The MeatEater

The 2001 Roadless Area Rule is under fire on multiple fronts. As Meateater has reported, Congress is considering a bill that would repeal the rule. At the same time, Mike Lee tacked on an amendment to repeal the rule to legislation pertaining to wildfire prevention. And in 2025, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins kicked off a long process for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to internally rescind the rule.

Conservation groups are fighting the change tooth and nail, citing the ecological and recreational benefits that it provides. A new report and interactive map will provide additional fodder to conservationists battling the rule change.

Released by onX earlier this month, the “Roadless Rule: By the Numbers” report highlights key impacts of the rule, which places limits on road development and logging on relatively undeveloped national forest land. To put together the report, the satellite mapping company cross-referenced USFS boundary files with its own outdoor recreation data, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service habitat data, and 50 years of National Interagency Fire Center records.

Some of the key takeaways are eye-opening. For instance, though the roadless rule encompasses just 27.7% of all USFS land, only 3.17% of wildfires start in those areas, while 90% of all fires in the U.S. start within half a mile of a road. This data point provides a compelling counter to the argument that repealing the Roadless Rule will improve wildfire prevention.

In terms of wildlife, onX highlighted the fact that those areas provide critical intact habitat and migration corridors for three big game species: black bears, elk, and mule deer. Additionally, the report shows that the Roadless Rule does not prohibit motorized recreation where it was already allowed prior to its implementation—and that includes 7,201 miles of full-size motorized trails and primitive roads, 2,494 miles of ATV and side-by-side trails, 2,167 miles of motorized singletrack trails, and 1,295 miles of snowmobile trails.

In addition to the report, onX released a free interactive map that visualizes the areas impacted by the roadless rule, as well as the main recreational opportunities and wildlife habitats within them.

“At onX, we turn land and recreation data into something people can actually use,” said onX

CEO Laura Orvidas in a press release. “This report is an extension of that. These 44.7 million acres have supported hunting, fishing, off-roading, and wildlife habitat for 25 years.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to release a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on rescinding the rule in the near future, which will open a public comment period on the issue. This tool will provide useful facts for public land users to cite when providing their perspective on the subject to the Department of Ag and elected representatives, as well as for understanding the impacts of the Roadless Rule on Forest Service lands near them.

Blood Trails is a true crime podcast born in the outdoors--and in this three-part summer mini-series, Paradise Prison, we're going to follow American hunters and gun owners who were trapped in Turks and Caicos in 2024. The story received international media attention, and you might think you know what happened, but trust us, you don't know the half of it.

Follow the show now to get notified when Episode 1 drops, Thursday, July 23rd.  

Follow Blood Trails on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon.

Connect with Jordan Sillars and MeatEater

MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Jordan Sillars on Instagram

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

This week on the show I’m joined by Jared Mills to walk through his unique trail camera strategies and routines, from summer through fall - including his goals, camera set-ups, and philosophy on how best to use trailcam intel.

Connect with Mark Kenyon, Jake Hofer, and MeatEater

Mark Kenyon on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop Wired to Hunt Merch and MeatEater Merch

Growing up on the Chesapeake Bay, I never realized seafood dinners could be considered fancy. I didn’t know that people paid good money for lump crab meat with melted butter. To me, a crab feast meant wet hands, the smell of salt marsh mud, and an afternoon baking in the hot summer sun.

I was barely old enough to ride a bicycle, but I knew I could catch enough blue crabs to steam them up for supper with nothing more than a chicken leg, a length of line, a dip net, and a good helping of patience.

My cousins and I learned chicken legging the way kids usually learn things, by watching someone else. My Grandma Alice often held the dip net, coaching us through the finger-over-finger retrieve, whispering for us to slow down and take it easy. Later we would spend our own long summer afternoons on the marsh and come home with a basket full of dinner.

Chicken legging for crabs is almost disturbingly simple. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Growing up, my cousins and I started with a raw chicken leg tied to one end of a length of string with a bolt added to weigh it down in the water. We tied the other end to a stick. That’s it. The bolt was nothing special, just what we had lying around at the time. A small sinker works just as well, maybe even better.

