Fish and Game Commissions Sit at the Intersection of Science, Politics, and Public Responsibility for Wildlife

In this “Civics of Conservation” episode of the Project Upland Podcast, AJ and Gabby are joined by veteran journalist and former Montana Fish and Wildlife commissioner Andrew McKean to explore the often misunderstood world of fish and game commissions and the powerful role they play in shaping wildlife policy across the United States.

Together, they examine how commissions function at the intersection of science, politics, and public accountability, overseeing everything from hunting seasons and regulations to agency budgets, conservation priorities, and long-term strategic planning. The conversation breaks down how commissions operate, how the public can engage with them, and why their influence reaches far beyond hunting and fishing.

AJ, Gabby, and McKean also discuss the growing pressures facing wildlife commissions as debates intensify over predator management, non-game species, scientific research, funding, and the public trust in wildlife management. Along the way, they explore how commissions increasingly serve as the front lines of both conservation and conflict, where science, public opinion, and political realities often collide.

Throughout the episode, they argue that understanding how fish and game commissions operate is essential for anyone hoping to engage meaningfully in the future of wildlife conservation, hunting, and public policy in North America.

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How the Public Trust Doctrine Built the Uniquely American Idea of Publicly Owned Wildlife and Wildlife Management

In this episode, AJ and Gabby explore the origins of the Public Trust Doctrine with Leon Szeptycki and examine how a series of legal and political turning points helped shape wildlife conservation in the United States. From Roman law and medieval England to landmark Supreme Court cases and the conservation movement of the Progressive Era, they trace how the idea of wildlife as a shared public resource became embedded in American law and culture.

AJ and Gabby discuss how Europe’s long history of private hunting rights tied wildlife access to land ownership, and why the United States ultimately took a different path—one in which wildlife is collectively owned by the people rather than by landowners or the state itself.

They break down several pivotal Supreme Court cases, including Martin v. Waddell, Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, Geer v. Connecticut, and Hughes v. Oklahoma, explaining how each helped define the relationship between public ownership, state authority, and wildlife management. Along the way, they explore how these decisions laid the groundwork for modern fish and wildlife agencies and the broader North American Model of Conservation.

This episode also examines modern tensions surrounding public lands, private landowner tag allocations, and the ongoing debate over who truly benefits from wildlife management today. Throughout the episode, AJ and Gabby argue that understanding the civic and legal foundations of conservation is essential for hunters hoping to engage meaningfully in the future of public lands, wildlife policy, and access in North America.

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GPS tracking reveals American woodcock re-nesting movements across the Atlantic Flyway

In this episode, AJ and Gabby talk with Colby Slezak, a recent PhD graduate from the University of Rhode Island, about a surprising breakthrough in American woodcock ecology: evidence that female woodcock can be itinerant breeders.

Colby explains how new GPS tracking technology, combined with on-the-ground nest checks through the Eastern Woodcock Migration Research Cooperative, helped confirm a behavior that had long been suspected but rarely documented. When nests fail, some female woodcock will travel long distances and attempt to nest again elsewhere, sometimes multiple times in a single spring.

We unpack why woodcock have such an extended breeding season, what low nest success looks like on the ground, and how constraints like GPS tag size and battery life shape what researchers can learn about breeding ecology. Colby also reflects on the moment he and his colleagues realized their data supported this long-standing theory, an unexpected discovery that reshaped how researchers understand woodcock breeding behavior.

The conversation then shifts to Colby’s brief time with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and what federal workforce reductions and buyouts may mean for conservation capacity, long-term partnerships, and the institutional knowledge behind migratory bird research.

To learn more about the Eastern Woodcock Migration Research Cooperative, visit woodcockmigration.org.

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In Texas and Arizona, white-winged doves are culturally significant and a part of each state’s hunting heritage. Biologists are actively studying these unique migratory birds; in fact, the first research project to ever outfit white-winged doves with GPS transmitters is currently underway in Texas.

In this episode, AJ and Gabby talk to Owen Fitzsimmons, the webless migratory game bird program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Owen, alongside Dr. Jennifer Smith of the Caesar Kleburg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University Kingsville, to learn more about the urban ecology, behaviors, and life history of white wings. 

Tune in to learn how white-winged doves are expanding their range, interacting with mourning doves, and defining what it means for wildlife to thrive alongside people.

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In the Project Upland Podcast episode “The Birds Aren’t Alright,” hosts Gabby Zaldumbide and A.J. DeRosa speak with Dr. Michael Brasher, senior waterfowl scientist at Ducks Unlimited and co-chair of the State of the Birds Report Science Committee, to uncover what the latest data reveal about bird population trends—and what is at stake if federal funding for avian research disappears.

Bird species have been monitored for more than a century, but if federal funding for avian research is lost, what else will vanish with it? The conversation traces the roots of modern bird monitoring back to the first Christmas Bird Count in 1900 and explains how decades of citizen science, state surveys, and federal efforts now feed into one of the most important bird conservation reports of our time. Dr. Brasher shares how long-term data collection reveals population changes in ducks, seabirds, upland game birds, and more, underscoring that the greatest driver of decline is widespread habitat loss.

The discussion highlights the concept of “tipping point species”—birds that have lost more than 50 percent of their population over the last 50 years, including iconic game birds such as the greater sage-grouse and the lesser prairie-chicken. The hosts emphasize both the hope and urgency contained in the report: citizen science tools like eBird empower everyday birders to contribute critical data, while conservation policies such as the Duck Stamp Program have proven their value in reversing declines. Yet the episode also warns of looming threats, including deep funding cuts to federal conservation programs and the risk of losing the scientific foundation for hunting regulations. Ultimately, the conversation serves as a call to action for hunters, birders, and citizens alike to participate in monitoring, advocacy, and habitat conservation to ensure the future of North America’s birds.

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In this episode, AJ and Gabby take a break from their regular programming to discuss the sale of public lands as part of the federal budget reconciliation bill. 

On June 11, 2025, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing to Examine the President’s Budget Request for the Department of the Interior for Fiscal Year 2026 took place. In it, senators discuss “The “Mandatory Disposal of Bureau of Land Management Land And National Forest System Land for Housing,” which would require the sale of 2-3 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land within a five year period.

BLM and USFS land is public land—YOUR land. Why are senators trying to include the sale of our land as part of the budget reconciliation bill? Some theorize that it’s part of a systematic, long-term approach to shift public lands towards private control. The current reconciliation effort isn’t an isolated policy—it’s the culmination of decades of ideological moves.

If you care about the American public retaining access to the land we collectively own, now is the time to speak up. Contact your senators via social media, phone, email, or snail mail and tell them what you think. Three million acres of your lands are on the line.

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Links

• Watch the Senate hearing here.
• Read “More Details Emerge Around the Public Land Sale Bill — and It’s Worse Than You Think” by Andrew McKean here.  
• This ArcGIS map visualizes the 250+ million acres of public lands eligible for sale in the Senate budget reconciliation package.

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How an 1885 dissection unraveled a hidden story about invasive worms and the migration routes of the American woodcock in North America.

In 1887, Frederick Webster, a taxidermist from Washington, D.C., wrote a short article in a scientific journal. In it, he described dissecting a woodcock from Martha’s Vineyard that had a crop filled entirely with ferns. Why did this woodcock stray from its usual diet of invertebrates? A.J. and Gabby, hosts of the Project Upland Podcast, search for the answer—only to uncover the surprising story of invasive worms in North America. 

Together with woodcock researcher Dr. Amber Roth and soil ecologist Dr. Peter Groffman, we learn how eco-engineering has destroyed native landscapes, contributed to the spread of ticks and invasive plants, and more. From woodcock migration during the Ice Age to the tobacco trade, this investigation is full of twists and turns.

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In this episode, Gabby and AJ explore the mystery of ruffed grouse drumming—starting in the 1700s, when naturalists first theorized about the sound, and tracing the evolution of human technology that finally unlocked the truth behind this unique behavior. Along the way, they talk to biologist Alaina Roth, Wisconsin’s statewide ruffed grouse specialist, who sheds light on grouse life history, drumming counts, and how technology is transforming wildlife surveys. This episode covers everything from historical myths and early scientific discoveries using cameras to modern AI-driven drumming surveys and the critical role of habitat in grouse conservation.

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In this episode, Gabby and AJ talk about the North American Upland Bird Hunting Survey, which has been conducted annually since 2018. The eighth iteration of this survey explores everything from hunting dogs and shotguns to upland bird species—and just how much and how people hunt them. The 2025 edition includes an expanded opinion section covering current and historical policies, environmental issues, and political leanings. Learn how hard the Project Upland community hunts, all the way to their favorite dog breeds.

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In this episode, Gabby and AJ talk to Mark Avery, author of A Message from Martha. As a biologist and conservationist, Mark takes us back in time to reconstruct the biology, habitat, and final era of the Passenger Pigeon. The Passenger Pigeon's extinction is one of the most dramatic extinction stories of the 20th century, resulting in the loss of the most numerous bird on Earth. This episode explores everything from nesting biology and historical accounts to habitat destruction and the last Passenger Pigeon to die in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo—Martha.

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If you want to support independent journalism, check out the Project Upland Podcast Patreon.

You can also subscribe to the Project Upland Podcast on:

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• Apple
• Spotify
• YouTube

Support the show