Part Two with John Leonard is here after a bit of a stressful and emotionally draining couple of weeks for Chris. The loss of friends/loved ones is always tough, but it helps being able to talk to someone who's walked that same walk, and who knows what you're going through. In this episode, Chris and John start off talking about personal loss, dealing with cancer, reminiscing about John's brother Joe, and providing some recommendations for those that might not have faced personal loss in their lives as of yet. From there, they finally dive into the conservation topics they didn't get to in Part One, namely:

– State Governors' Auction and Raffle tags, and putting serious money on the ground for research and habitat conservation;

– Wild sheep disease issues with domestic sheep and goats;

– Should there/could there be more sheep (or even more goats) in Colorado; and

– More!

Taking a little break from Colorado wolf discussions, Chris finally sits down with long-time friend and passionate sheep hunter John Legnard. The intent of this discussion was to dive into some pretty deep topics, but as Chris is known to do with good friends, the discussion doesn't even get to the planned "meat and potatoes" but instead burns through 3.5 hours of "drink and appetizers" in the blink of an eye! This was a fun conversation that'll need to continue, so this will serve as a "Part One" of the longer discussion. In this episode, John and Chris dive into:

– First tastes of bighorn sheep hunting;

– Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society, its beginning and importance;

– The origin of the S34 sheep herd and its conservation legacy;

– Hunting (and debating ideas surrounding) human-habituated critters;

– Old sheep and seasonal tastiness (is sheep meat actually any good?);

– Brewing beer with the O.G.'s of "craft beer";

– The secret to brewing the perfect Hefeweizen;

– Being the luckies S.O.B.!;

– Giant rams of Colorado, with shout-out to Janet George for all she's done for hunter conservationists in Colorado;

– Putting in the work;

– Science in hunting, and teasing out the "Devil in the Details";

– Where to put your money if you want to fund conservation; and

– More!

A shorter podcast for those weary of the 3+ hour marathons, we're diving into Part Two of the discussion with Mike Schlegel, formerly of the Idaho Fish and Game, regarding wolves, their impact on Idaho, and lessons for Colorado - should anyone be willing to listen! This discussion dives in head-first, so buckle up, and TAKE NOTES! ...if you want to chime in on the USFWS 10(j) rule public comment period, there are some serious points in here to consider! If you want to testify before the Colorado State Legislature on CO Senate Bill 23–256, listen closely and take notes – there are serious points to consider!!! Right out of the gate, this episode hits on:

– Elk movement and the realities of the elk population in Idaho before and after wolf reintroduction;

– Elk depredation on agriculture/hay stores/production vs. livestock depredation;

– Federal land habitat quality and management;

– The fallacy of the "Trophic Cascade" regarding wolves in many habitats;

– The true "cost" of the wolf reintroduction – livestock vs loss of license sales vs game damage claims on ag products;

– Who really decides who is a "wolf depredation" specialist;

– A message to sportsmen for the USFWS 10(j) ruling public comment period;

– What does the 10(j) actually give us???;

– What exactly IS a "self-sustaining" wolf population???;

– Where the hell are the "sportsmen's groups" that offer a "good investment?"; and

– SOOOOooooo much more!

The Colorado Legislature recently introduced a "Wolf Bill" – Senate Bill 23-256 – that has everyone in a tizzy, and sportsmen hopeful for a way to stop the wolf reintroduction in its tracks. Chris says it's not going to even pass, BUT... For this episode, John McDonald and Justin Nolan join in to talk about the Bill, what it does, what it doesn't do, the Wildlife Commission meeting, the Senate Ag Committee hearing, and the reason Chris changes his mind regarding the Bill by the end of this conversation. There's a lot in here, so if you feel your time is limited, jump to 1 hour and 30 minutes, and start from there, otherwise, listen to it all, process it, and then reach out to Justin at [email protected] and GET INVOLVED! ...we need CHEEKS IN SEATS!!!!

Massive thanks to everyone who's reached out and extended their support! Like always, our members – YOU – make all of this possible! I can't thank all of you enough, other than to endeavor to keep these conversations going! Your financial support is the fuel that keeps this engine running!

This week's episode starts off a multi-part discussion with Mike Schlegel, former [elk] Research Biologist and Regional Wildlife Manager with the Idaho Fish and Game about Idaho's history with wolves, and the wolves that were released/reintroduced there. Although there were at least five topic/bullet points to dive into at the start of this conversation, Chris and Mike only got to point number two in the span of three hours, so follow-up discussions are in order, and are definitely forthcoming! LOL! In this episode Chris and Mike talk about:

– Kansas whitetail and turkey realities of today;

– Spring elk calving habitat vs. spring bear habitat and ungulate predation;

– Idaho's history regarding their wolf reintroduction;

– Chris playing "devil's advocate" and the return of Chris's "Black Hat";

– Colorado's proposed reintroduction timeline/release schedule; and

– More!