Then, we would toss the bait into the water, jab the stick in the mud, and wait. Waiting on anything is tough when you’re a kid, but the best chicken-leggers knew to leave it alone. A bait that gets hauled in every two minutes will never catch a crab.

If you paid attention and knew what to look for, you could tell when you had a crab on the line. First, the line slowly pulled taut. If you had a big jimmy on, it might move sideways as the crab tried to swim away with its prize.

That was when real patience came into play. Move too fast, and the jig was up. You had to pull slowly, keeping the retrieve smooth as butter. It might take minutes of pulling finger over finger until you could just start to make out the shape of a crab still clinging to the chicken leg in that murky green water.

The entire process required immense patience until the very last second. You moved slowly, getting the net into position without casting a shadow over the crab or its dinner. Once you lined the net up behind the crab, you had to move fast. You get one chance with blue crabs.

Blue crabs are scavengers, so they aren’t picky eaters. While chicken legs are easy to tie on a string, necks, backs, and other scraps work just as well. Plus, they aren’t the kind of cuts people fight over at the dinner table.

That’s the real beauty of chicken legging. It doesn’t require much, and the gear you do need isn’t expensive.

The line itself is almost beside the point. Over the years, I’ve used everything from paracord to kitchen string to heavy monofilament. It just needs to be strong enough to pull in a crab and long enough (15 to 18 feet) for your bait to reach the bottom. Whatever you use, tie it around the middle of your piece of chicken.

Crabs like to feed on the bottom, so some sort of weight is handy to keep your bait down there. A one- to two-ounce fishing weight works great, but so does a heavy-gauge nut or bolt. They’re also easier to tie on than a sinker, especially if you’re using string instead of fishing line.

You also want to secure the non-bait end of your line to something to keep the crabs from dragging your whole rig off. A stick in the mud was the preferred method of my childhood. A tent stake works just as well. You can also secure the other end to a boat cleat, dock railing, or bucket handle. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just secure.

A long-handled dip net is necessary for scooping the crabs up out of the water. You want one with a deep basket-style hoop and heavy poly mesh. Soft, thin mesh will snag on crab claws, making it nearly impossible to get them out of the net. If you’re chicken-necking from a dock or pier, you’ll need a net with a relatively long handle. You can get away with a shorter one if you’re catching your crabs from the shore or a boat.

Once you have your setup, look for a place to toss your chicken leg. Shallow water with a sandy or muddy bottom is a good place to start. Look for marsh edges, brackish creeks, shaded docks, and other places crabs like to hang out.

Be sure to check the tide schedule; chicken legging tends to be more productive when the tide is moving. Crabbing rules also vary widely by state, so take a gander at the local regulations before you go. Harvest regulations, seasons, and size limits can change from year to year.

It is easy to understand why people consider lump crab meat a delicacy. Sweet blue crab dipped in butter makes for a mighty fine meal.

And yes, there are plenty of ways to catch blue crabs. Most of them are faster and more efficient than using a chicken leg tied to a piece of string. But when I think about crabs, I don’t think of linen table cloths and folded napkins. I picture that muddy salt marsh and my sunburned fingers slowly pulling that string toward shore.

Continuing on with Bear Grease's Civil War Summer series, Clay Newcomb travels to the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library in Starkville, Mississippi, to uncover the story of the Union general who may be the most misunderstood figure of the war. Alongside Grant historian Dr. Louis Gallo, Clay traces Grant's unlikely journey from a quiet Ohio farm boy and gifted horseman to a failed farmer, struggling businessman, and former army officer battling personal struggles.

The conversation explores Grant's complicated relationship with slavery, his marriage into a slaveholding Missouri family, his years of financial hardship, and the character traits that would eventually make him Lincoln's indispensable commander. Along the way, Clay discusses the Lost Cause ideology, the myths that shaped Grant's reputation, and the remarkable transformation of a man who went from selling firewood on the streets to leading the Union Army and becoming President of the United States.

