Linda White had zero experience with trapping when she started dating a trapper. She approached his passion with an open mind, and the more she learned, the more trapping became Linda's passion, too. Linda is a trapper in New York, and she and her husband also manufacture a line of scent and lure products through their company, Sawmill Creek Baits and Lures. On this episode, we discuss Linda's journey to becoming a trapper, and the hits and misses along the way.

1:00 Trapper Girl Inc.

2:00 Food freezer vs. furbearer freezer(s)

4:30 Reel Camo Girl & Kids for Catches

7:00 Bear-trapping is on the books in Maine

10:00 Conquering(/understanding) your own first impression of trapping/trappers... "Everybody has a right to explain themselves. So let's talk about it."

14:00 What IS a good death? 

19:00 Seeing local changes in duck and rabbit populations after beginning to trap in a new area

20:00 Checking a coyote trap that's come unanchored

24:00 Being involved enough in a hunt/harvest that you seek to change it, to improve the process or our behaviors toward it

25:00 Did you catch our episode with Vanna Boccadori?

27:00 Foothold trapping 101 & lures and the senses engaged

35:00 Knowing a species well enough to get it to place a paw on a trap requires a major time investment

37:00 Transitioning from suburban, townhome lady to someone who can distinguish dog tracks from coyote tracks

41:00 Getting into the bait and lure business, and learning at trade shows and demos

43:00 Learning from failed trap sets

44:00 Reading the snow for what's happening among nearby wildlife

49:00 Canada Goose (the apparel maker) stops sourcing new fur for it's high-end jackets

50:00 Domestic vs. international fur markets

57:00 What attracts an animal to a trap is often a process of trial and error (p.s. try the snow angel!)

59:00 Find Linda on Facebook or Instagram

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Holly Heyser works in waterfowl conservation by day -- but she might be best known in the sporting world for her words (To the Bone) and her amazing photos (Hunt Gather Cook). This week we talk about applying the Golden Rule to hunting -- how can we kill the way we'd like to be killed? We talk about hunting with dogs, the merits of the ambush versus the chase, and judging our hunts by the humaneness of a kill.

2:30 Nilgai in the freezer... you need SPACE

7:00 Matching your workout regimen to match your desired quarry

8:00 Hunting over golden retrievers

11:00 California Waterfowl

12:00 Hunter Angler Gardener Cook blog by Hank Shaw, where Holly is the chief photographer

13:00 To the Bone: a new blog launched by Holly and Hank

14:00 And the cookbooks! Everyone... Holly is one half of a wild-game empire

15:00 Hunt Gather Cook Facebook group

16:00 Holly's NorCal Cazadora blog (and word-sparring with Philip Loughlin of the Hog Blog)

19:00 "Killing How I'd Like to Be Killed" from To the Bone

20:00 A bear hunt with houndsmen; Putting yourself in the mindset of your prey... do you prefer the ambush? Or the chase, with a possible chance of escape?

24:00 CWD Chronicles... find it in your Podcasts app

28:00 "Killing isn't fair."

29:00 "Hunting Philosophy for Everyone" by Nathan Kowalsky

31:00 A not-so-perfect dispatch of a hen teal; And still choosing those imperfect kills over conventionally raised livestock

34:00 Hunting birds over dogs vs. hunting large mammals over dogs

37:00 "I don't judge myself, ethically speaking, by how challenging a shot is. I like to judge myself by the humaneness of my kill."

44:00 Measuring cortisol (stress) levels in deer under different kinds of duress

49:00 Two mergansers entwined in death

54:00 Do we feel differently about killing hogs than deer? What about fish? (Is it the eyelashes? An animal's ecological role?)

55:00 "Woman the Hunter" by Mary Zeiss Stange

1:00 Feelings/emotions do have a role in harvest

Holly will be traveling with Hank to Pheasant Fest, the big annual gathering of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, in Omaha March 11-13. If any listeners wanted to connect with her there, pick a bone, whatever, she'd love to say hi.

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Last year marked the start of Artemis's "tactics" courses, where we hosted a virtual bootcamp for hunters interested in new disciplines. Our first event, Turkey Tactics, was a hit. We brought in four turkey hunters with more than 100 years of turkey hunting experience between them for our first webinar, Patt Dorsey, Mary Lynn, Kathy Stephens and Emily Ledergerber. We're sharing that audio with you today. Many of the women who participated in Turkey Tactics went on to bag their first turkeys, and we were tickled to share in their success. On the horizon in 2022: spin-fishing and deer hunting tactics courses. If Turkey Tactics or any of the Artemis programming has meant something to you, please consider giving to Artemis. Your support makes programs like this possible. 

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Wildlife biologist Amber Kornak had just started working on a bear study in Montana when she was abruptly attacked by one of her subjects - a large, male grizzly bear. Kornak stopped the attack when she deployed her bear spray, but she had to walk several miles out of the woods before making it to a hospital. The bear had chomped on her skull, and Kornak permanently lost hearing in one ear from the encounter. On this episode of Artemis, we talk about preparation when traveling in the backcountry. No amount of preparation can prevent what happened to Kornak, but being prepared did help ensure she escaped the encounter alive.