Enjoy!

This week we listen in on the discussion recorded by Jim Huntsman of "The Western Huntsman Podcast" back in early March, continuing the "Is Hunting Conservation" themed discussion between Chris, Jim Huntsman, and Guy Duplantier of "The Western Contours Podcast. In this extremely fun "Part 4" of the discussion, the guys dive into:

– Responses to critics;

– Can sportsmen not learn from the mistakes of the past?;

– The shifting "Overton Window" of sportsmen's issues;

– Rallying around issues vs. our collective culture;

– Putting the cost of sportsmen's "tags" into perspective;

– Colorado Parks and Wildlife expenditures and where sportsman dollars go;

– Where sportsmen can spend money for habitat;

– What should sportsmen post on Social Media;

– The importance of the "Neutral Middle"; and

– Much more!

Enjoy!

Well, the first one was so fun, Chris and Cliff decided "Why not?!?!" and turned-and-burned a "Part 2" discussion to continue discussing Colorado wolves, elk, and several more things to include:

– The intangible costs of effective sportsmen advocacy;

– Science vs. "science";

– Embracing "wokism" and capitalizing on culture in the 10(j) Rule;

– Money vs. "sound investment" in advocacy;

– Thoughts on future elk hunting [draw] strategies;

– Private habitat partnerships with the USFS;

– The future of Colorado's moose populations;

– Hunter "investments with assurances"; and

– More!

Enjoy!

For this episode, Chris brings in Cliff Gray to talk about Cliff's knowledge of elk movement, behavior, hunting, and outfitting in a variety of northwest Colorado Elk/Deer Game Management Units, and get his thoughts on the upcoming wolf reintroduction, and "what could be" with the reintroduction effort, and if sportsmen got their $#!+ together! Cliff was the owner/operator of Flat-tops Wilderness Guides for nearly 10 years (amongst other guiding/outfitting activities), and now has a very informative YouTube channel called "Pursuit with Cliff" (along with his Instagram page under Cliff Gray) where he shares a TON of knowledge from his direct experience for those just getting started in the hunting/elk hunting. Cliff is also a great "critical thinker," while being a humble dude, so he's a great person to dive into a variety of topics with, and especially those that might be tricky, controversial, and uncomfortable. In other words... another great "intellectual sparring partner" for some of the discussions we've had on here of late!

For this discussion, we touch on:

– Guiding/outfitting in Colorado

– Forest Service management of guides/outfitters/habitat management/fire fuels mitigation, and more

– Elk movement and behavior now vs. "what could be" once wolves hit the landscape

– What Colorado sportsmen "might/could" do, and what they darn-well "should" do in response to what we're seeing with the wolf reintroduction, and

– More

Public comment on the Colorado Wolf Reintroduction and Management Plan is pretty much over, and after the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting on February 22, 2023, it looks like Colorado's elk hunting future is uncertain at best, to down-right over as we all currently know it, at worst! From Chris' perspective, having worked across from – having to deal with – animal activists throughout his professional career in Colorado for more than 20 years, he's not too optimistic, and believes Colorado's elk hunting [possibly most, if not ALL, hunting] is nothing more than a "dead man walking" at this point.

In this discussion, Chris outlines:

– Why he thinks that;

– What his professional experience with animal activist groups is;

– His experience with what happens when activists drive public policy;

– What sportsmen can/might want to "do about it" with regard to the current climate of activism driving wildlife policy in Colorado.

This is a long discussion, covering a bunch of topics regarding the Colorado Wolf Reintroduction and Management Plan – SPECIFICALLY – the realities surrounding the process, the Wildlife Commission, and what sportsmen "can do about it." This discussion covers a bunch of questions that folks have been asking/talking about, with Chris giving you the cold hard truth, as he sees it, for what is REALLY going on, and what will REALLY happen as this Plan moves forward; there's been a lot of misinformation, misunderstanding, and inadvertent wasted effort on the behalf of sportsmen, so it was time to have a "different discussion" regarding this issue to cut through some of the B.S. Obviously, these are Chris's opinions, but they are based on his more than 10 years of direct sportsman's political advocacy in Colorado, and more than two decades of working with controversial wildlife species conservation and management WITH AND AGAINST animal activists/"advocates" who gain/are afforded the opportunity to drive public policy.

Best listening for this discussion will probably be achieved by setting your playback speed to 1.25 or faster; the intro explains why. As always, fire away with your thoughts/input once you chew through it!