Fresh Tracks Field Report - 2023 Early-Season Update | Episode 228

In this episode (#253) Randy is joined by David Willms, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation and avid hunter from Wyoming. The guys explore Utah's latest attempt to demand 18 million acres of BLM lands be transferred to Utah. Utah is known for selling their state lands to fund their school system. What's the motivation? Why now? This is another repackaged effort to rekindle the movement to rid America of its public lands. Utah is spending millions and millions to do this. The attacks are not going away, rather just marketed under new names with different tactics. Listen up folks, they want your land! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode (#252) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Mike Kautz and Paul Kemper of American Prairie, known as AP. Topics focus on access and conservation. AP has enrolled 88,000 acres of their private land in Montana's Block Management access program, along with allowing access across their private land to reach otherwise inaccessible public lands. The focus is on an uncrowded "quality experience," not necessarily big animals. AP has a herd of 800 bison and leases their lands to cattle operators where over 8,000 cattle graze to sustain a grassland system dependent upon grazing. Mike and Paul explain how AP uses hunting as a wildlife management tool, along with many other activities that occur on their lands. Conservation of habitat and species is the primary goal, being accomplished in a very interesting manner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode (#251) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio is the first of hopefully four that explore statewide candidates and their views on hunting, fishing, public lands, and conservation. Both US Senate candidates have been invited as have both Gubernatorial candidates. In this episode Ryan Busse gives his views and ideas on hunting, fishing, conservation and public access. Invitations have been sent to the other candidate, Governor Greg Gianforte, and we hope to have that podcast to follow.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode (#250) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Curt Meine of the Aldo Leopold Foundation to talk about the legacy of Aldo Leopold as we celebrate 100 years of the Gila Wilderness and 75 years after the Sand County Almanac. Topics covered include expansion of the Land Ethic Leopold started, history of Gila Wilderness, revolutionary thinking, Wilderness Society, Thinking Like a Mountain, humans as part of a big community, indigenous knowledge, and other topics that connect us to the land. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy talks mule deer, research, and migrations with Dr. Kevin Monteith from the University of Wyoming. In addition to some pronghorn and other points, topics covered include habitat being primary importance, fidelity to a core area, migrators learn from mom, fat does mean healthy fawns, mule deer as specialists, migration distance changes peak rut dates, mule deer not as adaptable as elk, elk do impact mule deer, pronghorn management to have our cake and eat it too, and many other fascinating topics coming from the Monteith Shop at U of W. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Randy and the crew (Marcus, Michael, and Jace) talk about the new video series Beyond Stock, where the guys built their own semi-custom rifles, competed in NRL matches, and share their learnings. Shooting skills are an important part of rifle hunting, and there is a lot to be learned from competitive shooting - everything from handloading ammunition to improving your form. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode (#247) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Doug Duren. Doug is a leading advocate for putting Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic into action. On his Wisconsin farm, Doug practices sustainable and regenerative land management with a focus on the land. He is famous for his motto. "It's not ours, it's just our turn." Topics covered include many of Leopold's essays, the relevance of the Land Ethic today, using wild places and wild things as our currency for a high standard of living, and a mountain of other topics connected to Aldo Leopold's essays in The Sand County Almanac. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Randy shares bison hunting stories with Andy Morris and Jake Ahmann. Topics covered include their free-range bison hunts in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming, the amazing meat, field dressing challenges, bison history, bison tragedy as the conservation genesis in America, how to create advocacy for more bison, tribes leading bison restoration, concerns of those most impacted by bison, and a lot of other topics related to free-range bison and the possibilities toward more of them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Randy is joined by long-time friend and past guest, Hal Herring. They summarize a day of walleye fishing that allowed them to discuss many topics, danger in focusing on abstraction, including do our actions mirror our words, how we can do better, paying more for the comforts we demand, society being subsidized by nature, spending the resource inheritance of future generations, getting people to think about their actions, Hal's public land book, Tecumseh as an example for hunter advocacy, and tons of tangents that give incentive to stand for what we believe in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Randy is joined by Gaspar Perricone, hunter, strategist, former Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commissioner, and influential member of Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project, the group fighting ballot initiative 91 in Colorado. Ballot Initiative 91 would prohibit hunting for Mountain Lion, Lynx, and Bobcat in Colorado. In this episode, we talk about how hunters can effectively communicate to the 80% of voters who are non-hunters, strategies for hunters to be effective in policy while being a minority of the electorate, trends toward ballots and legislation, Colorado as the example for other states, anti-hunting efforts coming to your state, and a lot of other information that draws on Gaspar's years of being involved in policy and the wildlife politics of Colorado. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices