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In my home county, at the head of Wallowa Lake, sits a local heirloom, the Wallowa Lake Lodge. Built in 1923 from trees cut and milled on site, the lodge has seen nearly 100 years of visitors and locals alike enjoying the property, as the world changed around it. In this episode, the lodge's General Manager, Madeline Lau, sat down with me to share some fascinating history, from reintroducing elk via trains and skis, to the story of Taft and Tarzan, two of the largest elk the state has likely ever seen.

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Kevin Plew has been fascinated with hunting his entire life, working as a hunting guide since the age of 14.  Elk is his passion, but he also guides for mule deer, white-tail, and buffalo. On a very recent hunt, Kevin found himself alone, face to face with an aggressive 225-pound black bear. His story is incredible, and further illustrates the need to carry a pistol while in the woods.

And to kick off this episode, we've got a special deer hunting story from 9-year-old Capen, the 6 Ranch Podcast's biggest fan. Capen loves to hunt and particularly loves the bear stories that have been told on this show.

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Cougars are one of the most divisive animals in the state. Hunting cougar with dogs has been illegal in Oregon since 1994, which creates strong opinions on both sides of the issue. And with incredibly low success rates, cougar hunting in Oregon is one of the toughest hunts in the nation. In today's episode, I'm joined by cougar expert, Derek Broman, for a deep dive on Oregon cougars. Derek is the Carnivore Fur Bearer Coordinator for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, where he manages the bear, cougar, wolf, and fur bearer programs. We'll cover cougar biology and physiology, Oregon's cougar history, how the species has been managed, and how these powerful and elusive cats interact with other species on the landscape.

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Nils Christoffersen comes from a long line of connection to land and natural resources. His family has operated the same farm in Norway for 22 generations. That's 600 years, folks, and it's still going strong. Nils' passion for working landscapes and the role of rural communities in their stewardship, has taken him around the globe. He's worked in ranching in Australia, farming in Israel, fishing and forestry in Norway, and forestry and wildlife in southern Africa. Nils is currently the Executive Director of Wallowa Resources, a non-profit that has played a large role in shaping my community by promoting education, healthy lands, and a strong rural economy. In this episode, Nils and I discuss some tough problems to solve, from our need for diverse crop production to the challenges in coexisting with wildlife.

Check out Nils' work with Wallowa Resources

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On February 5th, 2021, Greg Jones was tagging wolves from a helicopter when the worst happened. The helicopter crashed, injuring those inside, but miraculously, both Greg and the pilot survived. Even more incredibly, another pilot saw what happened and was able to call 911 just 30 seconds after they hit the ground. But according to Greg, the aftermath was far worse than the crash itself. This near-death experience, and the knowledge that your story can end in an instant encouraged Greg to record these memories of what happened for his family and grandkids. It’s an incredible story that will stay with you long after hearing it. 

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It's that time of year again. The weather is getting cooler, and folks are heading out into the backcountry, sometimes solo, to hunt. With colder weather comes far deadlier consequences if you're caught unprepared. That's why I wanted to take an episode to share my solo, backcountry gear list, from my weapon and ammo choices to my clothes and camp setup. I've been hunting my entire life and have spent years figuring out what gear works best for me. I'll tell you exactly what I use, why I use it, and how much each item costs. And stick around to the end of the episode to learn about a special opportunity to get your hands on a SIG SAUER Cross Rifle.

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My cousin, Mona Mathews, is a canyon kid. She grew up in cow camps and weigh stations, navigating crazy steep country and checking for rattlesnakes on the playground of her school of less than 20 kids. Growing up in a rugged, sparsely populated community shaped Mona, teaching her self-reliance.  And it's that self-reliance and curiosity that has led her to travel the world, learning jiu-jitsu along the way. Mona now lives in Portland, Oregon, working as a holistic life coach, a mind-body practitioner, and a massage therapist for pain relief and injury prevention. During a visit to home, Mona and I discuss her unique childhood, and all the adventures she's had since leaving the canyon.

Book Mona and learn about her Women's Health Program

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It's been an incredible archery season so far, and we're exhausted. The good kind of exhausted, where you know you've put in the work to successfully guide your clients. During a break, I sat down with fellow guides, Kevin Harlander and Greg Jones, to chat about how the season's been going. We share our biggest lessons from this year and some advice for setting up, calling, and when to draw. And stick around to the end of the episode to hear a recording of one of my morning calling sessions from this hunt.

Kevin Harlander on Instagram 

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Trapping is an incredible sport, business opportunity, and conservation tool, but there seems to be fewer and fewer people doing it these days. Generational trapping knowledge will fade away unless we talk about it. Greg Jones is happy to share that knowledge. As a professional trapper, he knows the patience and perseverance that it takes to be successful. In this episode, Greg gives us step-by-step trapping instructions, tricks, and tips. He shares where and how to set traps for beginner animals like the muskrat, to the pinnacle of trapping: coyotes and wolves.


And for more info on hunting wolves, check out this December episode I did with Stuck N The Rut.

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Derek Olthuis hates complaining. When a problem arises, he's the type of person to find a solution. As public lands are sold, and sporting opportunities become privatized, Derek sees North America moving toward the pay to play model. The private vs public land debate is a complicated issue with great points and a lot of passion from both sides. But Derek was able to come up with a brilliant solution. He thought that if sportsmen and ranchers could work together, they could open public access and protect wildlife habitat without disregarding property rights. And with that, American Icon Co. was born. By purchasing properties and working with ranchers to put large tracts of land in trust, American Icon is ensuring that land is managed for sportsmen access while improving wildlife habitat and conserving the species we all love. In this episode, Derek breaks it all down and answers listener questions with total transparency. 


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Email Derek your questions: [email protected]