On The Wing Podcast

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever President & Chief Executive Officer Marilyn Vetter for a conversation in which she reflects on her first year in the organization’s top leadership role. The pair also detail the vision, mission, values, and four strategic priorities comprising the organization’s new strategic plan themed “Building Forever.”

Episode Highlights:

• St.Pierre asks Vetter to share stories from her first year as “The Habitat Organization’s” leader; including the significant moments, times of frustration, best advice received, and favorite hunt.

• Despite the organization already having a strategic plan in place, Vetter explains her philosophy behind initiating a revitalized strategic plan with a larger collection of PF & QF employee executives focused on the following quote from business leader and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek, “If a movement is to have an impact, it must belong to those who join it not just those who lead it.”

• Vetter goes on to explain why the organization’s wildlife habitat mission isn’t changing, but how increasing a reliance on science-based decision-making and improving accountability sharpened the organization’s focus on four strategic priorities, which include:

a. Increase & improve wildlife HABITAT on public and private lands

b. Advance conservation POLICIES and program funding

c. Expand public ACCESS to upland wildlife habitat

d. Expand, educate and engage the upland conservation COMMUNITY

Learn more about PF & QF’s new strategic plan by reading “Aiming High,” an excerpt from the Pheasants Forever Journal.

onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever Journal Editor Tom Carpenter and Quail Forever Journal Editor Ryan Sparks for the first-ever meeting of the Upland Bird Hunters’ Book Club. The conversation starts with a discussion about Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It and how that book, and subsequent movie, changed the general public’s perception of fly fishing. St.Pierre poses the question, “has the upland bird hunting version of that classic narrative been written yet?”

Episode Highlights:

• The “national treasure” Tom Carpenter dives deep into his bookcase of classics with personal tales, including a story of his cherished friendship with renowned bird hunting writer Ben O. Williams.

• Sparks covers a wide array of genres with his selections as his top five picks include a cookbook, a collection of essays, a couple of classics, and even a wacky fiction where a wealthy English hunter is reincarnated as a pheasant on his own hunting estate.

onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Yia Vang, a Hmong American chef, restaurant owner, and host of Outdoor Channel’s television show “Feral.” Vang talks about growing up as a small game hunter, going on his first pheasant hunt in Wisconsin, and his perspective on the Hmong “balanced” approach to food.

Episode Highlights:

• Vang talks about his journey from college to chef and food truck operator to the owner of a new restaurant, Vinai, in Minneapolis.

• Vang also explains how Andrew Zimmern’s producers “discovered” him, which led to “Feral.”

• WATCH Vang make pheasant fried rice, which is featured in the new PF & QF Upland Bird Hunting Super issue.

onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by the husband-and-wife dog training duo Susanna and Ronnie Smith. Ronnie comes from a long line of famous bird dog trainers that includes his father, Ronnie Sr., his uncle Delmar, and his cousin Rick. The couple talk about falling in love when Susanna brought her young German shorthaired pointer pup to Ronnie for training. This is their touching love story filled with bird dog conversation and priceless bird dog training tips.

Episode Highlights:

• Susanna shares her story of growing up as a ranching kid in Texas, moving to Washington, D.C. to work for the House Committee on Agriculture, then coming back home to her roots to work livestock, horses, and dogs.

• Ronnie shares a few fun stories about guiding President George H. Bush, President George W. Bush, NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann, and astronaut Eugene Cernan on Texas quail hunts.

• The couple also share how the COVID pandemic changed the way they approached training a bird dog.

• The Smiths are members of the Purina Pro Plan Pro Staff, check out this video about their story and learn more about the Smiths at their website.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Travis Frank, host of The Flush, to preview the television show’s new 2024 season on Outdoor Channel. The guys kick off the conversation with a fun debate about which characters they most resemble from 1990’s sitcoms, then talk about their philosophical differences in approaching podcast preparations. The highlight of the episode comes with Travis discussing his personal trepidation about filming his son’s first pheasant hunt and the joy he experiences raising two daughters and two sons as hunters and anglers. Travis also shares the horrific experience of getting a fishhook in his eye and his miraculous recovery.

