This week we do a deep-dive into the latest avian flu outbreak with Dr. Jennifer Ramsey, the state wildlife veterinarian for Montana. The latest outbreak was notable for its severity and the breadth of species it reached -- from waterfowl to raptors to turkeys. Dr. Ramsay said they would sometimes even find an entire nest, adults and fledglings, that had succumbed to the virus. Plus: Going from a traditional veterinary practice to wildlife veterinary medicine; ornery moose, and what biologists are watching for during the fall migration.

2:00 A peek inside a scientist's work freezer

5:00 Wildlife CSI

6:00 Marcia's stuffed zucchini recipe

10:00 Regular veterinary medicine to wildlife veterinary medicine

15:00 Avian influenza + wildlife... not all influenzas are created equal

17:00 The current avian flu is hitting snow and Canada geese especially hard; raptors are also struggling

20:00 Transmission by nasal secretions, saliva, feces (...but how did the turkeys get it!?)

21:00 Avian flu symptoms in birds

22:00 So... can you eat them?

25:00 Seeing an entire nest of raptors (adults + chicks) succumbed to avian flu

27:00 Proximity to people influences the degree to which birds are tested/detected

29:00 The role of the public in avian flu detection

34:00 Communicating a wildlife pandemic with the public 

40:00 The timing of migrations and avian flu outbreak

42:00 Transmission between domestic and wild birds

49:00 Mortality in bad bird flu outbreaks can be severe

52:00 Darting an ornery moose at a campground

56:00 Darted animals... you're safe with us! 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Southeast has lost about 99% of its native grasslands. When Brittney Viers started working as a biologist on northern bobwhite quail conservation, she realized being a botanist would was critical to revelaing the bird's relationship to its habitat. Brittany works for Quail Forever, which strives to preserve remnant grassland habitat and restore degraded habitat for quail in Tennessee. Plus: Making biologists talk to landowners, the North America Grasslands Act, ticks-on-baby problems, and mountain "balds."

3:00 Botany, biology + grasslands

6:00 Studying bird health by studying plant/grassland health

8:00 Quail Forever

11:00 Coordinating regional conservation partnership programs for grassland health (ecosystem-level conservation = doesn't give a hoot about state lines)

13:00 Northern bobwhites in the East: Challenges with successional environments, lack of escape cover, thermal cover for the winter... habitat is paramount

16:00 Invasive species and herbicide use

17:00 Predators are not the main reason for quail decline

19:00 "Quail" to Westerners vs. Easterners

21:00 When biologists are REQUIRED to do landowner workshops... and the power of grassroots outreach (pssst... it can happen over a tailgate)

25:00 Hosting quail habitat workshops in places where land management is working

26:00 North America Grasslands Act

27:00 Southeastern grasslands... not the same as the tall-grass prairie of the Midwest

28:00 Many grassland birds are struggling

30:00 Grasslands in the Southeast have declined by 99%

34:00 It's hard being a grassland specialist in an area with dwindling grasslands -- they're fountains of biodiversity

36:00 There's something special about grasslands for the human soul

37:00 "Balds" - mysterious open areas on the tops of mountains

39:00 Southern grasslands -- rhododendron to cacti (they can vary greatly in makeup)

42:00 Woody encroachment: The timbered look isn't natural in a lot of parts of the Southeast

44:00 The absence of fire on the landscape

46:00 Blackbelt Prairie in Mississippi

52:00 Blueberry hunting with babies, then de-ticking your baby in the car

54:00 Listeners... a special Artemis announcement! #nospoilersintheshownotes

56:00 Artemis Program Manager job... share it with the best people in your sphere!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kacey Edwards moved to Tennessee from Florida for a nursing job at the start of the pandemic. Despite the timing, she found a husband and a welcoming trapping community in her new state. While Kacey was working night shifts as a nurse, she made an effort to get her young dog out for exercise during the day, usually at the farm she was trapping on. That led her down the path of training a bird dog, which Kacey talks about in this episode. Plus: bobcat meatballs, coyote recipes, shopping for "dog bones" in Ghana, and boykin spaniels.

3:00 There IS husband material on Tinder, everyone... especially if your profile pic is you holding up a 10-foot gator you harvested

6:00 "I just kept showing up" - a trapping workshop leads to a trapping job

9:00 Night-shift as a nurse during the pandemic, trapping during the day

12:00 Who's watching "Alone" on Netflix right now? 

14:00 Competition from other predators on a trap line

17:00 Valentine's Day coyotes + how you eat/prepare a coyote

19:00 Procuring "dog bones" in Ghana

20:00 Bobcat meatballs

23:00 Boykin spaniels - dual-purpose bird dogs

24:00 Dogs can change the trajectories of our lives - being on the trapping farm led to training a duck dog

26:00 Cornerstone Gundog Academy

27:00 Tools for training a new duck dog: clickers, e-collars

28:00 Dogs who'll eat anything... saltwater, pots of oil

30:00 Puppy's first goose retrieval

34:00 Artemis: The thing we didn't realize we were all missing

36:00 Snarfing a PBJ right as a buck comes in; Taking a shot, losing the animal, praying for sign before dark, and then.... VOILA

41:00 Blood-tracking dogs

47:00 Full October, full heart

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Madi Shaheen literally helps bring trout into school classrooms. She's a science educator with a non-profit learning center in Colorado that serves underprivileged communities in the greater Denver area. Bringing kids into the outdoors (and bringing the outdoors to kids) has been a priceless way to connect Madi's background in teaching with her personal love for the outdoors. Plus... calling all adults: Have you ever had that moment where you're burnt out on your career and wondering what to do next? Crossroads... dead ahead. 

3:00 In a busy outdoors, finding your secret spots and holding them tight

4:00 A fork in life's road: Do you keep a job you're burnt out on, or forge a new path?

7:00 Let's hear it for educators! You get those amazing school breaks, but it's a very demanding job.

10:00 Lincoln Hills Cares

13:00 Bringing place-based science/outdoor ed to underprivileged communities

15:00 Trout in the Classroom curriculum

17:00 Teaching kids HOW to fish versus taking them fishing once

18:00 Lady Anglers Fishing 101

23:00 Turning the classroom into a trout hatchery

26:00 That internal revelation... 'wait, maybe I am a science person'

31:00 Hands-on inquiry is different than classroom-based learning

36:00 Organic growth takes time; Good programs catch on, and the buy-in of a few enthusiastic teachers helps tremendously

39:00 Having multiple aspects of your life combine into a single professional role

42:00 When your job nudges you toward something like fly-fishing, how far do you dive in?

43:00 Tenkara rods

50:00 Fishing: it helps to feel content in one place

53:00 That moment as an educator when the learning feels electric

54:00 Maroinvertebrates and microscope views... mind-blowing! 

59:00 Why do mushrooms sometimes feel different than other foraged foods? Learning something new! "The fear level can be tricky and the consequences dire."

1:02 Experimenting with bear meat

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina McAntire got hunting-curious around the same time she became a parent. The first time she shot a squirrel, Christina couldn't bring herself to touch it. She ended up flagging down another squirrel hunter and asking if he wanted her harvest (because, you know, you have to touch it to be able to take it home). Since then, a switch has flipped and Christina has been hunting turkey, rabbit, squirrel, and even iguanas in Florida. She's been able to make time to hunt, even as time is precious on the home front. Having a great mentor has helped Christina's journey along immensely.

4:00 Growing up around hunting without being a part of it

5:00 For a lot of us, Covid helped us take stock of our values

6:00 Going on a first hunt and becoming obsessed... like, watching-YouTube-at-night obsessed

9:00 Pssst... did you catch the South Carolina rabbit hunt with Mary Lynn? Mud baths, bull fights, dog antics... all the fun

11:00 Dead animals... more scary than live animals!

13:00 The universe sends a signal in the form of a run-away squirrel dog

14:00 "I know this is going to sound crazy... but I killed a squirrel and it's my first one, and I can't pick it up." (Tell me you need a mentor without telling me you need a mentor.)

18:00 Artemis also had a turkey camp in South Carolina - be sure to listen to the episode if you missed it!

19:00 Iguana hunting in Florida (yep, you eat them)

23:00 #iguanaproblems

28:00 The satisfaction of being a mentor

29:00 Getting into hunting when you have small children... it's HARD making the time; Eventually you hope to bring them with you in the field

34:00 Knowing your "why" when it comes to hunting

38:00 The enthusiasm is contagious in group hunts

42:00 Fellowship and community... "it's just something I connect with"

43:00 Mary's "Dog Days" event is on the horizon will feature multiple breeds of sporting dogs -- duck dogs, rabbit dogs, coon dogs, etc

47:00 Fixer-upper OR baby... but not both

49:00 Can we get a round of applause for our mentors in the sporting world?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Ahnstrom is a falconer, a bird-hunter, an avid wing-shooter, and an instructor for wing-shooting and sporting clays. She's also an amazing instructor who asks you about you and tailors her shooting lesson to what you have going on -- whether it's your gun-fit, your headspace, or something else. How many of us muddle along in something like bird hunting or wing-shooting without ever receiving instruction? Kate gives us a couple hot tips anyone can put to use.

2:00 Who has a freezer full of rats? #falconers

3:00 Falconry is a major lifestyle undertaking

4:00 Faces looking at you from the freezer 

6:00 Redtail hawks have a very low recruitment rate in the wild

8:00 Obtaining a bird for falconry; trapping falcons vs hawks

11:00 Raptor poop details: muting vs slicing

12:30 Goshawks

15:00 The "Winged Wisdom" podcast. Listen here!

16:00 Virginia Shooting Sports - a school for sporting clays and wing shooting

18:00 Demographics of sport shooting: it errs on the side of older, white, men…

22:00 When 20-somethings tell you, "You need to up your social media game"

24:00 The meandering path of an outdoorswoman, then... CLAYS! 

26:00 "I could not eat, breathe, and just sleep enough about clays and wing-shooting."

28:00 From clays only to live animals... it's a huge transition

31:00 Becoming an instructor/teacher of the things you love; Being a leader and a sharer

37:00 Three hot tips: 1) Stop looking at the gun, 2) Stop looking at your muzzle so much, and 3) Know what the bird is doing in front of you

38:00 "One inch of movement with two foot of steel at the end of your nose equates to an 8-foot swing out at 30 yards." (Translate: Birds can't outrun you... but they can best you.)

39:00 Gun fit and patterning... it matters 

42:00 Being "cross-dominant" is to have a dominant eye that's different from your dominant hand... and, the fix

48:00 Ashley's shooting book rec: "Core Archery: Shooting with Proper Back Tension" by Larry Wise

50:00 You're never too experienced to benefit from a class with a great instructor

52:00 Find a Paragon instructor near you at ParagonSchool.com

56:00 #havegunswilltravel

57:00 VirginiaShootingSports.com, also on Facebook @VirginiaShootingSports and Instagram @vashootingsports

59:00 Why have 1-2 bird dogs when you could have 5-6?

1:01 Chukar problems

1:02 July 14, 16, and 19 - Artemis Advocacy Training: Register here!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're bringing you an episode of the Chronic Wasting Disease Chronicles - a special mini-series produced by Artemis and NWF Outdoors. On this episode we hear from Dr. Kelly Straka, a wildlife manager in Minnesota. We talk about the financial toll on state agencies, cross-border management... aaaand, the "E" word. Tune in for more! 

2:51 – Introduction on Dr. Kelly Straka, Wildlife Section Manager for Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

 4:10 – Kelly talks about her career path to working with CWD.

