Artemis

This week we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes from the Artemis archives... Beavers are amazing! Artemis is diving straight into the beaver pond with Dr. Emily Fairfax, ecohydrologist, science story teller, and beaver dam enthusiast. Join us to hear how this keystone species shapes our landscape, supports wildlife, and improves our watershed wherever they slap a tail. Plus, don't forget to take our podcast listener survey for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Isle Royale Outfitters. The giveaway closes on Nov. 2. 

2:00 "Beavers are a keystone species, which means they modify their environment in a way that influences the whole ecosystem."

3:30 First beaver experience... when your animal guide finds you

5:30 Idaho's beaver reintroduction efforts involved parachuting them in the Frank Church

7:00 Hauling a canoe over a beaver dam (over and over) in the Boundary Waters makes you realize what incredible engineers beavers are

9:00 Beavers are masters at helping lands retain water longer, which benefits a slew of other animal species – including fish, birds and ungulates!

11:00 In Nevada, beavers started improving cattle grazing land... but their real hero moment was during a drought, when areas with beavers stayed greener longer.

14:30 Now there's just two species of beaver: North American Beaver and the Eurasian Beaver. They're different enough that they can't interbreed, but both are dam-builders

15:00 There used to be 20-odd beaver species... some dug spiral burrows into the earth, others were Pleistocene-size beavers as big as linebackers

16:00 Dam-building was a hugely advantageous skill, evolutionary-wise... it meant beavers could build their own habitat pretty much anywhere there was water

17:00 Beaver populations remained stable pre-settlement, when some indigenous cultures had ways of self-regulating harvest. The European fur trade marked the start of beaver decline

19:30 "Ecological amnesia"... when people can't remember whether or not an animal is native to a landscape

21:15 Beaver dams generally don't stop the flow of water completely. Beavers then dig channels out from the dam, dispersing water, and also giving them routes back to the dam (so they're not just chicken nuggets waddling around on land). This is the chief mechanism of how beavers turn streams into wetlands.

26:00 Water retention, water temperature, and soil health in beaver habitat

28:00 How beavers overwinter... it's brilliant

31:30 Beaver family units... they mate for life! 

33:00 Adult beavers can be enormous... up to 110 pounds, especially in northern climates. (They're also a favorite food for some wolf packs.)

38:00 BDA = beaver dam analog (basically a human-constructed beaver dam to replicate the species' effect on the landscape)

39:00 Beavers and people/private lands... we have some tricks for management, like the "beaver deceiver"

41:00 Beaver presence in Nevada... it's a big of a mystery how they got there. Beaver dispersal is difficult because they're not well-adapted to moving over land

45:00 Beaver misconceptions are a huge obstacle for beaver conservation. Education is an important arm of conservation.

48:00 Beaver ponds are remarkable fire deterrent, and they're refuges for wildlife, "emerald sanctuaries"

51:00 The West has lost 60-90 percent of its natural wetlands... this has likely affected how fire behaves on the landscape

52:00 Beaver ponds = duck city!

53:45 "Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter" by Ben Goldfarb

55:00 How accurate is our perception of what a Western stream looks like? Those smooth-banked places we like to fish? They're not as natural as they look.

58:00 Find Emily @emilyfairfax on Twitter, or by email [email protected]

59:00 Emily's film on beavers and wildfires

59:30 Beaver ponds are full of pointy sticks! But they're very stable to walk across

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Tice Supplee has had a remarkable career in wildlife management and conservation. She served as a game warden in Arizona, and after retirement she became active in conservation groups like the Arizona Antelope Foundation and the Arizona Elk Society. These days she works in bird conservation, and we discuss habitat restoration. What's good for elk is often good for birds - it's a win-win. Plus: Zuni bowls, sourdough victories, condor reintroduction and more. Also: Artemis has a giveaway going on! Take our podcast listener survey for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Isle Royale Outfitters.

3:00 Archery elk hunt

4:00 Coues deer in southeast Arizona

7:00 Hunting in your 70s, being a game warden & game manager

8:00 Audubon Southwest

9:00 When respectable, nice people violate wildlife laws (and busting in on an illegal elk camp)

14:00 Why people violate game laws

16:00 Arizona Elk Society, Arizona Antelope Foundation and board service

19:00 Bringing veterans into conservation, starting with a hunt

20:00 Auctioning off game tags to fundraise for conservation, perks and drawbacks to the program

24:00 Grassland restoration work for bird habitat (plus... the pinyon jay!)

26:00 Habitat improvements for some ungulates/birds often benefit others... but not always

29:00 On southeast Arizona: "We don't have a lot of anything, but we have a little bit of just about everything." 

31:00 Condor reintroduction and lead ammo

32:00 90% of captive doves force-fed two size 8 lead pellets died, compared to 0% of doves that were not fed lead shot

34:00 Arizona's yellow-billed cuckoos

35:00 Zuni bowls: an old-school method for increasing water retention on the landscape

39:00 New to conservation? Join an organization. If you can't join, volunteer. You can help no matter where you are in your sporting journey, and you'll meet a lot of people

44:00 An archery elk hunt turns into a recovery mission, then getting the abrupt whiff of elk after hearing an unusual bark

51:00 Vacuum-sealing your meat... it KEEPS

53:00 You've earned a travel trailer when you're in the field as much as Tice

54:00 #sourdoughvictories and a rabbit hole on heirloom flour

1:00 "The Time of the Buffalo" by Tom McHugh

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Beth Johnson has 15 chest freezers, 2 walk-in coolers, and 3 added walk-in freezers. Johnson's taxidermy shop is predominantly women, and they specialize in hunting mounts of all kinds (from bison to zebras), and doing the odd job for Hollywood here and there. This week we hear from a taxidermist with 35 years of experience on how you can best ready your harvest to be mounted by a taxidermist. Don't forget to take the Artemis podcast listener survey for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Isle Royale Outfitters.   2:00 We've got some serious freezer real estate on hand 3:00 Hollywood's need for taxidermy (those roadkill items you see in movies aren't fresh carcasses) 4:00 Doing a taxidermy job out of someone's favorite mule #foreverfriend 5:00 Getting your science degree, becoming a teacher... then realizing your path is elsewhere 7:30 A predominantly female taxidermy shop 9:00 How you take care of an animal before bringing it to a taxidermist influences the quality of the final mount 10:00 That duck whose feathers got blown off? Maybe not the keeper to mount 12:00 The "pantyhose" trick for keeping feathers flush and lifelike on bird mounts 14:00 The scoop on freezer temps 17:00 Odds are you don't gut/skin the same way a taxidermist does; Tips for getting your quarry from the field and into the taxidermy shop 19:00 Multi-species displays... it's a dream job where science and artistry blend 23:00 Plant/vegetative elements in displays 26:00 Turn-around times 34:00 Comparing mounts from the '60s versus present day - the forms are completely different 37:00 Prepping a hide for tanning 40:00 Yep, you can get the hide of a favorite dog tanned up for your couch 43:00 Salting a hide properly (birds included!) 48:00 Taxidermist vs. catfish 51:00 Embracing trial and error 53:00 Recreating illegal-to-harvest species like eagle and owls using chicken/goose feathers 54:00 A drawer of chicken feathers also comes in handy when Hollywood needs a parrot doing a specific thing 55:00 Feather, Finn and Fur Taxidermy & Red Barn Processing (and Atlanta Poultry Processing for all things chicken)  56:00 "I just can't sleep fast enough to get back to work"... when you love what you do

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Tiffiny Sanders is a mother of four, an avid sportswoman, and an ambassador who aims to connect others with the outdoors. Tiffiny is an adult-onset hunter who got into sporting when she got together with her husband. In this episode: waterfowl retrieval in gator country, food as medicine, the tension between loving animals and harvesting them, race and identity, and building a community of hunters.

2:00 Hunting in the Florida heat: stay cool, acclimated to the heat, and covered up from insects

4:00 Gator bait trivia: Which body part floats and rots nicely? 

7:00 "I'm definitely an outdoors grocery shopper."

9:00 Waterfowl hunting in Florida & retrieving ducks in gator country

13:00 Adult-onset hunting, large families, and sticking with it through small kids

14:00 Acquiring hunting knowledge online (YouTube, podcasts, articles, etc) and distilling the useful parts

19:00 Outdoors & natural foods as medicine

23:00 Nontypical Outdorsman- promoting outdoor diversity and inclusion by education and outreach

27:00 @lolaofthesouth 

29:00 The tension between loving animals and also harvesting them for food

32:00 Choosing your role in the food system

33:00 Looking different than your family (both natal and family by marriage)

36:00 When farm children go vegetarian & embracing the freedom of choice for your kids

41:00 The JOY of watching your kids succeed in the field, and anticipating a similar journey with your grandkids

43:00 Teaching hunter's ed, becoming an Artemis ambassador... SHARING the wisdom/power/knowledge of sporting with others = a joy in and of itself

46:00 Artemis waterfowl hunt on the horizon in Florida toward the end of January, keep an eye out for registration

47:00 Franchi Affinity Catalyst, a shotgun designed for women

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This week we're headed to Mississippi with Leah Robinson, an Artemis ambassador and sportswoman of the South. She fills us in on what alligator season is like (gator nuggets, anyone?), the tradition of froggin', and some of the finest waterfowl hunting in the U.S. 