The Flush 2024 Season Lineup

Week 1 July 1 Alberta Huns & Fowl

Week 2 July 8 Superior Trail Ruffed Grouse

Week 3 July 15 North Dakota Sharpies & Huns

Week 4 July 22 Minnesota’s First CRP Farmer

Week 5 July 29 Kansas Quail

Week 6 August 5 Marilyn Vetter as PF & QF’s New President & CEO

Week 7 August 12 Traveling Grouse Guide

Week 8 August 19 A Boy’s First Pheasant

Week 9 August 26 Iowa Pheasant Roadtrip

Week 10 September 2 Idaho Quail Nightmare

Week 11 September 9 Christmas Grouse Camp

Week 12 September 16 Hank Hunt #3 at Prairie Wildlife Lodge

Week 13 September 23 A Young Chukar Hunting Phenom

The Flush airs on Outdoor Channel at the following times (Eastern):

• Mondays at 9:30am

• Wednesdays at 12:30pm

• Fridays at 11:30am

• Saturdays at 8:30am

• Sundays at 6:30am

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever’s Dr. Jessica McGuire, University of Georgia’s Dr. James Martin, and Quail Forever Journal Editor Ryan Sparks for a conversation about the new “Bobscapes” mobile app. The group chats about citizen science, artificial intelligence, and using Bobscapes data to better understand bobwhite quail populations.

Episode Highlights:

• Dr. Martin discusses the evolution of citizen science in wildlife research and also theorizes ways artificial intelligence may be used to help biologists in the future.

• Jokingly referred to as a Bobscapes app “super user,” Sparks explains how easy the app is to use and how he enjoys putting it to work on his family’s Nebraska farm.

• Learn more about Bobscapes and download the free app at www.Bobscapes.org.

This episode of On the Wing podcast was made possible by a grant from the #Farming4Habitat campaign. Learn how private landowners are investing in the conservation of America’s fish and wildlife resources by visiting www.Farming4Habitat.org.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologists Ciera Garner and Heather Francis to talk about the intersection between pollinator habitat for pollinating insects and brood habitat for upland birds. Garner is the organization’s pollinator coordinator in Tennessee and Francis is a farm bill biologist III and on-boarding coordinator in Nebraska. In fact, pollinators are so important to them both that Garner’s wedding earlier this spring included a variety of native wildflower components as did Francis’ youngest son’s wedding that happened on the very same day as Garner’s nuptials.

Episode Highlights:

• The group focuses their conversation on a Top 10 list of wildflowers as voted on by a sampling of PF & QF’s team of biologists.

• The criteria for the Top 10 list of wildflowers included each plant’s a) value in creating habitat structure; b) value as a food resource – both in seed produced as food, as well as the plant’s ability to attract soft-bodied insects as chick food; and c) as the wildcard value of the flower’s blooming beauty.

• Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are currently offering a special Pollinator Week package including a PF or QF membership, six wildflower plants, a “Habitat Creator” sticker, and a “Pollinator Habitat” sign. Check out the offer at: www.PheasantsForever.org/PollinatorWeek

www.QuailForever.org/PollinatorWeek

Thanks to our Pollinator Week partners:

• Corteva Agriscience

• Bayer U.S. Crop Science

• Syngenta US

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

• Monarch Joint Venture

• Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever Journal Editor Ryan Sparks for a conversation with Jesse Griffiths, a restauranteur, chef, cooking instructor, MeatEater contributor, and James Beard award-winning food writer. Griffiths wrote an article in the new summer edition of the Quail Forever Journal titled, “The Three Quail I’ve Known,” about wild, stocked, and farm-raised quail.

Episode Highlights:

• The conversation starts with a focus on quail hunting opportunities in Texas and how a love for eating quail can lead to a passion for quail habitat conservation.

• Sparks equates being a capable wild game cook at home to being able to read quality habitat for bird hunting. Both are equally important, but not always viewed as equals.

• Griffiths closes the conversation with a lightning round of his favorite way to prepare quail, favorite quail side dishes, and favorite quail libations.

Learn more about Jesse Griffiths by visiting the following sites:

- His restaurant Dai Due at https://www.daidue.com/home

- His books at https://www.thewildbooks.com/

- Follow Jesse on Instagram @sac.a.lait

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Mike Amman and Ashly Steinke, both volunteers with the Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, for a conversation about prairie grouse, barrens habitat, and dog training. When most folks think about sharp-tailed grouse and greater prairie chickens, they automatically think about the large expanses of prairie grasslands across the Dakotas or Montana or Nebraska. There is, however, a somewhat “secret” population of sharp-tailed grouse in Wisconsin’s brushland habitat.

Episode Highlights:

• Steinke, an ecologist with Audubon Society, shares his personal passion and professional knowledge focused on growing Wisconsin’s sharp-tailed grouse population through habitat management and brushland connectivity.

• Amman, a forester for Wisconsin’s Bayfield County, discusses his perspective on the importance of the state’s brushland habitat and the wildlife dependent upon this unique form of grasslands habitat, even though he’s also passionate about the state’s Northwoods forests.

• The guys also discuss the value Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society find in having a booth to recruit new members from all over the country at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic.

Learn more about sharp-tailed grouse in Wisconsin by visiting www.WiSharptails.org

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.