7:10 – Kelly frames the issue with CWD from the perspective of state agencies. “CWD might be the most pressing issue facing cervid populations across the country right now.”

10:40 - The barriers to effective management of CWD.

17:11 - How hunters can help or hinder efforts to manage CWD.

23:29 - The Federal – State intersection of CWD. The regulatory and jurisdiction issues that have a bearing on how we deal with CWD.

33:15 - Minnesota’s approach and how it got us to where we are today.

39:07 - Minnesota’s response plan, management applications in different zones and various strategies.

43:10 – The “E” word!

48:21 - If we cannot eradicate CWD, how do we live with it in the future?

52:57 - The challenges around CWD surveillance and how hard it is to detect the disease when it is present in low numbers.

58:13 - What do the agencies wish the public knew about CWD management?

1:00:44 - What is one thing that could have been done differently?

1:03:33 - Closing statements. Stay engaged, stay aware, stay involved.

Please take a moment to rate the podcast and write us a review!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hunting elk in Oklahoma (yes, Oklahoma) is a relatively new opportunity for sportswomen and men there. Alyssa Bowen joins us to talk about finally drawing a tag in her home state, and she tells us what her elk hunt was like. Spoiler alert: Bowen's hunt was the kind most of us dream about. She spotted elk almost right away, and hunted in a party that included her husband and a close female friend. 

1:00 Those three-figure temps... #eeep

3:00 Sand bass (pssst... Bass Tactics just finished! Keep an eye out for more tactics courses from Artemis)

6:00 "Mrs. Coach" - food support, emotional support, and ripping the occasional umpire 

7:00 The return of elk to Oklahoma

8:00 Controlled elk hunts (and roadside service from management officials!)

11:00 Elk hunts are still very controlled in Oklahoma

12:00 Spoiler alert: Oklahoma has mountains! 

15:00 The physical prep for an elk hunt where you're packing out an animal on foot

19:00 The play-by-play of a controlled elk hunt in a state where it's a non-typical quarry... it starts with a meeting

23:00 Oklahoma has bison, too! 

24:00 Finding elk right away... the BEST start to a hunt

27:00 Taking a pass on the first shot opportunity (and the emotional aftermath)

29:00 You can hunt in totally different states and still completely understand another person's elk-hunting scenario

31:00 The physical nature of an elk hunt... hoofing it valley to valley #theycantravel

33:00 Elk upon elk! It's kind of a dream hunt... when you're aiming for one elk, and another one shows up even closer

36:00 If you're going to shoot again, make sure you know which one you've hit

39:00 Emotional waves... "It just really affected me in a way I was not expecting."

42:00 Knives to packout... about three hours; plus, it helps to have friends

47:00 Elk hide... decisions! (And heavy.)

49:00 Watching a friend's hunt from an opposing ridge, seeing elk all around them and wondering, "DO THEY EVEN KNOW!?"

53:00 Let's celebrate with an ibuprofen, ok? 

56:00 E-scouting: validation for your topography skills

57:00 First fish on the fly! (Pssst... want some fly-fishing tips? Check out last week's episode, where we give you Fly Fishing Tactics for free!)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you experienced the Artemis Tactics courses yet? We're letting you in on last year's Fly-Fishing Tactics webinar for FREE. If you like what you hear, join us for Bass Tactics. The final webinar is on June 14, and you can register online for as little as $5. Artemis brings you experts from the field... and if you join a Tactics course, you have access to a special Slack channel with other participants, Q&A time with the experts, and more (schwag boxes, everyone!). Keep an eye out for Whitetail Tactics this fall. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The spring of 2022 marked the second annual Artemis turkey camp in South Carolina... and in this episode, we GO there! Join us in the field to hear from new hunters and seasoned experts alike as they stalk birds in South Carolina's Piedmont. Plus: female friendship, epic campfire charcuterie, lukewarm coffee, soggy burritos, and other vignettes from turkey camp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices