Podcast - request for topics

I want to see the President of Montana's chapter of the Wild sheep foundation along with the national president of the Wild sheep foundation (now that Bozeman is the foundations new home!) Have them give the world a view from their seat. What does the future hold for bighorn sheep in Montana and other areas heavily populated with domestic sheep?

LB

Podcasts are fantastic. Thanks for putting it out there. Suggested topics:

How do ethical hunters differentiate ourselves from the slobs out there who give us all a bad name, without running into the criticism that getting our collective act cleaned publicly just makes it easier for the antis to attack us?

What can or should we do to get outdoor gear folks to stop using the language of violence and crime to sell their products? Do we really need to advertise products with names like "double tap" and "thug" and "pimp" for products used to hunt animals?

Hunting Eastern National Forest Land

Topics to consider...
1. How can eastern public land hunters get involved in protecting our public lands? There are probably fewer of us since eastern national forest land is such a different landscape than western lands, but any advocate of protecting public land from sell/seizure will benefit western lands, as well.
2. Any experience on hunting whitetails and black bear in the dense woods of eastern public land? It's such a different game than glassing.
3. In Georgia, one of the things that keeps many of us out of Chattahoochee National Forest is the rumor/reports that there are so many locals who view the land as their own since their families have lived there since the great land lotteries. Subsequently, we all hear stories of "mountain folk" shooting at and chasing off legal hunters. Any experience with this? How do we combat this?

Topics:

Hunter Recruitment/Education - How can we as hunters, fisherman and trappers get new people involved into hunting, fishing and trapping. I believe education is one of the things that is overlooked. More and more kids grow up now days not knowing what hunting is all about.

Declining deer populations? Is it a trend or a cycle? Is it going to get worse? I live in ND and the deer numbers are way down. I think predators in the spring time has a big part of the fawn mortality. Game and fish points to bad winters and loss of habitat. I have heard mule deer numbers are going down too.

Growing up and living in the Midwest a vast majority of my big game hunting has been whitetail deer.

80% of the hunting shows right now are whitetail deer because Whitetail deer sell shows, magazines, gear, etc.

I respect a handful of the whitetail hunters out there with that I have come to really enjoy your show and Meateater due to the fact that you guys hunt mostly Western game that just seems harder to get.

Most of the shows on Whitetail to me have come down to guys grow deer and they are deer farmers that harvest the deer. They have thousands of acres and food plots and such. At what point do you consider what they are doing hunting vs farming and harvesting?

Don't get me wrong I would love to own 1000 acres here in Iowa!

Here's my podcast question/idea, but I'm not sure it'll fly or fit into the podcast format:

Take us (a rookie) through the planning and application process for a western hunt. I'm talking start to finish. It is so incredibly confusing to a non-western state guy. I'm talking do it step-by-step, so a guy could listen in while being on his laptop or computer, and click-for-click do what needs to be done in the exact order YOU would do it.

For example,

1. Decide on animal and state (say Wyoming Antelope).
2. Find out about Unit XXX by clicking THIS
3. Find about about public land access to this unit by doing THIS.
4. Click www.XYZ/Online Application and select from THIS list and drop down, not from THAT list and drop down.

See what I mean? It may sound boring at first, but a real-time how-to would SO help clarify the process. I've been on some of these DNR/Fish and Game websites and it seems like all the information is there, but there is SO MUCH to consider, I can't figure out how to put A before C and 1 before 2.

Emrah

emrah1028 said:

Here's my podcast question/idea, but I'm not sure it'll fly or fit into the podcast format:

Take us (a rookie) through the planning and application process for a western hunt. I'm talking start to finish. It is so incredibly confusing to a non-western state guy. I'm talking do it step-by-step, so a guy could listen in while being on his laptop or computer, and click-for-click do what needs to be done in the exact order YOU would do it.

For example,

1. Decide on animal and state (say Wyoming Antelope).
2. Find out about Unit XXX by clicking THIS
3. Find about about public land access to this unit by doing THIS.
4. Click www.XYZ/Online Application and select from THIS list and drop down, not from THAT list and drop down.

See what I mean? It may sound boring at first, but a real-time how-to would SO help clarify the process. I've been on some of these DNR/Fish and Game websites and it seems like all the information is there, but there is SO MUCH to consider, I can't figure out how to put A before C and 1 before 2.

Emrah

Click to expand...

