(Part 1/2) More than a million acres of marginal Delta cropland were retired and planted in bottomland hardwoods. Thirty years later, those trees have grown and--if we want to ensure wildlife utilization and habitat quality--the next chapter is serious hardwood management. Wildlife biologist Kevin Nelms explains how changing soils and hydrology shape the new landscape, how timber stand improvement improves wildlife habitat, timber stand improvement techniques, how putting sunlight back onto the ground benefits ducks, deer, songbirds and more. Most importantly, how do landowners, agencies and NGOs accomplish this without a viable hardwood pulp market? A must-listen episode for bottomland hardwood habitat managers and hunters, but everyone will appreciate gaining insights into taking the extraordinary conservation achievement of a million-acre hardwood plantation to the next level. See related episodes and important resource links below!

IMPORTANT RESOURCES

Habitat Improvements in Hardwood Plantations on Wetland Reserve easements: Landowner Guide (PDF)

Tool for Assessment of Reforested Bottomland Hardwood Stands on Wetland Reserve Easements (PDF)

Wetland Management for Waterfowl: A Handbook

RELATED EPISODES

EP 679. Looking Past the Trees in Ark-La-Miss Delta

EP 691. A New Hardwood Plantation Landscape--Restored Benefits?

EP 694. Duck Habitat Then and Now

EP 696. Restored Hydrology in the Delta

EP 483. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Rethinking "Seed Mentality"

EP 485. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Emergent Marsh Wetlands Magic

isit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

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What if having everything you thought you wanted actually took you somewhere you never intended to go? Shane Allen grew up hunting, dove headlong into heavy metal and a hard-living lifestyle, then one day woke up a very lucky--and changed--man. Today, the wildlife biologist and Hedge Hailer Game Calls founder lives by three simple phrases: Love God. Love People, Hunt Ducks. But getting there required a reckoning. Today's story is about ducks, choices, consequences--and becoming a different man.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

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Tom Beckbe

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Everyone wants more ducks. But when ducks disappear, where do you go looking for answers? As duck numbers continued declining around their Mississippi hunting grounds, Pete Fulgham and friends asked a pointed question: "Where's our raft?" The search for answers le to a nearby refuge struggling with fewer employees, fewer resources, less habitat--and fewer ducks than anyone could remember, let alone during its heyday. Complaining was pointless. They decided to do something. Their efforts became Yazoo Waterfowl Partners--and has since inspired a much bigger idea about hunters putting more skin in the game to restore America's national wildlife refuges. And ducks. If your truly care about ducks and the places they depend on, hear what happens when duck hunters quit waiting on someone else to fix things. Then ask yourself: Where's your raft?

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

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Benelli Shotguns

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Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

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Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

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Life's storms leave scars. But sometimes those scars become lifelines for someone else. Ricky Matthews discusses the heart of his new book, Finding Hope: 25 Lifelines for Life's Storms, and hard-earned stories behind it. We explore suffering, faith, purpose and why the worse chapters of your life might be exactly what another person needs. Finding hope is one thing. Passing it forward is another.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

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Benelli Shotguns

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Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

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GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

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Traditions survive because someone carries them forward by sharing stories. Dale Bordelon grew up among Louisiana marsh men, unforgettable old-timers carrying generational knowledge and stories of bygone life ways. Historian Jason Theriot spent 25 years doing likewise, exploring Louisiana's cultural heritage across Gulf Coast communities. Together, we revisit old camps, cane calls, vanished marshes, unbelievable hunts and colorful characters from a yesteryear Louisiana that few remember today. Duck hunters. Tradition bearers. Last remaining marsh voices.

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LEARN MORE--Center for Louisiana Studies Wildlife and Waterfowl Heritage, Documenting Louisiana's Wetlands, Waterfowl and Other Outdoor Traditions and Youtube Video Ducks, Dinner and Dale Bordelon

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Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

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Benelli Shotguns

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Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

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• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

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Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

Most pretty girls don't grow up drag racing. Taylor Bright did. We sat down at DUX to talk about growing up at the drag strip, her dad's influence and learning to drive, discovering waterfowl hunting, and the unlikely road eventually leading her into the outdoor industry with Migra Ammunitions. From fast cars and Scottish roadtrip hunts, to boat ramp tours and duck blinds, Taylor puts the pedal to the metal when she sets her mind to it!

What makes an old piece of wood worth $10,000--or way more? Antique duck-call collector and broker Ryan Graves and I explore the fascinating world of collectible calls--legendary makers, rarity, provenance, craftsmanship, and the stories that create investment-grade value. But beyond price tags, we get to the people and traditions these calls represent, and how some shaped duck hunting as know it today. Because the greatest old duck calls aren't valuable because they're old--the matter because of the stories they carry.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

Terry Denmon and I have shared duck blinds for 20 years, chasing birds from Louisiana to Argentina and beyond. Sitting down live at DUX, we revisited hunts that we'd relive tomorrow if time machines existed, unforgettable characters, close calls, traditions, shovelers, blue-winged, Mexican mallards and more. After a couple decades, number of ducks that hit the water. But memories of people, places, jokes, and stories keep getting better with age.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

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Benelli Shotguns

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Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

You've seen the iconic black-and-white photos—more mallards than you knew could possibly exist in one place. And you've heard the legendary name: Claypool's Reservoir. Now hear the true story behind it. Historian Dr. Wayne Capooth takes us back to Wallace Claypool's Wild Acres—the vision, investment and monumental effort behind an astonishing, never-before-or-since concentration of wintering mallards ever documented. Hear how those famous photographs were made, and how, in December 1956 the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of mallards taking flight was broadcast live into American homes. Today's incredible episode is about the fascinating history of the land, the people and the ducks--mallards--behind one of waterfowling's most legendary places.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]

Jeff Foiles has walked through nearly every chapter the waterfowl world offers--from growing up hunting the Mississippi River back in the good ol' days and building one of the most recognized brand names in waterfowl calls, to a federal wildlife case that cost him his freedom and forever changed his life. We talk about the rise of Foiles Migrators, the decline of waterfowl in his neck of the woods, hard lessons learned along the way, what it means to move forward and what that daily walk really looks like. Recently inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame, Foiles reflects on a long, complicated life in the waterfowling industry--and why he believed America is still a country of second chances.

Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible:

MOJO Outdoors

Alberta Professional Outfitters Society

Benelli Shotguns

Bow and Arrow Outdoors

Create the X Habitat Management App

Ducks Unlimited

Flash Back Decoys

GetDucks.com

Migra Ammunitions

onX Maps Use code GetDucks25 to save 25%

Sitka Gear

SoundGear Use code GetDucks20 to save 25%

Tom Beckbe

USHuntList.com

Like what you heard? Let us know!

• Tap Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

• Drop a rating—it's like a high-five in the duck blind.

• Leave a quick comment: What hit home? What made you laugh? What hunt did it remind you of?

• Share this episode with a buddy who lives for duck season.

Have or know a story to share? Interested in partnerships?

Contact: Ramsey Russell [email protected]