
00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:52,880
Speaker 1: like Ducks, Unlimited, World, Wildlife Fund, Nature Conservancy, the list

328
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,720
Speaker 1: goes on that have different grants and programs, and we

329
00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:01,320
Speaker 1: really have a great connection with those conservation organizations and

330
00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:04,480
Speaker 1: really can you know they can work with one individual

331
00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:09,200
Speaker 1: develop that relationship and that Pheasence Forever staff person connects

332
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,680
Speaker 1: all the dots and comes up with a site specific

333
00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,399
Speaker 1: plan that has funding and meets the goals of both

334
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,680
Speaker 1: the producer as well as wildlife that we care about.

335
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:28,960
Speaker 2: Amazing resource, so amazing that certainly the people of my

336
00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:35,480
Speaker 2: father grandfather's generation just wouldn't even consider it being an option,

337
00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,639
Speaker 2: Like it's too good to be true. You and I

338
00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,720
Speaker 2: talked about a place where we could have potentially even

339
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:46,680
Speaker 2: gotten machinery that I wouldn't have to own or operate

340
00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:51,160
Speaker 2: out there to do some improvements if if it would

341
00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:55,560
Speaker 2: have worked right, and it's just like really wild, really wild.

342
00:21:55,680 --> 00:22:00,720
Speaker 2: So is that the biggest barrier to entry, the biggest

343
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:06,040
Speaker 2: barrier to uh start the conversation is is just awareness?

344
00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,399
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say. So. You know, a lot of

345
00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,120
Speaker 1: the you know, the private landowners we work with, most

346
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:16,560
Speaker 1: of them have a full time, you know, multimillion dollar

347
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:20,760
Speaker 1: agricultural enterprise right that takes the vast amount of their energy.

348
00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,240
Speaker 1: And so when they often have the intentions of really

349
00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:28,840
Speaker 1: wanting to improve their operation their wildlife habitat, and the

350
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000
Speaker 1: energy that it takes to come up with a site

351
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:36,760
Speaker 1: specific plan can be really intensive. Programs are complex, have rules,

352
00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,200
Speaker 1: and we provide somebody that's going to get to know them,

353
00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,359
Speaker 1: get to know their property, that knows all the programs

354
00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,600
Speaker 1: and opportunities out there and really just connects all the dots.

355
00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,960
Speaker 1: So it's awareness, it's time, it's relationships, and we're looking

356
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,480
Speaker 1: to reduce all of those barriers for landowners as well

357
00:22:55,520 --> 00:23:00,440
Speaker 1: as public lands agencies to get those habitat improvements on

358
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:00,919
Speaker 1: the ground.

359
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:06,119
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that I mean. And to talk about like

360
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:11,800
Speaker 2: another misnomer is you can you know, you can raise

361
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,760
Speaker 2: wildlife or you can raise cash crops, right, Like, are

362
00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,080
Speaker 2: you going to make a living by supporting wild animals

363
00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:21,399
Speaker 2: on your on your place too? Sure?

364
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:27,680
Speaker 1: So in our opinion, agriculture and wildlife go hand in hand, right,

365
00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:32,280
Speaker 1: And there's so many overlaps between a profitable agricultural operation

366
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:36,480
Speaker 1: and wildlife, especially in the grasslands in Montana. You know,

367
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,080
Speaker 1: there's common saying that you'll hear from organizations. What's good

368
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:41,880
Speaker 1: for the bird is good for the herd, And that's

369
00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,520
Speaker 1: something we definitely believe in, and so we do a

370
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:49,400
Speaker 1: lot of projects that benefit livestock operations as well as wildlife.