3:00 #bearpawproblems - freezer, kitchen table, reading nook, dog turds

7:00 A life/career focused on big-game species 

11:00 Coat color variations in black/grizzly bears

15:00 A grizzly attack

21:00 "Excuse me... I just got attacked by a bear. Could you take me to the hospital?"

26:00 Later meeting the bear that chomped on your skull

28:00 Two cans of bear spray if you're by yourself in bear country & bear spray versus firearms

31:00 "The majority of time black bears run away... but not always."

33:00 Protecting your soft bits

34:00 Bear 399 near Yellowstone

42:00 Staying aware in bear country when you've lost hearing in one ear

43:00 Critter gitter

46:00 Grizzly vs. hunter conflicts over game carcasses 

47:00 Pssst... grizzlies DO climb trees

49:00 ESA-delisting of recovered species 

53:00 The role of hunting pressure in managing human-bear conflicts

59:00 Being afraid vs. being prepared

1:03 Artemis's "Go Confident as an Advocate" course

1:06 Let's hear it for gravity-assisted activities!

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This week we hop on the horn with our Artemis ambassadors in Louisiana, Emily Heiman and Hannah Gray to talk about what it's like to be sportswomen in the state dubbed a 'sportsman's paradise.' We hear about kayak fishing (and kayak-specific bass tournaments), deer hunting, duck hunting, roadkill salvage, and the numerous names Louisianans have for their fish.

3:00 Louisiana gets its first case of CWD (pssst... in case you missed it, we have a special series airing right now called the CWD Chronicles)

5:00 Management changes on the horizon when CWD enters the landscape

7:00 Louisiana duck-hunting feuds, ya'll

9:00 If you build a blind on public land, is it yours exclusively?

10:00 Hunter harassment laws

15:00 Private lands access, permission for bucks vs. does

18:00 Offer to be helpful to private landowners in return for hunting permission, or share some meat, especially with the elderly

20:00 "I love roadkill"

22:00 Cooking ducks whole? Nuh-nuh

24:00 Changes to bag limits... hunters across the migration corridor are affected by any new regulatory change

28:00 Kayak-fishing... AND, kayak-specific bass-fishing tournaments

30:00 Duck-hunting from a kayak

36:00 Bass-fishing kayak tournaments -- judging is by length vs. weight, handling fish, and taking a picture against a ruler for the judges

38:00 Bream fishing (aka bluegill and friends)

39:00 Trash-laden fishing spots + impromptu clean-up

44:00 Trash stewardship among hunters/anglers

46:00 Getting into hunting as an adult (YouTube, books, friends, trial & error... a diverse information diet helps tremendously)

48:00 Being invisible to a doe = magical feeling

51:00 Taking time to fish solo on a family vacation

53:00 Rod-snapping perch (and STILL getting the fish)

54:00 Artemis events in Louisiana... what are you interested in? Find us in the Artemis Louisiana Facebook group , or drop us a note at [email protected]

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Some state game departments, like Dr. Lindsey Long's, employ veterinarians to help monitor and assess the health of wildlife populations. Dr. Long tells us about her day job as a state wildlife vet, but also about the rest of her life -- becoming a hunter, becoming a bird dog owner, and what it's like to sedate a giraffe. Plus, canning meat, de-feathering ducks, and what happens when your dog gets caught in a head snare.

3:00 Pressure-canning your own meat... "I grew up in a canning family"

9:00 State wildlife agencies have veterinarians on staff... but why?

11:00 Michigan Ice Fest on the Upper Peninsula + ice climbing 101

13:00 Artemis episodes with the U.S. Women's Spearfishing Team: Kelsea Albert; Melody Engle

16:00 Vegetarian to vegan to hunter

17:00 The moment it all clicks for a bird dog... #magic

19:00 Llewellin setters

23:00 Wildlife health: "How do we maintain healthy populations now and into the future?"

29:00 Healthy habitat isn't always enough to sustain healthy wildlife... there's more to the story

36:00 Anesthetizing a giraffe

41:00 The intimacy of handling a wild animal while it's alive but sedated for science purposes

48:00 What are your local wildlife grappling with? Mange, hoof disease, CWD... a lot of useful tips on wildlife health come from hunters

51:00 Duck fat over butter, baby 

53:00 Best ways to de-feather ducks quickly... got a tip? Share it with us in the Artemis Facebook group 

56:00 Artemis episode on ruffed grouse

58:00 When your dog gets caught in a neck snare... pack those wire cutters

59:00 Artemis Ambassador applications for 2022 are open for a couple more days, closing on Feb.7

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2:00 Freezer picks: Backstrap, meats, fats... beaver/muskrat glands, which function as a sort of currency among trappers

4:00 Liver conundrums... how do you make it tasty? Try braunschweiger.

