Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever co-workers who love creating upland habitat and hunting for greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse.  That trio includes PF’s North Dakota State Coordinator Emily Spolyar, PF’s Minnesota Public Lands Specialist Becca Kludt, and PF & QF’s Nebraska Coordinating Wildlife Biologist Ben Wheeler. 

Episode Highlights:
·	The group starts with a conversation about identifying the type of habitat greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse favor.  They also describe the difference in grassland height preferred by prairie grouse compared to pheasants. 
·	The conversation then moves into each participant’s tips for how to hunt sharp-tailed grouse and greater prairie chickens.
·	The discussion is rounded out with a forecast for greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse with an emphasis on Nebraska, North Dakota, and Minnesota.   
Check out PF & QF’s 2023 Prairie Grouse Primer for our state-by-state forecast. https://pheasantsforever.org/primer

EP. 228: Previewing the 2023 Prairie Grouse Hunting Season

Welcome to the On the Wing Podcast with Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever.

On the Wing is your destination for conversations about upland bird hunting, wildlife habitat, public lands, bird dogs, wild game cooking and epic adventures in search of pheasants, quail and grouse. These are the stories of Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever’s 145,000 members, volunteers, team of professional wildlife biologists and experts in the field. Our shows are recorded in person and often on the road from the end of tailgates, backs of horse trailers and after a day in the field chasing birds.

Sports

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Irene Liu, Wenfei Tong, and Tom Swartwout, along with web developer and software engineer Ben Cooley for a “behind the scenes” conversation about the creation of the Map for Grasslands. The map is the output of a partnership spanning two years between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and more than two dozen conservation organizations working toward the creation of the North American Grasslands Conservation Act. 

Episode Highlights:
•	As a producer, editor, and director with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Center for Conservation Media, Swartwout explains his organization’s interest in grasslands conservation and his team’s role in turning data into a visual tool for the public.
•	Liu and Tong discuss the data sources behind the map’s focus on bobwhite quail, pheasants, monarch butterflies, elk, and northern pintails as five of the fifteen different wildlife species highlighted within the www.MapForGrasslands.org.
•	Cooley then explains how he turned the tremendous volume of data sources into a heart-breaking AND compelling story of the need for grasslands habitat conservation by utilizing the “martini glass” principle.

EP. 266: Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Making the Map for Grasslands

Continuing Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s special Women on the Wing podcast series, host Ashley Chance is joined by co-host Britta Petersen for a conversation with Dr. Jess McGuire who is the Senior Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) Bobwhite Program Manager.  Jess shares stories about working on a variety of research projects, the ups and downs of conservation on private lands and why quail can save the uplands.

Episode Highlights:
•	Why Jess has multiple unusual species in her freezer….  Cicadas anyone?
•	Hear about Jess’s experience as a biologist climbing trees with a chainsaw to build red cockaded woodpecker habitat.
•	How gopher tortoise conservation is quail conservation and why working with private landowners is extremely rewarding.
•	The crew discusses how sharing their enthusiasm for the natural world with kids, neighbors, former teammates, and private landowners will save the world.
•	Quail conservation at large and how creating and restoring habitat will produce more healthy and resilient quail populations.

To learn more about the Bobscapes app referenced in the podcast, visit: https://bobscapes.org/ 
Suddenly curious about gopher tortoises? Visit: https://gophergamesfilm.com/

EP. 265: Women on the Wing Series Part 4: Conservation and Habitat Restoration in Quail Country

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Nick Hoffman, a singer-songwriter, fiddle player, and host of “Nick’s Wild Ride” on Outdoor Channel and Bally’s Sports. At the age of 17, Hoffman ran away from his Minnesota home to chase musical dreams in Branson, Missouri, and then later to Nashville where he landed as the fiddle player in Kenny Chesney’s band. From there, Hoffman takes us on his “wild ride” in the music industry, and growing up in a non-hunting family to hosting an award-winning outdoor television show. 
Episode Highlights:
•	Hoffman discusses his growing interest in hunting while touring with Chesney for 12 years, then while as a co-founder of the trio The Farm. He then explains how he jumped from a successful musical career into outdoor television.  
•	The guys also talk about the importance of being a mentor beyond the initial introductory hunt, especially through failures. 
•	Hoffman also explains the role his grandfather, Harry Hoffman, played in the early days of Federal Ammunition and how it has all come full circle with Federal Ammunition as the longest tenured partner of “Nick’s Wild Ride.”

EP. 264: Nick Hoffman on Pet Pigs, Touring with Kenny Chesney, and Being a Hunting Mentor

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Senior Regional Representative Will Clayton for a conversation with chapter volunteers Nina Hoekstra and Dave Scherf. All four participants in this episode recently contributed to projects as part of PF & QF’s Hands-On Habitat effort to improve upland acres across the country. 

Episode Highlights:
•	The crew talk about clearing barbed wire, old tires, and other trash during habitat workdays, then they go around-the-horn with tales of the weirdest garbage they have picked up on public lands.
•	Nina Hoekstra, a volunteer with Minnesota’s McLeod County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, talks about the intimidation of first getting involved as a PF volunteer, then being so inspired to change careers focused on her passion for wildlife habitat and upland bird hunting. Follow Nina on Instagram @in.ninas.nature
•	Dave Scherf, a long-time volunteer with Minnesota’s Metro Minneapolis Chapter of Pheasants Forever, talks about his love for public land and how Hands-On Habitat projects brings him so much personal joy. 
Special “THANK YOU” to onX Hunt for supporting PF & QF’s Hands-On Habitat efforts across the country throughout the entire month of May. As part of their commitment, onX Hunt is funding three grants for PF & QF chapters participating in Hands-On Habitat projects. 
Learn more and find an event near you at:
www.PheasantsForever.org/HandsOnHabitat or www.QuailForever.org/HandsOnHabitat

EP. 263: Volunteers Get Dirty Improving Public Lands Habitat

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Conservation Leadership Program Manager Levi Day for a discussion about the organization’s effort to foster more interest in conservation careers, ranging from biologists to marketing professionals and accountants to educators. 
Episode Highlights:
•	Day recounts becoming a hunter, pursuing a career as an education professional, then developing a hunting friendship via social media that resulted in his jump into a conservation career of his own with PF & QF. 
•	Day also explains PF & QF’s Journey to Conservation Careers program and recaps a successful career curriculum session that occurred on the morning of the podcast in Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s Harrisburg High School.

EP. 228: Previewing the 2023 Prairie Grouse Hunting Season

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