371
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,040
Speaker 1: We work with producers on sustainable crop rotations. You know,

372
00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,760
Speaker 1: you know, for example, in the Golden Triangle in Montana,

373
00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,679
Speaker 1: wheat fallow is a pretty typical crop rotation, right. Well,

374
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,040
Speaker 1: if you start just adding in maybe another crop instead

375
00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,639
Speaker 1: of that fallol period where it's just you start adding

376
00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,359
Speaker 1: in some field borders or different things, it can really

377
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,040
Speaker 1: make a big difference for wildlife. But it can also

378
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:16,000
Speaker 1: add in some diversity to an operation. It can add

379
00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,639
Speaker 1: in a new income stream if you graze those at

380
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,119
Speaker 1: different times. So there's a lot of things there that

381
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,320
Speaker 1: you can do to add value to both you know,

382
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,840
Speaker 1: your cash crop as well as your wildlife habitats.

383
00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,760
Speaker 2: Heck, yeah, and again you're going to have if you're

384
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,520
Speaker 2: in this position, you don't have to spend all your

385
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:37,320
Speaker 2: time thinking about it. You can you can reach out

386
00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,679
Speaker 2: and have some resources at your fingertips that are going

387
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 2: to be paid to think about that stuff in large

388
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:46,280
Speaker 2: part for you.

389
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,320
Speaker 1: Yep, yep, yep. We provide that. Try to make it

390
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,000
Speaker 1: as easy as we can, and then you know, try

391
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,440
Speaker 1: to get people over the hump. Trying those new things

392
00:24:55,520 --> 00:25:00,119
Speaker 1: can be risky. You know, the knowledge that it's new, right,

393
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,600
Speaker 1: and so we can often find those cost share incentives

394
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:04,960
Speaker 1: to make it worth their while to try it and

395
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,280
Speaker 1: then hopefully adopt it into the long term without that

396
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,399
Speaker 1: funding into the future. So really try to lower that

397
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:14,200
Speaker 1: barrier to entry as low as possible.

398
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,359
Speaker 2: And these folks can reach out to you even if

399
00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:21,919
Speaker 2: they're not in pheasant country and even if they don't

400
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,320
Speaker 2: really have pheasants on the mind.

401
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,359
Speaker 1: Definitely, we care about Montana, we care about the states

402
00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,600
Speaker 1: we work in, We care about all wildlife. We're here

403
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,880
Speaker 1: to help improve wildlife habitat. It's as general as that.

404
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:41,159
Speaker 1: In Montana, we have a biologist covering thirty seven of

405
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:45,359
Speaker 1: our fifty six counties, so huge coverage area. Other states,

406
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,320
Speaker 1: especially in the Midwest, have a lot of resources at

407
00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:53,800
Speaker 1: that county level, and we're just interested in helping regardless

408
00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,040
Speaker 1: of what your goals are, if there's overlap for wildlife

409
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,760
Speaker 1: habitat and we can get a win for birds and

410
00:25:58,800 --> 00:25:59,800
Speaker 1: wildlife we're in.

411
00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 2: And one thing that's really hard for people to get

412
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:10,399
Speaker 2: a hold of is how far Pheasants Forever and a

413
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,760
Speaker 2: lot of nonprofits can stretch a buck or rather multiply

414
00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:19,840
Speaker 2: a dollar a donation can you go into, like maybe

415
00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:25,879
Speaker 2: in the build a Wildlife Area program, how some of

416
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:31,119
Speaker 2: those donations were were matched and multiplied for a larger impact.

417
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:37,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really incredible what Pheasants Forever and other organizations

418
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 1: can do with with leveraging funding. And so I'll give

419
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,320
Speaker 1: you a couple of different examples. For build a wildlife area,

420
00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:49,960
Speaker 1: you know, that specific project, the math gets complicated, but

421
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,600
Speaker 1: we were able to leverage private donor dollars over a

422
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:57,119
Speaker 1: one to one match. So we doubled each private dollar

423
00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:01,480
Speaker 1: that came in with either you know, state dollars, other

424
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:08,240
Speaker 1: granting efforts, other nonprofit involvement, and really rallied that together.

