On The Wing Podcast

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Nebraska Senior State Coordinator Kelsi Wehrman, Iowa State Coordinator Josh Divan, Missouri State Coordinator Andrew White, and Oklahoma & Kansas Regional Representative Laura McIver for a conversation about the upcoming pheasant and quail hunting seasons across the Great Plains. Each participant discusses weather, upland habitat, public lands, and hunting tactics in their respective state.

Episode Highlights:

· Wehrman and McIver talk about Nebraska and Kansas emerging from an extended drought to create optimism for the hunting season ahead and a potential big rebound for next season.

· Divan’s Iowa report echoes Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota’s glowing recap heard during the last episode focused upon this spring and summer’s weather for “nearly perfect” nesting conditions for upland birds.

· Wehrman and White both share first-time observations of quail “mega-broods” in Nebraska and Missouri this year.

· Each participant provides a closing tip to help put an extra bird in your vest.

Check out Pheasants Forever’s full state-by-state pheasant hunting forecast and Quail Forever’s full state-by-state quail hunting forecast for more details.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined PF & QF’s North Dakota and Montana Senior Field Representative Renee Tomala, Minnesota State Coordinator Tanner Bruse, and South Dakota State Coordinator Matt Gottlob to preview the pheasant hunting seasons in each of their home states. The group talks about weather, habitat, and hunting tactics.

Episode Highlights:

· Tomala provides an update about her bird dog, Quill, who suffered a traumatic injury in the field last season during the filming of an episode of The Flush.

· Gottlob and St.Pierre talk about both being Type 1 diabetics and how they overcome the challenges of their conditions as avid hunters.

· Each participant provides a closing tip to help put an extra bird in your vest.

Check out Pheasants Forever’s full state-by-state pheasant hunting forecast: pheasantsforever.org/forecast

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever Program Manager Andy Edwards for a conversation with University of Tennessee’s Dr. Craig Harper and Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Park’s biologist John Gruchy for a discussion focused on bobwhite quail research and management.

Episode Highlights:

· Dr. Harper discusses historic quail management recommendations and how we have learned a lot from our mistakes over the last 20 years. He also urges, “every day of the year is a possible day to do something good for bobwhite quail. Don’t be relegated to any certain time of the year.”

· Gruchy takes Dr. Harper’s comments and explains how state agencies are putting those constant learnings about quail and quail habitat to work on the ground.

Learn mor about Dr. Harper’s research and publications at https://naturalresources.tennessee.edu/craig-harper/

In celebration of Build a Wildlife Area week, host Bob St.Pierre visits with three people instrumental in the creation of the new 195.5-acre Howard K. Vincent Waterfowl Production Area honoring PF & QF’s recently retired president and chief executive officer. The group in this conversation includes President of the Spirit Lake Protective Association John Smeltzer, Iowa Great Lakes Pheasants Forever Chapter volunteer Mary Jo Rapp, and PF & QF’s Minnesota State Coordinator Tanner Bruse.

Episode Highlights:

· Rapp explains how this project fulfills her local PF chapter memberships’ interest in improving habitat on public lands in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota.

· Smeltzer, a retired biologist with the Colorado Department of Parks & Wildlife, explains his passion for Spirit Lake’s water quality where he has made his retirement home and how that water quality focus also dovetails with his passion for hunting upland birds.

· And the group of Labrador-loving guests have some fun ribbing St.Pierre for being the only pointer guy on this podcast.

Learn more about PF & QF’s Build a Wildlife Area program at www.PheasantsForever.org/BuildaWildlifeArea

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever Journal Editor Tom “Carp” Carpenter to discuss his feature article from the upcoming fall edition of the PF Journal titled, “9 Pheasant Hunting Lessons (Re)Learned.” This upcoming season will be Carp’s 50th spent chasing roosters and he has boiled down five decades worth of tricks into a list of nine core tips that will help add tailfeathers (and a roostery sag!) to your vest this autumn.

Episode Highlights:

· Bob retells the story of a Facebook friend proclaiming Carp as “a national treasure.”

· The conversation is filled with terrific discussion about finding public land spots, hunting the “golden hour,” using the wind to advantage, being ready all the time, the importance of confidence in finding birds, and some of Carp’s hunting tales.

During the conversation, Carp expresses his passion for onXHunt as a scouting tool by converting the company name to a verb, “onXing.” If you’ve not yet unlocked the bird hunting secrets of onXHunt, use the code PFQF at onxhunt.com for 20% off this year’s membership.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society’s Engagement Coordinator Sam Tilman, along with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Vice President of Conservation Programs Rich Wissink to discuss their shared love of the autumn ruffed grouse woods. The conversation covers ruffed grouse and woodcock habitat, biology, and hunting tactics.

Episode Highlights:

· Wissink, recently back from a Montana sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge hunt during opening weekend, provides a recap of his first hunting trip into the uplands this season.

· Tillman provides a great description of grouse and woodcock habitat for listeners who’ve never visited the Northwoods but are interested in a new upland hunting adventure.

· The group also has some fun running down the roster of nicknames for the American woodcock.

· Tillman also explains the difference between how ruffed grouse populations are surveyed using drumming counts versus august roadside counts used to measure pheasant and quail population indexes.

Learn more about the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society at www.RuffedGrouseSociety.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Project Leader Scott Glup, PF & QF Director of Conservation Delivery for the Midwest Eran Sandquist, and Public Land Tees co-owner Sam Soholt for a discussion about how the federal Duck Stamp also creates habitat for upland birds.

Episode Highlights:

· Glup starts the conversation with a brief history of the federal Duck Stamp’s origin story. He also talks about how Fred Staunton, a biologist from South Dakota, fought to use Duck Stamp dollars for the purchase of small wetlands for public access which we now know as Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs).

· Sandquist then explains the habitat value of WPAs for upland birds and how PF & QF partners with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to facilitate WPA acquisitions and habitat restorations.

· Soholt closed the episode with an overview of the Stamp It Forward program, which has purchased more than $150,000 in Duck Stamps over the last four years. Soholt then explains this year’s effort, called the “Prairie Pothole Duck Ruck,” which has a goal of generating $100,000 for the purchase of 4,000 Duck Stamps powered by Soholt walking 100 miles from North Dakota to South Dakota’s Sand Lake Wildlife Refuge.

Learn more at www.PublicLandTees.com/DuckRuck

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

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Director of Communications Jared Wiklund and Development Officer Jake Hanson to announce the organization’s new Public Access To Habitat (PATH) program. PATH opens to South Dakota landowners for enrollment on September 1st and to hunters for public hunting access later this autumn. Ben Brettingen, onXHunt’s Regional Manager, also jumps into the conversation to deliver the program’s first $250,000 contribution, in partnership with South Dakota Tourism, which will result in the PATH program’s first 10,000 acres of open access.

Episode Highlights:

· The group has gathered in northern Wisconsin to run their bird dogs together before setting up the podcasting gear and camp chairs for a conversation about bird dogs, upland hunting, and public access.

· Wiklund explains how the creation of the Aberdeen Pheasant Coalition in 2013 was the precursor for this new statewide PATH program launching in South Dakota this autumn.

· Hanson reminisces about predicting the future during episode 143 of On The Wing podcast while on the 2021 Rooster Road Trip, then directs landowners interested in learning more about PATH to connect with a PF Farm Bill Biologist in South Dakota.

Special thanks to onXHunt and South Dakota Tourism for kicking off our new PATH program with the effort’s first contribution. Use the code PFQF at onxhunt.com for 20% off.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Ben Fleischacker, SCHEELS product development & sourcing expert AND a Pheasants Forever volunteer, along with PF & QF’s Erica Divan and Andy Fondrick for a conversation about the new line of PF & QF upland apparel and gear. The trio of avid bird hunters and bird dog owners talk about their philosophical approach to building the store’s assortment for the upcoming year.

Episode Highlights:

· Each individual talks about their favorite new apparel items in this year’s line that includes products from Simms, Orvis, and the SCHEELS Outfitters line.

· The group also discusses the tagline “Purchase with a Purpose” and how SCHEELS has contributed to three new wildlife areas creating upland habitat and public access.

Check out all the new Pheasants Forever items at PFStore.org and Quail Forever items at QFStore.org.