On The Wing Podcast

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Logan Hinners, PF & QF’s lead graphic designer, for a conversation with Joel Pilcher about taking a leap of faith to chase his childhood dream of becoming a wildlife artist. The guys also talk about Hinners’ vision for the rooster and bobwhite quail that Pilcher created using charcoal, and became the images embodying PF & QF’s monumental Call of the Uplands campaign to improve 9 million acres of wildlife habitat.

Episode Highlights:

• In a fascinating portion of the conversation, Pilcher talks about the major differences in his process and mental focus as he works on fine art projects versus digital graphic design artwork.

• Pilcher’s stunning crowing rooster and whistling bobwhite artwork are now available on t-shirts through our partners in conservation at Orvis. And thanks to Orvis’ generosity, all proceeds from these shirt sales will go directly to PF & QF’s Call of the Uplands campaign.

When Douglas Spale, a Black man adopted into a mixed-race family from Nebraska, heard a request for more diverse role models in the upland hunting world during episode #86 of this very podcast, he answered the call. That’s the premise of the recently released Pheasants Forever film “Ripples,” produced by Erik Petersen, father of an adopted Black son who made that original request for more diverse role models in the uplands. Host Bob St.Pierre chats with Spale and Petersen about their personal stories leading up to the film and how their families are now forever connected through a shared love of the uplands, bird dogs, and hunting.

Episode Highlights:

• Spale’s black Labrador retrievers are featured prominently in the film, so it’s a startling surprise for Bob to learn Spale is picking up an English Setter puppy next month.

• Petersen and Spale talk about the portions of their story not seen on camera, the feelings of trepidation making the film, and the feedback they’ve each received since “Ripples” was released to the public on September 1, 2022.

Thanks to Thorogood Boots for sponsoring Ripples.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Marissa Jensen, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s education & outreach program manager and Women on the Wing initiative leader, for a conversation with Maia Larson, PF & QF’s first-ever fire and public lands program manager. In this newly created role, Larson will deliver strategic focus to the organization’s prescribed fire programs to improve habitat, while also providing direction to the organization’s habitat improvement efforts on private lands across the country.

Episode Highlights:

• Larson talks about the drip torch tattoo covering her right forearm, and why prescribed fire is so important to wildlife habitat that it has become a part of her identity.

• Jensen provides an overview of the organization’s Women on the Wing initiative and points listeners to https://pheasantsforever.org/wotw for the latest news and calendar of events.

• Larson also talks about living next to a public Wildlife Management Area in Arkansas and the value public lands mean to her personally.

Thanks to Irish Setter Boots for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever Journal Editor Chad Love to break down his Upland Bird Hunting SUPER issue article titled “7 Traits of the Successful Public Land Quail Hunter.” While a “listical” article in format, the conversation brings forth valuable quail hunting nuggets.

Episode Highlights:

• Love coins the term “upland familiarity bias” and explains how that tendency is handicapping traveling bird hunters from finding quail in new terrains.

• The pair of Gen Xers lament their slowing metabolisms and the need to run, bike, and cross-country ski as a means of staying in bird hunting-shape during the off season. They also daydream about a pharmaceutical company being able to synthesize the adrenaline rush of a quail covey rise into an injectable narcotic.

• Love also explains his phrase “baby-bear porridge weather,” and its application to quail hunting pressure.

This is a companion to episode #179 with Pheasants Forever Journal Editor Tom Carpenter breaking down public land tips for pheasant hunters.

Host Bob St.Pierre returns to Dokken’s Oak Ridge Kennels where pro dog trainer Mike Wieben has been training St.Pierre’s three-year-old German shorthaired pointer, Gitche, to be a better retriever. The guys talk about Gitche’s progress as a retriever and focus on St.Pierre’s role in maintaining Gitche’s training after her return home and throughout the hunting season ahead. Listen back to episode 165 for the first portion of this conversation about Bob’s hopes for Gitche and Wieben’s training plans.

Episode Highlights:

Wieben talks through the three areas he’s been working on to improve Gitche’s performance; 1) strengthening her retrieve, 2) steadying her point, and 3) teaching her “place,” so she can go for a cast & blast canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness this September.

Wieben also explains how water retrieving helped Gitche focus her retrieving skills even though St.Pierre doesn’t intend for her to do much waterfowl hunting.

The guys also talk about how technological innovations like eCollars, GPS, and even drones have improved dog training and bird hunting.