425
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:13,719
Speaker 1: For my Montana budget, I typically take you know, chapter

426
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:17,199
Speaker 1: dollars and donor dollars around seventy thousand a year, and

427
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,200
Speaker 1: I turned that into about three million dollars in staff

428
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,440
Speaker 1: budget and project budget that hits the ground. So that's

429
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,000
Speaker 1: a huge increase on dollars. You know, when you give

430
00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:30,199
Speaker 1: a dollar to Pheasants Forever or me and Montana, I'm

431
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,280
Speaker 1: taking that for sure and multiplying it by two right away,

432
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,200
Speaker 1: and then it get the math gets a little weird.

433
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,320
Speaker 1: But then I'm rolling that momentum into other federal opportunities

434
00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,159
Speaker 1: and probably leveraging things at more about a four to

435
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,440
Speaker 1: one ratio. So multiply that one dollar by four for

436
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,000
Speaker 1: my Montana program, So we're really efficient.

437
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:56,159
Speaker 2: To that federal piggy bank with nothing. You have to

438
00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:01,280
Speaker 2: you have to come in with some skin in the game, correct, Yes.

439
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:06,359
Speaker 1: Yeah, a private non federal dollar is worth for right,

440
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,720
Speaker 1: and so we go into those federal and state opportunities,

441
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,080
Speaker 1: provide that match and are able to really secure that.

442
00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:16,359
Speaker 1: And I think it's really important, you know, depending on

443
00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:20,080
Speaker 1: what your interests are, you know, we're able to take

444
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,680
Speaker 1: those larger overarching federal objectives and really gear them towards

445
00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,719
Speaker 1: the things our members care about, which are upland habitats

446
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:31,639
Speaker 1: and wildlife. And so without us coming in and helping

447
00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,120
Speaker 1: direct those s federal dollars into the places we care

448
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,040
Speaker 1: about it, who knows where they're going to go. You know,

449
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,240
Speaker 1: they're hopefully going to go to something good, but we're

450
00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:43,840
Speaker 1: really ensuring that they go to improving upland game bird

451
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:47,600
Speaker 1: habitats and habitat in the states that we work in.

452
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,320
Speaker 1: So it's really important, I think, to have that skin

453
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,520
Speaker 1: in the game. And there's a lot of conservation organizations

454
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,680
Speaker 1: that do that, but it's really powerful to have those

455
00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:02,000
Speaker 1: private dollars in the system that unlock these huge federal

456
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:03,240
Speaker 1: and state opportunities.

457
00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,520
Speaker 2: Ducks Unlimited gave me a new version of one of

458
00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:11,080
Speaker 2: their original campaigns, and it's a bucket duck. Right, So

459
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:16,000
Speaker 2: you put this jar all over the place where people

460
00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:18,120
Speaker 2: walk in and out, and they can drop a dollar

461
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,680
Speaker 2: in the jar, and that dollar creates a duck. And

462
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,560
Speaker 2: it used to be like a diamond duck or a

463
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,640
Speaker 2: Nickela duck or something like that. And I think that's

464
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:32,160
Speaker 2: just like an important thing for folks to recognize, is

465
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,880
Speaker 2: it can be a pretty darn low donation. And you know,

466
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,680
Speaker 2: there's I'll just say it, frankly, there's some jackassory that

467
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:45,600
Speaker 2: happens at banquets. There's some ego measuring contests that go down.

468
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:51,080
Speaker 2: But that shouldn't make people think that that dollar can't

469
00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:56,560
Speaker 2: turn into a duck, or these smaller donations can't turn

470
00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:02,480
Speaker 2: into something real big collectively, right, And certainly just just

471
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:05,880
Speaker 2: buying the ticket and going there and not bidding is

472
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:10,200
Speaker 2: a help. Volunteer days are are big too. Do you

473
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,280
Speaker 2: guys have any opportunities coming up for folks who are listening? Yeah,

474
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:14,920
Speaker 2: you bet.