2:00 Alligator season in Mississippi

3:00 So... how much meat do you get off a 10.5-foot alligator? #gatornuggets

6:00 Getting to the BIG gators (catch and release is harder than it is with fish)

9:00 Two lines and a snare

11:00 Feisty female gators

12:00 Dispatch, hauling into the boat, then a hot tip for quickly measuring a gator's length

15:00 Mississippi Wildlife Federation

16:00 Childhood sweetheart, gator wrangling BFF... #allinahusband

18:00 Getting hooked on bird hunting (and getting your first turkey five years in)

21:00 Building a community of sportswomen by starting with camaraderie and education

23:00 A hunter-to-bird ratio on the rise in the Mississippi Delta

29:00 Academics Afield

31:00 Nurturing a family culture of hunting, even as the family grows up

35:00 Hey Yeti, you ready to sponsor the Artemis pod?

38:00 Memorable duck hunts

40:00 Game warden encounters

42:00 "There's just something so special to me about froggin'"

48:00 Doing something new (like pheasants) as a family

52:00 The kind of turkey hunt that's worth waiting five years for

1:02 Gun/ammo incompatibility

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Bailey Petersen helps facilitate Minnesota's woodcock banding program, which enlists the help of volunteer dog handlers. Dogs have to pass a control test before they're approved to join. We talk about steadiness in a bird dog, protective vests, and breeds - from Münsterländers to Llewellin setters. Plus: Grouse hunting in Minnesota... what to look for and what differentiates grouse habitat from woodcock habitat.

1:30 A little woodcock 'splash' for your sniffing pleasure, everyone

3:30 Harvesting wild rice... it involves a 'ricing buddy', a canoe, and tools called 'knockers'

7:00 Agencies working hand-in-hand with non-profits on habitat restoration

10:00 When a professional interest in healthy lakes leads you to appreciate waterfowl in a new way

11:00 Small Münsterländer; Llewellin Setter

13:00 Finding 'your' dog breed

15:00 Skijoring with your dogs

22:00 Minnesota's woodcock banding program

24:00 Recruiting new human/dog woodcock-banding teams

28:00 Testing dogs: It's about steadiness and control

32:00 The 2-week banding season overlaps with hatching

34:00 Finding a nest is an exercise in extreme caution

38:00 Steadiness training... start with "whoa," then add a temptation

43:00 Band return rates on woodcock are 11%, which isn't too bad

45:00 "If you have a cooperative dog, then it's really just an exercise of repetition."

46:00 Grouse hunting Minnesota, a pep talk 

47:00 Hunter walking trails on OnX

50:00 Woodcock cover vs. grouse cover... "It becomes grouse cover after it's been prime woodcock cover."

52:00 For grouse, look for fruiting shrubs (chokecherries, highbush cranberries, hazel, birch)

58:00 Protective dog vests

1:05 Seeds embedded in dogs... #problems

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For Tina Dokken, hunting started with a chocolate lab. She was determined to be the best fur-parent she could be, and took her dog all over. She met her husband at a dog festival, and that's when her journey into sporting started in earnest. Tina is a gifted teacher -- both in person and over her YouTube Channel, Tina DokkenUnleashed. She talks about how learning is a mindset, and being curious and willing is the path to an adventurous life with your animals.

 

3:00 Tina's Mexican pheasant recipe

5:30 Getting your chocolate lab into hunting 

6:00 GameFair festival (like a state fair for dogs... also a place to find a husband!) 

9:00 The freeze-thaw longevity of a single duck used for scent training

13:00 Being a great learner carries over to being a great teacher

15:00 Visual vs. verbal learning

18:00 When your dog chooses your husband

21:00 Learning from people who aren't your spouse/partner

23:00 Eye dominance

25:00 Shooting stance

30:00 Developing a mount technique 

34:00 Progressing to other shots (and clays vs. real-life hunting)

36:00 Franchi shotguns and short-stock guns

41:00 Bridging the dog work with hunting

46:00 Hunting by yourself means following your dog (versus the others in your party)

49:00 Trusting your dog

53:00 Pheasant tricks

55:00 Hunting quietly with dogs

56:00 Snare-prepared... "you never know"

58:00 Gun safety... it's a journey, and you never stop improving; show off your empty barrel

1:00 "Tina Dokken Unleashed" YouTube channel

1:05 Archery hunting with a baby -- balancing that counterweight on your back as you draw

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Adult-onset hunter... traditional bows... five kids... would you guess those things add up to having six deer in the freezer? This week we're joined by Melody Haege, who talks to us about how she settled on traditional bowhunting when she began her sporting journey, and what it looks like today.

2:00 Living in the Minnesota 'big woods'

3:00 Six deer doesn't last that long for a family of seven; Keeping the blood to train a scent-tracking dog

4:00 Pig procurement & fat rendering tips

8:00 Deer hunting with a traditional bow (you need to hear about this 27-yard shot)

14:00 Adult-onset hunting & going all in

15:00 Being an excellent shooter isn't always synonymous with being an excellent hunter

16:00 You don't know what you don't know

18:00 Crossbow to traditional bow transition

20:00 Hunting/archery isn't one parent's "thing"... it's the family's thing

23:00 Making hunting a shared joy among family sometimes means putting the brakes on your own journey

24:00 Tree stands vs. ground blinds when hunting with kids

25:00 Judging snacks by how loud they are to unwrap

27:00 Stalking with a 7-year-old #buckfever

30:00 Building bridges with farmers

37:00 Hunting styles/methods vary by geography/culture... "Even if it is legal, that doesn't mean it's respectful to the animal"

40:00 Homeschooling & time management (say, during deer season)

47:00 Finding a balance when it comes to engaging your kids; Going by their cues

51:00 Family hardship... there's significance/meaning in doing hard things

54:00 The 75 Hard challenge

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Marcia Brownlee is leaving Artemis after four years as the program's manager. (Sad faces!) Artemis is housed under the National Wildlife Federation's public lands team, but its leadership team is made up of women from women across the country. Under Marcia's wings, the program has grown from a feeble idea tossed around at a campfire to a program with 71 ambassadors in 35 states. Artemis hosts events in-person and online, and connects sportswomen across the country. Artemis also seeks to foster a the kind of community where women can articulate conservation issues to their legislators as well as they can skin a deer. Today on the program: A deep dive into Marcia's work the past four years and where Artemis stands.

3:00 Marcia's #freezerconfessional leads us down a coffee-routine rabbit hole [pssst... want to hear from Artemis's coffee queen? You need to listen to the Sharenda episodes 1 & 2]

7:00 Coffee processes in the home vs. the field

9:00 The real Marcia Brownlee, ya'll... how do you describe yourself to people who know you?

13:00 Getting into hunting with the help of great people + the merits of DOING something with our loved ones

14:00 "I applied for the job with Artemis and was kind of shocked when I got it, but obviously very excited."

17:00 A nod to the NWF/Artemis work community

21:00 The back channels of conservation work... it's invigorating to be in the know

22:00 Pssst... the Artemis program manager job is accepting applications on a rolling basis until September 5th!

23:00 "You may have what they don't know they need" - never take yourself out of the running for an opportunity you're interested in

27:00 Shaking the outside expectations and defining your life/goals/mojo for yourself

33:00 Mentors in conservation -- they shape us, buoy us, and build us into better versions of ourselves

35:00 "Your Mountain" podcast with David Willms

37:00 Mentoring people you may never meet in real life

41:00 Intimacy between virtual-only co-workers

43:00 The self-declared adult sabbatical

48:00 "It's all about people. If we want to fix things -- we need to start with people."

51:00 Hunting brings us a sense of self-efficacy, confidence, independence... there's a strong mental health thread woven through sporting

58:00 Artemis is changing... but the core values remain the same #futureisbright

1:01 Conservation needs more engaged sportswomen

1:07 When you're social skills are fine-tuned for an in-person workplace, then switching to entirely remote work

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Dr. Ellen Candler's career track in predator biology is full of riveting stories -- from trapping a mountain lion under the famous 'Hollywood' sign outside LA, to working on cougar and wolf studies in Yellowstone. Candler has always been interested in how added resources influence the wildlife in their vicinity -- whether it's a hunter's bait pile for bears, or a leftover gut pile from someone's deer kill.

2:00 A how-to on freezing morels

5:00 First-time hunting emotions

6:00 Remembering wolf introductions as a child growing up in Idaho

7:00 Predator field work outside LA (like riiight under the famous 'Hollywood' sign)

10:00 Work as a cougar/wolf field tech

12:00 When you say "hey bear!" and a bear pops its head up #whoa

15:00 Becoming a mother... defending your PhD... #nbd

17:00 Does wolf behavior change when bear bait piles are available?

22:00 ...so, where DO you get wolf urine?

25:00 Diabetic bears 

30:00 The Offal Wildlife Watching Project ... which scavengers are the gut-eaters?

33:00 The longevity of gut piles as a food source varies depending on the season

37:00 Every time something dies, it's a resource pulse for the surrounding environment (hunters = gut piles)

43:00 Residual lead from ammunition + public education

48:00 "Hunters need to realize that what they're leaving on the landscape is eaten by other things"

Ellen is always happy to take more hunter volunteers for Offal Wildlife Watching. Current research is focused in Minnesota, but if you’re outside the state and are interested in participating, reach out to Ellen: [email protected]

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