Special thanks to SportDOG® Brand for sponsoring this episode of On the Wing podcast.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Jordan Martincich, PF & QF’s director of development, for a conversation with Jim Millensifer, a long-time PF & QF volunteer and donor who is also president of the Kansas Governor’s Ringneck Classic. The guys chat about the organization’s 9-million-acre Call of the Uplands campaign and how the Kansas Ringneck Classic has contributed acres, access, and dollars to the campaign. Long-time hunting buddies, Martincich and Millensifer also debate the prowess between pretty dogs (Setters) and ugly dogs (wirehairs).

Episode Highlights:

• Martincich and Millensifer explain the origins of the Kansas Ringneck Classic, how it’s become a cherished event for the community of Colby, Kansas, and how it’s become a critical fundraiser for PF & QF’s habitat mission.

• Millensifer also talks about his passion for hunting upland birds from his native Colorado to his current home in western Kansas, and to destinations as far south as Arizona up to the northern ruffed grouse woods of Minnesota. In the process, he explains what scares him to death about the future of the uplands.

This week at Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, we’re celebrating our Build a Wildlife Area efforts to create more public habitat for you and your bird dog to enjoy. Donate $50 or more to our Build a Wildlife Area program this week and our podcasting partner OnX will reward you with an Elite Membership worth $99.99. Thank you OnX!

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever Journal Editor Tom Carpenter to break down Carp’s Upland Bird Hunting SUPER issue article titled “7 Traits of the Successful Public Land Pheasant Hunter.” To kick off the conversation, Carp offers his theory that the way a person approaches a hunt – spirit, attitude, mindset, effort, energy, heart, outlook – are qualities as important to bagging birds as being a smart upland hunting tactician.

Episode Highlights:

• The guys talk about people’s ability to generate excuses not to hunt early season, mid-season, and late season, while breaking down all the positive reasons to chase longtails all season long.

• The duo discusses the most productive days to take off from work for the birds to have settled down after the weekend and to best escape pressure from other hunters.

• Carp explains why he uses the onX Hunt app all year long before falling asleep in bed each night. Use the code PHEASANTS or QUAIL during checkout at onXhunt.com for 20% off your onXmaps subscription.

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined in KFAN’s Twin Cities studios for a conversation with Birds, Booze, and Buds podcaster Tyler Webster and his buddy Bruce Potter as they kick off a bird hunting adventure that will take them to Alaska in search of ptarmigan for the country’s earliest upland opener. The duo then plans to drive south to Oregon in pursuit of mountain quail and valley quail before swinging east toward Montana where they’ll hunt dusky, ruffed, sage, and sharp-tailed grouse.

Episode Highlights:

• The guys talk about Webster’s donation of an Arizona Mearns’ quail hunt to the organization’s National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic banquet fundraising in 2022 and he commits a follow-up adventure for the organization’s 2023 event.

• A North Dakota native, Webster also provides a first-hand report about the state’s habitat conditions and the upland bird broods he’s observed so far this summer.

• Bob asks the guys to share the single experience they are most-excited about occurring during their upcoming adventure, along with the single element that causes them trepidation.

This spring, longtime Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever President & CEO Howard Vincent announced his retirement following the conclusion of National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2023 coming up this February. That announcement kicked off the search for only the third person to ever lead “The Habitat Organization” during its’ 40-year history. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined for this episode by PF & QF’s Board Chair Matt Kucharski for a conversation about the process to find, interview, and hire that next PF & QF president and chief executive officer.

Episode Highlights:

• Kucharski explains the role of the organization’s national board of directors and reports on the overall health of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever during the pandemic.

• Bob also asks Matt to explain a statement he’s frequently made over the last few months: “The board is not hiring Howard’s replacement - we’re hiring Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s next president & CEO.”

Learn more about PF & QF’s President & CEO Job Posting through Cohen Taylor, an executive search firm retained for this effort.

Noppadol Paothong is a nature photographer with the Missouri Department of Conservation and an associate fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, which is an elite group of the world’s top wildlife, nature, and culture photographers. For two decades, Paothong has been documenting America’s grassland grouse species and their fragile habitat. He’s published two large-format national award-winning books, Save the Last Dance about America’s grassland grouse and Sage Grouse, Icon of the West. He also has a large photo spread coming up in PF & QF’s Upland Bird Hunting Super issue next month. Host Bob St.Pierre connected with Paothong while he was on a family vacation in Minnesota.

Episode Highlights:

• Paothong explains how photographing three Missouri prairie chickens dancing on a lek 20 years ago changed the trajectory of his life.

• The guys also talk about Jim Brandenburg’s photography and how his work inspires Paothong’s philosophy of really knowing the wildlife he photographs to the point of wanting to “capture their souls, capture their spirits.”

Find Noppadol’s stunning photography on Instagram at @npprairiegrouse