We are doing that, starting in January, for elk, in YouTube. Just expect it to be about 25 steps, all of which will take a person hours and hours of fun research to accomplish the tasks we identify in each 3-5 minute segment.

Not a podcast question, but it will get answered on YouTube.

Things you carry in your pack no matter the hunt/state you are going to
What you look for when applying for elk tags in public land

Big Fin said:

We are doing that, starting in January, for elk, in YouTube. Just expect it to be about 25 steps, all of which will take a person hours and hours of fun research to accomplish the tasks we identify in each 3-5 minute segment.

Not a podcast question, but it will get answered on YouTube.

Click to expand...

Fantastic Randy! That's exactly what I'm talking about!

Emrah

Urban deer populations

I live in Upstate New York, where the sky-high urban/suburban deer populations are finally being addressed by local governments. Some towns have tried sterilization without success, and most are now turning towards bait and shoot archery night hunts. Do you guys have any better ideas? I've thought there should be some sort of disabled persons permit that allows people who cannot access traditional hunting areas to hunt these animals with bows or crossbows (as able) in a sort of fashion like the youth hunts (mentors/helpers/companions). We have huge herds of whitetails living in neighborhoods spreading disease and destroying property. If you need reading info, a quick search of the problem in Trumansburg, NY and Cornell University should yield plenty of info.

BuzzH said:

Don Peay and Ryan Benson as featured guests...just for fun.

Click to expand...

How I would love to hear Randy unfiltered on this.

Love the podcast! How about OTC Colorado elk!

Shipping wild game meat and trophies
Is it ethical to hunt a trophy and give away ALL of the meat
Boxers or briefs
Did you ever have a mullet
Methane in confined spaces
Nose hair, trim it or pull it
After all these years, what is your favorite firearm. mine is a rifle I bought with my own money in 1991, notice that caliber and make are of no concern
1 pair of socks, 2pair, 1 plus liners...
Is camo TP a bad idea since white TP warns of impending doom

I 2nd the 'bucket list" hunts that you have not been able to pull of...yet...

Randy,

I am new here to your Forum. Thanks for starting your podcast. I do a lot of driving and a podcast is a great way to spend that time. I really have enjoyed the first 4 shows.

I live in the People Republic of Commiefornia and am a forester and wildlife biologist. I am also very active in the political game and have successfully lobbied two bills through our legislative process in the last two years. Both were focused on forestry issues. I work from small families which have 40 acres up to about 2,000 acres. This is not your typical industrial forestry, clearcut and replant and come back in 80 years. We do long-term sustainable yield by harvesting about 30% every 12 to 15 years and it really works for always having a resource in place and managing things for wildlife, recreation and many other uses that don't typically get discussed.

I have been very interested by your brief discussions on public land transfer as California has been looking at this on a very small basis, following Idaho and Washington's lead. Here in California, the USFS manages about 20 million acres of land for the public trust. However as you may have been seeing on your news each night, that land is burning and burning up in a big way. The FS can't manage it's lands due to the problems associated with some of your favorite groups, namely CBD and the Sierra Club. Every time they file a harvest plan or a management plan it is sued into oblivion. One of the issues with the federal management of our lands and wildlife is that if CBD or some other group can convenience a judge that there is a fair argument, the US Government pays the group to sue the Feds in court. I haven't looked at the numbers in the last two or three years, but CBD and the Sierra Club made over $400 million on suing the government. This is crazy.

So because of this and the fact that the FS isn't taking care of our lands, and because of this no matter how much work is done on private lands, the fires hit the private lands and keep burning the hell out of them. Last year we lost over 100,000 acres of private land. The year before that I think the number was almost double. This is having a huge affect on all forest lands.

Some of the forest industry in Ca (yes, I know we are evil with bad intentions) started looking into the idea of state transfer. Here in CA, we are allowed to hunt and camp and fish on state lands, so it isn't like your example of Colorado. The state has state forests which are well managed and managed for the people. It pays taxes for schools and roads with the harvest, so this also isn't an issue. So I guess I am wondering if we aren't talking about selling this land to private industry, and we aren't at least on the surface losing any rights, why not let the state have a crack at management? If the state can bypass some of these obstructionists and get sales going and fuel reductions happening, might this be a consideration? The FS lands need help in a big way. They have been neglected so badly for so long. The state doesn't have the same issues with paying the obstructionists to sue itself like the feds do. The state also doesn't have to deal with NEPA.

I guess what I am asking is to have this discussion, but to broaden your area other than just Colorado and Montana. There are other states which may have a better grasp on this. Washington has a ton of land which they manage for the public trust. I do realize and understand your fear about the state being able to sell the land possibly easier than the federal gov (whether it be BLM, USFS, or USF&WS) but this may not be the case. The Feds could also impose Conversation Easements on the land which would prohibit their sale. There are all kinds of solutions to the lack of management that is occurring on our lands. Yes some lands should be allowed to let nature take it's course and others could and should be managed. This issue is one that separated John Muir from his pupil Gifford Pinchot. Pinchot felt that the land could be managed responsibly, which Muir wanted it all preserved. Yes Roosevelt wanted to stop the greedy mining companies and timber barons from rapping and pillaging. I believe that there is a difference between managing our lands for maximum yield and managing them for the people for multiple use.

When you do have this discussion get multiple people from different parts of the country as maybe other states have figured out a way to make it work and still manage for the public trust and for multiple uses.

How we can take on the issues of land locked public lands and corner crossings.

Randy,

In one of your podcasts, you've talked about how mucked up the process is in Montana regarding legislation about all or most aspects of land access and fish & game laws/regulations.

I'd like for you to be able to dedicate a podcast to talking about the different models that various states use to create and maintain wildlife & access laws and what you feel would be more ideal. Obviously, the struggle in Montana is real and frustrating for you. I don't see that type of frustration in Oklahoma.

In Oklahoma, game and fish laws are codified by the state but only on behalf of the Oklahoma Wildlife Commission and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation which approves and makes all state regulations pertaining to wildlife - NOT the Oklahoma state legislature. This keeps people ‘not in the know’ out of the process until review and approval time.

The governor appoints the wildlife commissioners for an 8 year term. The terms at which the members appointments stagger vary, so theoretically a particular governor could not 'load up' the wildlife commission with his buddies with a single agenda.
The wildlife commission seeks public input yearly with regard to rules/regulations changes before they are enacted. I understand this is common practice, even when regs are made by legislatures and that these bodies do not always have to follow the opinion(s) of the public.

Do you see this as better or worse than having the legislation gone amuck in the Montana model? I recall you saying there have been a couple of hundred bills introduced regarding access & fish and game laws in Montana this year. This seems outrageous! I certainly understand that Montana's land ownership is vastly different than Oklahoma's - OK is 95% private land. Montana is probably 95% public land. How does this land ownership difference affect how a better model for all might be worked towards? Or is there not an ideal model for states because of these differences or others. What are some of the models that other states use?

Ideally, what might be the best model for ALL states and I assume there could never be a federal law that directs states to move to X model because of 10th amendment...
Link below to Oklahoma’s wildlife statues, in case you’re not familiar:

http://law.justia.com/codes/oklahoma/2006/os29.html

Thanks for all you do!

Have you though about as a topic the process for someone such as myself who isn't from USA or Canada, to apply for tags and to organise a hunt in America for lets say Elk, Whitetail or Mule Deer

Cheers Brock

Loving the podcasts Randy.
How about you host SFW/MDF and RMEF to talk about the bid for the expo tags in Utah.
SFW/MDF currently gives 30% of the app fee back to the state for habitat work. RMEF's bid would give 100% back. Watch and see how the state finds a way to keep it with SFW.

If that doesn't happen how about a discussion on the impacts of the sage grouse not being listed has for western hunters.

Thanks

As a general theme I really like guests that can break down the esoteric or rarefied for the average person. I thought Ed was a great guest in that regard. Condensing the complexities of sage grouse conservation and linking the significance to other species really helps others understand.

My wife always tells me "people don't want to know what you do, they want to know what you can do for them".

While I enjoy casually reading biological studies I can't pretend I have the skillset to digest them completely. That said, I think most hunters don't even want to read the studies so having it broken down for them, or delivered in a format (podcast) that allows the user/listener to gain a better understanding/appreciation at a much faster pace.

I think there is great opportunity for future discussions with scientists/bios.

On the gear side of topics I'd love to hear from the guys at Leupold breaking down optics and the pluses and minuses that go into scope clarity, exit pupil, ruggedness, repeatability, weight etc. etc. Same goes for all your partners, hearing Dana talk about his history of the pack industry would be great.