475
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:17,880
Speaker 1: The month of May is going to be our hands

476
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:20,720
Speaker 1: on habitat month and so we're going to have a

477
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:24,440
Speaker 1: bunch of different opportunities for volunteers to come and get

478
00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:27,320
Speaker 1: their hands dirty and get habitat on the ground. And

479
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,520
Speaker 1: so our national website, Pheasants Forever dot org is going

480
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,200
Speaker 1: to have the events pop up right there on that

481
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,320
Speaker 1: page where you start, and you can sign up for

482
00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,000
Speaker 1: an event that's close to you. Do a lot of

483
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:44,000
Speaker 1: awesome things fence pulls, you know, planting, shelter belts, grass management,

484
00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:48,080
Speaker 1: pollinator plantings. The list goes on. But there's opportunities all

485
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:51,760
Speaker 1: across the nation. And I didn't encourage folks that want to,

486
00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:55,520
Speaker 1: you know, give back with their time. That's huge. That's

487
00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:57,880
Speaker 1: really important to get in great habitat on the ground.

488
00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:02,160
Speaker 2: And what's your sales pitch to folks to get folks

489
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:02,720
Speaker 2: to volunteer.

490
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,560
Speaker 1: Oh my sales pitch is, uh, come out, have some fun,

491
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,760
Speaker 1: meet some folks that are just as passionate about wildlife

492
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:13,680
Speaker 1: and wild places as you are. Get your hands dirty

493
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,600
Speaker 1: and make a difference for the state and the experiences

494
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,120
Speaker 1: that you care about. Come out and get involved.

495
00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:24,280
Speaker 2: That's that's nice. That's nice. I usually, uh get a

496
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:28,280
Speaker 2: little bit more down to brass tacks and incentivize. I said,

497
00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,000
Speaker 2: you know, there's a lot of old folks in these

498
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:35,040
Speaker 2: conservation organizations, uh, and they love to talk to people.

499
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,640
Speaker 2: So if you show up and you bust your hunt

500
00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,480
Speaker 2: for a little bit because they like they like good

501
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,760
Speaker 2: work ethic, Yeah, you're gonna make some friends that are

502
00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,040
Speaker 2: probably gonna let you hunt someplace or tell you where

503
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:49,640
Speaker 2: to go hunt.

504
00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:54,840
Speaker 1: That's definitely true. And showing up makes a difference. You

505
00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:57,240
Speaker 1: show up in a local community where you like to hunt,

506
00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,040
Speaker 1: say rural Montana, and you show up and meet some

507
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 1: folks and maybe help out on a private lands conservation

508
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,400
Speaker 1: project for a volunteer day. There's a good likelihood that

509
00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:08,800
Speaker 1: you might be able to get back there in the

510
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,080
Speaker 1: fall and enjoy some time out there. I think that's

511
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:12,400
Speaker 1: some truth to that for sure.

512
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, and maybe not be opening day or opening weekend

513
00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 2: when the family comes out, but probably get a cup

514
00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:20,160
Speaker 2: of coffee out of it.

515
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely a cup of coffee lunch, maybe a cookie

516
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:25,360
Speaker 1: or something, I don't know.

517
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,680
Speaker 2: Heck. Yeah, Well, I appreciate you talking with us today,

518
00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:35,120
Speaker 2: hunter and really appreciate what you guys are doing on

519
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:40,200
Speaker 2: the PF front. So where should people go to find you?

520
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,080
Speaker 1: Yeah? Go on pheasants Forever dot org. We have a

521
00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:47,280
Speaker 1: really cool tool on there for to find a biologist.

522
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:49,960
Speaker 1: You can enter your zip code and find the closest

523
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:53,360
Speaker 1: staff person to your location. So I'd encourage you to

524
00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:56,480
Speaker 1: do that if you want to meet someone that works

525
00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,560
Speaker 1: for the organization or get some technical advice. We also

526
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,400
Speaker 1: have a seven hundred and fifty chapters across the nation,

527
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,600
Speaker 1: so find your local chapter and get involved. The awesome

528
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,200
Speaker 1: thing about those chapters is they keep one hundred percent

529
00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,640
Speaker 1: of the funds they make and have decision making authority

530
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:15,680
Speaker 1: over those so really empower the volunteers to decide what

531
00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:17,680
Speaker 1: they care about and where that money should go.

532
00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:20,320
Speaker 2: And what happens. If you're like a member of a

533
00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:22,200
Speaker 2: different organization.

534
00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,960
Speaker 1: I think that's great. I'm a member of multiple conservation organizations,

535
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,040
Speaker 1: and I think that just just adds value all the

536
00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:33,400
Speaker 1: way around. You know, each organization, you know, whether it's Ducks,

537
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,320
Speaker 1: Rocky Mountain, Elk Melder, whatever it is, they have a

538
00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:40,160
Speaker 1: different niche and I think they're all important. And conservation

539
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,360
Speaker 1: is a huge challenge, you know, and I think now

540
00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,280
Speaker 1: is the time we really need to focus on making

541
00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:51,720
Speaker 1: measurable differences where we work and I see all these

542
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:55,280
Speaker 1: conservation organizations really doing great things in the states they

543
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,720
Speaker 1: work in. So i'd encourage everybody to join a couple,

544
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:02,000
Speaker 1: get involved, and find the way one that really speaks

545
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:03,080
Speaker 1: to you the most.

546
00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,560
Speaker 2: Heck yeah, buddy, Well you got big plans for this

547
00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:09,760
Speaker 2: this fall. We don't have to talk turkeys. Everybody's talking turkeys.

548
00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:11,960
Speaker 2: I know you'll you'll get out there too, But.

549
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,200
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, nothing set in stone for this fall.

550
00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:18,359
Speaker 1: But my daughter will be two coming into the fall,

551
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,359
Speaker 1: and it's been kind of fun to try to get

552
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,600
Speaker 1: her out a little bit more and hopefully turn her

553
00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:25,839
Speaker 1: into an upland hunter when she comes of age. So

554
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,600
Speaker 1: it's been fun to get out and hopefully really excited

555
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,160
Speaker 1: for sharp Tails. Sharp Tail's kind of my my jam.

556
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,920
Speaker 1: So going to be out there in September, out in

557
00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:38,359
Speaker 1: the open prairie behind my yellow lab. So it's gonna

558
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:38,720
Speaker 1: be great.

559
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:44,440
Speaker 2: Heck yeah, heck yeah. I just just turned down puppy.

560
00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:47,800
Speaker 2: I want to I want to give a little snort.

561
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:53,399
Speaker 2: One more season of hitting it real hard, another one

562
00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:59,000
Speaker 2: more selfish season. Yeah, not great? Sure right now as

563
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:03,080
Speaker 2: is so Yeah, when she's still in super athlete mode,

564
00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:05,320
Speaker 2: I'm gonna give her one more and then it's puppy

565
00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:05,880
Speaker 2: time again.

566
00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, I have that thought about getting the second one,

567
00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:12,600
Speaker 1: but I feel the same way my big boy Fletcher.

568
00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,400
Speaker 1: He i'd feel a little bad having another one. He

569
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:17,520
Speaker 1: sure enjoys having it all to himself.

570
00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,719
Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah, yes, sir, Well, thank you so much

571
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:26,240
Speaker 2: for coming out. Please check out all of your local

572
00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:29,040
Speaker 2: conservation groups. Like I said at the beginning, I'm not

573
00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:30,960
Speaker 2: going to tell you to join Pheasants forever. I'm a

574
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,000
Speaker 2: life member, but you know you got to make your

575
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,600
Speaker 2: own decisions. Be adults, for God's sakes, Hunter, thanks a bunch, Matt.

576
00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:40,920
Speaker 2: Tell the staff and everybody. We sure appreciate him and

577
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:45,120
Speaker 2: keep creating that habitat. So even if we don't have

578
00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:47,120
Speaker 2: it this year, we'll get to it next year.

579
00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:57,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you, thanks for having me