In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Brant Chutter and Quynn Nielsen, two avid lion hunters from British Columbia, who Randy happened to spend a lot of time with last summer in the MacKenzie Mountains. Brant grew up in a home with two wildlife biologist-parents, who formed his view of science and sustainability. Brant and Quynn now own Rival Outfitting in British Columbia, with lion hunts being a featured hunt. Listen in while Randy, Brant, and Quynn talk about lion management, houndsmen, predation and prey, and social influence overriding science in many outdoor activities.

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In this episode of Leupold’s Hunt Talk Radio, Randy had the opportunity to record a podcast in front of a live audience with the new Director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Debbie Colbert. The conversation covers a wide range of topics - wolves, deer, elk, fish, endangered species, and more. Debbie talks about some of ODFW's achievements as well as the reality of how their work is constrained by Federal regulations, lawsuits, and other factors.

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Randy is joined by Charles Whitwam and Mike Costello of HOWL For Wildlife. HOWL is an organization designed to help hunters organize, communicate, and be effective when advocating for their cause. Using new technology and communication strategies, HOWL has built the infrastructure that brings hunters together on important issues. Topics covered include every hunter as an ambassador, strategy of messaging to win, ignoring the vocal fringe, accepting reality as a small interest group and being effective, examples of victories, hunting's future tied to how we present our story, and a lot of other helpful ideas for those who advocate for hunting and conservation.

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In this episode of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy and Marcus sit down with Jim Baichtal to talk about the new conservation group known as the Blacktail Deer Foundation. Originating within the Mule Deer Foundation, Jim is leading the efforts for Sitka Blacktails in Alaska, while his co-workers lead the efforts for Columbia Blacktails in the Pacific Northwest. Topics covered include a lot of hunting stories, where the new idea started, different needs for different deer, Sitka blacktails as an example of a unique species, and a lot of fun and laughs.

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Randy discusses conservation easements with Jennifer Doherty of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Kendall Van Dyk of Montana Land Reliance, both who have extensive careers helping private landowners conserve their landscapes with conservation easements (CE). Topics covered include CEs, CEs as one of many tools working landowners need, willing-seller/donor exercising one of their property rights, when a CE is the best tool, a CE isn't always the solution, tax issues involving CEs, myths around CEs, the role CEs play to conserve lands on vast and expensive landscape, and many other topics about keeping working lands in working hands.

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Randy and Marcus join Joel Webster of Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partners (TRCP) on Joel's Nevada elk hunt. Topics covered include a great elk hunting story, conservation issues creating huge challenges for native wildlife, specifically feral horses, invasive cheatgrass, conifer encroachment, changing fire cycles, and the need to increase priority of those issues. Mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and sage grouse of the Great Basin states are suffering from these invasive species. A call to action for hunters to help.

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Randy sits down with three hunttalk.com regulars - Gerald Martin, Sean Clancy, and Eric Albus to talk about how a group of people with different backgrounds can talk about solutions and not just problems. How do you improve the health of Montana's mule deer herds while keeping the solution socially acceptable, maintaining hunting opportunity, and keeping Montana FWP's operating budget as-is? Coming up with a solution is the goal for this group of hunters.

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In this episode (#253) Randy is joined by David Willms, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation and avid hunter from Wyoming. The guys explore Utah's latest attempt to demand 18 million acres of BLM lands be transferred to Utah. Utah is known for selling their state lands to fund their school system. What's the motivation? Why now? This is another repackaged effort to rekindle the movement to rid America of its public lands. Utah is spending millions and millions to do this. The attacks are not going away, rather just marketed under new names with different tactics. Listen up folks, they want your land!

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In this episode (#252) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio, Randy is joined by Mike Kautz and Paul Kemper of American Prairie, known as AP. Topics focus on access and conservation. AP has enrolled 88,000 acres of their private land in Montana's Block Management access program, along with allowing access across their private land to reach otherwise inaccessible public lands. The focus is on an uncrowded "quality experience," not necessarily big animals. AP has a herd of 800 bison and leases their lands to cattle operators where over 8,000 cattle graze to sustain a grassland system dependent upon grazing. Mike and Paul explain how AP uses hunting as a wildlife management tool, along with many other activities that occur on their lands. Conservation of habitat and species is the primary goal, being accomplished in a very interesting manner.

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This episode (#251) of Leupold's Hunt Talk Radio is the first of hopefully four that explore statewide candidates and their views on hunting, fishing, public lands, and conservation. Both US Senate candidates have been invited as have both Gubernatorial candidates. In this episode Ryan Busse gives his views and ideas on hunting, fishing, conservation and public access. Invitations have been sent to the other candidate, Governor Greg Gianforte, and we hope to have that podcast to follow. 

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