On The Wing Podcast

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dave Simonett, lead singer of the band Trampled by Turtles, and Mike Wieben, head dog trainer at Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennels, for a conversation about Simonett’s two bird dogs. The conversation starts with a focus on Hrbek, Simonett’s Australian shepherd mix breed rescue, then transitions to Maxon, Simonett’s new German wirehaired puppy currently being trained by Wieben. Sincerest THANK YOU to SportDOG Brand for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast.

Episode Highlights:

• Simonett discusses his relatively new love for bird hunting and how it has reprioritized his autumn calendar and opened his eyes to the value of public lands.

• The guys also compare the artistry of songwriting with the artistry of training a dog to reach its full potential as a bird dog.

• Simonett also talks about his growing outdoors writing endeavors with recent stories in Garden & Gun magazine and Tom Beckbe’s Field Journal. Sign up for Simonett’s new newsletter, GOOD RECORD, at his website www.DeadManWinter.com

Learn more about the collaboration between Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, and Trampled by Turtles through this fantastic article by Javier Serna that originally appeared in Outdoor News.

In this episode, hosts Marissa Jensen and Rachel Bush of PF & QF are taking over the podcast for a special Mother’s Day edition. They are joined by two special guests to celebrate the ups, downs, and in-betweens of raising a family outdoors. This episode’s guests include Susan Felege, PF & QF Board of Directors and Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of North Dakota, and Kata Miller, North Carolina Women on the Wing Quail Forever Chapter president. The episode is all about these mothers doing their best to raise their children with a love and appreciation for hunting and conservation.

Episode Highlights:

• Kata and Susan share the ways they get their families outdoors.

• We all know that getting our kids outside can be challenging at times, but the rewards are worth it. Our guests share some of the challenges they’ve faced as well as those ah-ha moments.

• Even when you think your kids aren’t listening or learning from you, they surprise you with their astute observations of nature when you’re least expecting it . . . and sometimes kids say the funniest things!

• Secrets and snacks, our guests share what works best for them through the good times and the bad.

If given a choice, would land managers be better off adding pheasant nesting habitat in a few larger chunks or dispersed as a bunch of little tracts across the landscape to mitigate the impact of predators on pheasant populations? Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dr. Scott Taylor, the National Wild Pheasant Conservation Plan Coordinator, to talk about scientific research assessing small and large tracts of nesting habitat for pheasant reproduction.

Episode Highlights:

• Dr. Taylor discusses the importance of looking at pheasant habitat from “a neighborhood” point of view.

• The guys also break down the importance of nesting cover, brood-rearing habitat, winter cover, and food plots as landowners approach maximizing their land for pheasant populations.

Read Dr. Scott Taylor’s new essay, “Play Small Ball or Swing for the Fences?” on pheasant nesting cover and how tract size plays into reproduction success. https://pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Pheasants-Forever/Play-Small-Ball-or-Swing-for-the-Fences.aspx

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Tom Reed, Greg McReynolds, and Reid Bryant, the three principles behind the new Mouthful of Feathers book. Each participant previews their contributions to the upcoming book of short stories focused on bird hunting and bird dogs with a heavy dose of literary prose absent of how-to essays.

Episode Highlights:

• Byrant, host of the Orvis Hunting and Shooting podcast, recounts assembling a group of outdoors writers at a northern Minnesota grouse hunting lodge in 2017 that included Reed, McReynolds, and St.Pierre all meeting for the first time.

• McReynolds, who works at Trout Unlimited with Reed, talks about the intersection between Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, and Trout Unlimited as the habitat created through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) benefiting upland game birds and cold-water fish species.

The new Mouthful of Feathers book will be available in a print edition this summer and includes stories from Quail Forever Editor Chad Love and PF & QF’s Conservation Leadership Program Manager Marissa Jensen.

Bobwhite quail have long been known as a “fire bird,” because of their positive population response to habitat improved through fire management. In this episode, host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three PF & QF employees for a conversation covering the science and art of using prescribed fire as a wildlife habitat management tool for bobwhite quail. The trio includes Missouri State Coordinator Andrew White, Missouri Prescribed Fire Coordinating Wildlife Biologist Wes Buchheit, and Missouri Habitat Specialist Crew Leader Dylan Jacobs.

Episode Highlights:

• White describes the importance of early successional habitat for bobwhite quail and explains how fire is utilized to maintain the integrity of grasslands as an ecosystem.

• In a fascinating sequence, Jacobs equates prescribed fire to an artform, his drip torch to a paint brush, and a natural landscape to a canvas.

• Buchheit explains how QF’s efforts to embrace fire through government policy, partnerships, and public education are turning the tide for the state’s quail populations.

• Each participant also puts in words of support for their favorite bird dog breed during this month’s Bird Dogs for Habitat campaign. They also debate whether or not the Simpson’s dog, “Santa’s Little Helper,” is a vizsla.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by John Laux, PF & QF’s habitat protection program manager, and Eric Sytsma, PF & QF’s habitat protection development officer, for a conversation about creating public lands through the organization’s Build a Wildlife Area program. Since its first land acquisition in 1986, PF & QF have created more than 220,000 acres of permanently protected and publicly accessible upland wildlife habitat. The Build a Wildlife Area program is one of the organization’s signature tools helping grow that acre total even larger.

