Matt Kauffman is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the United Stated Geological Survey and the lead scientist at the Wyoming Migration Initiative, based out of the University of Wyoming. He has worked on and researched everything from peregrine falcons and wolves to carnivores in Africa. For the last 15 years Matt has been conducting research on the seasonal movements of ungulates like mule deer in the western United States and is a leading authority on their migration ecology and conservation. On this episode we discuss wildlife migration and the recent release of the report “Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States” of which Matt was a key author. Along with the release of the report was a new mapping tool for use by the public that can be found at https://westernmigrations.net/.

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is supported by Hunt To Eat. 

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

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Paul Forward, Tom Lohuis and Roman Dial join us from Alaska to talk Dall Sheep hunting and ecology, the warm up in the north and its effects on the landscape and fish and wildlife, and the future of hunting, fishing, and wildlife in Alaska. Paul is a doctor who spends part of his time in the most northern stretches of Alaska treating rural and indigenous communities and a hunter with an obsession for Dall Sheep. He also spends his winters as a heli-ski guide and has seen interesting changes in snowpack. Tom is a lifelong hunter from Wyoming works currently works as a sheep research biologist for Alaska Fish and Game. He has also done research on moose, black bears, and several others species. Roman is a professor of mathematics and biology at Alaska Pacific University and an author who has spent more than forty years crisscrossing the Alaskan backcountry doing research, exploring, and finding material for his two books.

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is supported by Hunt To Eat. 

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

Learn more at www.nwf.org/outdoors

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Rick McIntyre and Jackee Riccio of CROP Project join us to highlight the impacts that illegal cannabis trespass grows have on our public lands, fish, and wildlife, especially in California. Trespass grows use toxicants that contaminate water and poison fish and wildlife - including species which hunters and anglers pursue. Not only that, but he heavily armed sites also pose a danger to hunters and anglers who accidentally encounter them while hunting or fishing our public lands. This results in large acreages effectively being off-limits. We greatly appreciate Rich and Jackee joining us to educate us - and you - about this serious issue. Click the links below for more information. 

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is supported by Hunt To Eat. 

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

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Leland Brown and Chris Parish of the North American Non-Lead Partnership join us to discuss benefits of using non-lead ammunition for hunting, the science behind the impacts of lead ammunition on non-target species, the effectiveness of non-lead ammunition, tips and considerations for making the switch, dispelling common misconceptions about non-lead ammunition, why encouraging voluntary adoptions of non-lead ammunition by hunters can be more effective than mandating it, and what their organization does to educate hunters about the benefits of using non-lead ammunition. 

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is supported by Hunt To Eat. 

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

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SPECIAL EPISODE: This week we're dropping this special episode of the National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast featuring Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation President Jeff Crane and National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Collin O'Mara. Jeff and Collin were recently honored with an award from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies for the collaborative work of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation on the Recovering America's Wildlife Act. We talk with them about the history of our organizations, how, why, and when we work together, the successes resulting from that like the Great American Outdoors Act and the recently-passed America's Conservation Enhancement Act, and the genesis of the idea for the Recovering America's Wildlife Act through the Blue Ribbon Panel, why it's so important for wildlife, and where it stands now. 

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is supported by Hunt To Eat. 

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

Additional Links: 

Congress, President Should Build on Historic, Bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act

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Kevin Monteith, assistant professor at the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming joins the podcast to talk about the Monteith Shop for large ungulate research, his team's research on mule deer, including causes of their decline, habitat needs, migration patterns, summer and winter range, competition with elk, the Deer Elk Ecology Research project, the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Project, the Ungulate Compendium, the Rose Petal Hypothesis, why science is more that the one piece of observational data you witnessed that one time while hunting, and more. 

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is supported by Hunt To Eat. 

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

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Award-winning outdoor journalist Christine Peterson joins the National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast to discuss the role of conservation in outdoor media, her career as an award-winning outdoor writer, the Outdoor Writers Association of America, adventures with her family and the epic treks of her four-year-old daughter, becoming an adult-onset hunter, diversity in the outdoors, and some of the biggest conservation issues she's covered like predator management, invasive species, and climate change. 

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is sponsored by Hunt To Eat. 

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

Additional Resources

Christine-Peterson.com: http://www.christine-peterson.com/

Outdoor Writers Association of America: https://www.owaa.org/ 

National Wildlife Federation Outdoors: www.nwf.org/outdoors 

Christine Peterson articles: 

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Travis Macy is a speaker, author, coach, professional endurance athlete and an elk hunter. He joins the National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast to discuss his experience as an endurance athlete and on The World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji in which he competed with his dad, who has Alzheimer's Disease, getting outside during the pandemic, becoming an elk hunter as an adult, the similarities and contrasts between endurance events and elk hunting, the beginner mindset, why failing is OK, how international travel and hunting have influenced his views on conservation, and how to get more involved in conservation. 

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is supported by Hunt To Eat. 

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

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Mahting Putelis of Hunt To Eat joins the podcast to talk about Hunt To Eat's brand new rebranding and focus, its origin story, sponsoring and partnering with the National Wildlife Federation, approachable wild game recipes, our admiration for the culinary greatness of Michael Cravens, how Hunt To Eat t-shirts feel and why "friends don't let friends wear plastisol," drawing inspiration from Patagonia, why there's more to hunting than just "big bucks," Mahting's Latvian roots, fighting oppression, making the outdoors welcoming for all, how Mahting started hunting, fishing to eat vs. catch and release, outdoor recreation activities not named hunting or fishing, the hunting culture and community, fall plans, running 100 miles, and how not to get trichinosis from undercooked bear meat. 

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is proudly sponsored by Hunt To Eat. 

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Gray Thornton, President and CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation, and Kit Fischer of the National Wildlife Federation join the podcast to talk about all facets of wild sheep conservation, the work of the Wild Sheep Foundation to put and keep wild sheep on the mountain, conservation issues facing wild sheep like disease spread from domestic sheep, the work WSF's work with the National Wildlife Federation to work keep wild and domestic sheep separate, how habitat and disease impact where wild sheep restoration can occur, working together with domestic sheep producers, the < 1 Club, and the WSF film "Wild and Wool."

The National Wildlife Federation Outdoors Podcast is supported by Hunt To Eat.

Music provided by National Park Radio. 

Resources: 

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