6:00 Harvesting kidney fat to render into tallow for soapmaking

8:00 Caught between the old ways and the new

9:00 Helping butcher a whale in Barrow, Alaska

11:00 Always be growing your hunting skills... what can I learn next? Smoking fish; mastering a recurve, building a cabin, "hand skills," etc

14:00 Montana pronghorn

17:00 What the data from collared animals teaches us about pronghorn in southwest Montana; migration & fawning grounds, summer range, barriers to movement, etc

19:00 Fencing improvement projects for pronghorn

23:00 When a biologist follows in the footsteps of one of her collared pronghorn... "it was incredibly informative"

26:00 Pronghorn prefer to go under fences versus hopping them

29:00 Migration bottlenecks & identifying areas in need of conservation efforts

31:00 Migration knowledge passed from does to fawns

36:00 GPS data... how long are antelope stalled at a fence line?

38:00 A helping hand from private landowners

41:00 Breaking down the migration (some days they're booking it)

50:00 Let's hear it for biologists!

52:00 Barred owl sighting

54:00 Trout smoking 101

55:00 Artemis gets a grant to build leadership skills in sporting women who want to serve on boards/game commissions!

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Stacy Haughey is from a small town on Michigan's Upper Peninsula -- it's the kind of place where family is everywhere and traditions run deep. Hunting was something Stacy inherited from her maternal side. "Grandma's Hunting Training Academy" is what they jokingly called it when time at Grandma's was synonymous with time in a tree stand.

2:00 Wild game Christmas basket exchange, ya'll

3:30 Small-town life on Michigan's Upper Peninsula ("the U-P" to Michiganders)

6:00 Learning to hunt through your family's maternal side, where grandma's in charge... aka "Grandma's Hunting Training Academy"

8:00 How a Depression-era mentality influences ethos about food security

13:00 The UP Habitat Work Group

14:00 When species conservation depends on private lands habitat 

18:00 Building connections... it's a time investment that pays dividends

21:00 Want to connect with Michigan’s DNR? It's 906-226-1330

24:00 Balancing a passion for the outdoors with raising kids... there is no mold of what it should look like

30:00 Michigan's Becoming an Outdoor Woman (or BOW) program

33:00 Artemis Ambassador applications are open through Feb. 7... if you care about seeing more women in the field and on the water, your time and expertise is needed. Please apply! Want more Artemis? Find our Facebook group for more great discussion.

35:00 Hunting with older cousins as an 8-year-old and being sworn to secrecy after one of them runs the rig into a fencepost

37:00 Learning to track

38:00 Volunteering at a deer check station (best place to see what's new in hunting... like the blaze-orange body suit)

41:00 Barefoot turkey hunting with Mary Lynn

43:00 Is there ever an ideal time to have a new dog? Mid-life rescue dogs and their "interesting" behaviors

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An experienced hunter as a huge wealth of knowledge to offer newbies, so how can new hunters be poised to recieve this wisdom? In this episode we talk with Kathy Stevens and Erin Glen. Kathy has been hunting turkey and deer for more than 40 years. Erin's a brand-new hunter. The two of them met at an Artemis event, and a mentorship ensued. There are things new hunters can do to better their odds of landing under the wing of a more skilled hunter. Getting out there helps, but it also comes down to things like practicing using your firearm and being a good partner in the field. Also, Artemis is looking for its newest cohort of ambassadors! Apply here. This episode is brought to you by HuntTheGreatestSD.com.

2:00 Forty years of hunting experience... #huntergoals

5:00 Becoming a mentor

6:30 "Every spring since 1979 I've taken two weeks of vacation to go wild turkey hunting."

7:30 What inspires us to become hunters?

9:00 Artemis turkey camp - camp set-up, private versus public lands in South Carolina, and frigid temps in what's supposed to feel like spring

12:00 You can learn loads just by being in the field, even without seeing your quarry

16:00 Mentoring a new hunter when you haven't seen a deer on your last six hunts... THEN, back-to-back mentor/mentee shots

20:00 Friendship beyond the field - moving a mentorship from the woods to the tennis court

26:00 Mentors/mentees benefit from each other; it's a generous, giving spirit that makes the relationship work

27:00 It helps a mentor if a mentee comes as competent as possible - practice using your gun, log days at the shooting range, etc

28:00 You've got your hunter's ed certificate, you've watched some MeatEater... what's next?

30:00 As a new hunter, planning what you'll try next... "two new species a year"

36:00 Do you keep a journal of your hunts?

44:00 Hunting your favorite quarry (turkeys) in a new place

46:00 Learning to eat organ meats (pssst... deer liver? not like beef liver)

47:00 "Buck, Buck, Moose" cookbook by Hank Shaw (also check out the dirty rice recipe in "Duck, Duck, Goose" for liver ideas)

49:00 Olivia's turkey schnitzel recipe

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