Episode Highlights:

• Laux explains the variety of ways PF & QF work with federal and state agencies to permanently protect critical habitat and create public access. Agencies interested in discussing a land acquisition with PF & QF should connect with Laux at [email protected].

• Sytsma adds to the discussion with his knowledge around the role chapters, donors, and corporate partners play in helping fund permanent protection. Donors interested in learning more about land gifts should connect with Sytsma at [email protected].

• All told, the organization averages a 14-to-1 match for leveraging donor contribution toward a land acquisition. In fact, acquisitions in the state of Minnesota even reach a match averaging 40-to-1.

BIRD DOGS FOR HABITAT and BUILD A WILDLIFE AREA

Bird Dogs for Habitat is an online popularity contest with a purpose. From April 1st through 30th we’re challenging people to cast a vote and make a donation on behalf of their favorite bird dog breed. Every dollar donated equals one vote and every donation will help create more permanently protected and publicly accessible places for our bird dogs to roam via our Build a Wildlife Area program.

Head to www.birddogsforhabitat.org to vote! And thanks to our partners at Orvis, Purina Pro Plan, SportDOG BRAND, Ruff Land Kennels, and North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Mike Wieben, head dog trainer at Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennel, for a conversation with PF & QF’s Logan Hinners, the proud new owner of a young Labrador retriever puppy named “Trek.” Over the course of the episode, Wieben coaches Logan on properly introducing Trek to birds, gunfire, water, and electronic dog training tools.

Episode Highlights:

• Logan describes his hopes for Trek to become a “5-tool” bird dog who will accompany him in the uplands, in the duck blind, and in search of shed antlers.

• Wieben explains the importance of separating obedience training from bird & gun introduction to build a puppy’s prey-drive and foster a pup’s connection to fun associated with birds.

• Wieben also discusses the various SportDOG BRAND® e-collars available for training and hunting.

BIRD DOGS FOR HABITAT

Bird Dogs for Habitat is an online popularity contest with a purpose. From April 1st through 30th we’re challenging people to cast a vote and make a donation on behalf of their favorite bird dog breed. Every dollar donated equals one vote and every donation will help create more permanently protected and publicly accessible places for our bird dogs to roam via our Build a Wildlife Area program. And on top of this, every week our generous sponsors are supplying fantastic prizes that are eligible to anyone who voted. This week, SportDOG has provided a SportTrainer 1275 as a prize for one lucky donor. Head to www.birddogsforhabitat.org to vote! And thanks to our partners at Orvis, Purina Pro Plan, SportDOG BRAND, Ruff Land Kennels, and North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Marilyn Vetter for her inaugural podcast interview as the organization’s new president and chief executive officer. The conversation starts off fast and fun with Vetter explaining how she was tapped for jury duty her first week on the job at PF & QF, then moves into a wide range of topics from bird dogs to volunteerism to her SWOT analysis of the organization and her vision for The Habitat Organization’s future.

Episode Highlights:

• Vetter talks about developing a passion for the uplands while growing up on the family cattle farm in North Dakota, then becoming a bird hunter with her high school sweetheart and now husband, Clyde.

• She also explains the role bird dogs have played in her personal life and volunteer ethos.

• This must-listen episode lends important insight into our new leader’s perspective on how our habitat mission won’t change. The vision of how we accomplish those habitat goals, however, must constantly evolve to be successful.

Learn more about Marilyn Vetter in the press release announcing her as the organization’s 3rd CEO in our 40-year history. https://pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Pheasants-Forever/Pheasants-Forever-and-Quail-Forever-National-Board-of-Directors-Select-Marilyn-Vetter-as-New-Preside.aspx

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Chief Development Officer David Bue to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Call of the Uplands campaign coinciding with the retirement of longtime PF & QF President & CEO Howard Vincent.

Episode Highlights:

• Vincent revisits the important moments of his four decades with Pheasants Forever; including the story of Quail Forever’s creation and the personal promise behind the Sage Grouse Initiative.

• Bue and Vincent talk about the campaign’s 11 million acres of habitat improvements and the 2 million acres of access created, as well as how Call of the Uplands has changed the trajectory of the organization’s future.

• Vincent also explains the impetus for the new fighting roosters tattoo on his right arm and unveils plans for a covey of flushing quail on his left arm as an illustration of his lifelong commitment to upland habitat.

Learn more about the Call of the Uplands accomplishments by visiting our campaign summary. https://pheasantsforever.org/celebrate

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by four Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologists who are also experts in the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). PF & QF’s Rachel Bush, Brittney Viers, Andy Houser, and Nate Fore talk about why bird hunters should care about CRP and discuss the unique opportunity for CRP enrollment open to landowners through April 7th.

Episode Highlights:

• Bush, a biologist from North Dakota, explains the importance of CRP for upland birds, hunters, water quality, and soil health.

• While CRP has always been synonymous with pheasant habitat, Viers, a biologist from Tennessee, explains the value CRP brings to the mid-south and southeastern U.S. for landowners interested in creating bobwhite quail habitat.

• Houser, a biologist from Nebraska, explains how the private lands enrolled into CRP are the foundation to walk-in access programs across the country.

Interested in learning more about CRP and conservation options for your property, contact a Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologist near you by visiting www.PheasantsForever.org/CRP or www.QuailForever.org/CRP