Thank you to our sponsor, Tecovas.

If you have comments on the show, send us a note to [email protected]

Connect with Clay and MeatEater

Clay on Instagram

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop Bear Grease Merch

Spencer Neuharth hosts MeatEater Trivia with Brody Henderson, Cory Calkins, Nate Mason, Sarah Delaney, Omar Lopez, and Jon Montresor.

Connect with MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and YouTube Clips

Subscribe to MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop Trivia Merch

The dog days of summer have arrived, and we’re all dreaming about cool fall mornings filled with rutting bucks and bugling bulls. Instead of daydreaming, get out there and scratch the itch by setting trail cams, prepping stands, and summer scouting. That way, you’re fully prepared and out of excuses by the time opening day arrives.

In the meantime, to help alleviate our collective hunger for hunting season, we want to see your best trail cam photos. It could be the biggest buck you’ve captured, a late-night raccoon rave, or a black bear scratching that itch—any shot you’d be proud to show off to a buddy.

The contest will run from July 15 to July 22. To enter your submission, simply drop a photo into the comment section below. To view the official rules of the contest, click here.

The three photos with the most likes will be sent to the MeatEater News Show, where the winner will be debated and announced on July 23. The winner will win two (2) Moultrie Edge 4 trail cameras with solar packs and a $100 MeatEater Store gift card.

On July 14, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a revised proposal to increase management flexibility for grizzly bears in areas where the species has met or exceeded federal recovery benchmarks.

“The science is more than clear: grizzly bears have recovered and far exceeded every federal recovery benchmark. Today, Interior is returning conservation leadership to the Western states instead of Washington bureaucrats,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said.

There have been multiple attempts to delist grizz from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but both ultimately failed in court. This proposal marks a different approach. Grizzly bears would remain listed on the ESA, but under section 4(d), the federal government will concede grizzly management to the states.

“The grizzly bear recovery story is one of America's great conservation successes,” Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said. “With this success has come a challenge—bears have expanded into new areas and conflicts have increased with farmers, ranchers, recreationists, and residents. Returning management to the states is a welcome change and Montana is ready to balance conservation and the safety of our communities.”

However, some think the revision will open the gates for more grizzly mortalities. “We’re disappointed the Trump administration is trying to make it easier to kill grizzly bears,” Andrea Zaccardi, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Mountain Journal.

In the last 50 years, grizzly populations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have increased from 136 to over 1,000. It’s an undeniable conservation victory achieved over decades of collaborative work between wildlife officials, states, tribes, federal agencies, private landowners, hunters, and conservationists. While the rule change won’t make grizzly tags available anytime soon, it will give states more flexibility and authority to manage them.

“Grizzly bear recovery has reached a critical point where management, not just protection, must lead the next chapter,” Jess Johnson, Government Affairs Director for the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, told MeatEater. “This revision highlights the decades of work that have delivered significant successes and makes clear that continued progress depends on active, state-led management. It is not an endpoint but a transition. It is a milestone and a call to action, setting the stage for states to take on greater responsibility. It is up to us to ensure states rise to the occasion. This is a win worth celebrating.”

The public comment period on the proposed change to the 4(d) provision will be open from July 17 through August 17.

One of the stories that will long define the American West in the modern era is the return of the wolf after a century of wholesale attempts to obliterate it. From New Mexico to Montana and west to the Pacific Coast, a five-million year-old native is on its way home again.

Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts. YouTube, Spotify, Apple, iHeart, Pandora, Amazon.

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips

Check out more MeatEater's American History audio originals "The Long Hunters" and "Mountain Men"

Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube

Shop MeatEater Merch

Steven Rinella and the MeatEater crew discuss: Steve’s brush with the law; Drake quacks; NY hunters earn a second buck; stranded whales; Susan B. Anthony fish; wolf diets; and more.

Connect with Steve and The MeatEater Podcast Network

Steve on Instagram and Twitter

MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube