(This episode is straight from my voice memos)

I work in tech. UX design, front-end, the whole thing, alongside my life with the dogs, the chickens, the kids, and the studio full of American Field magazines downstairs. Living at that crossroads showed me something: the same industry I build in is quietly erasing the things I love. Companies buying up physical books, scanning them, ripping the spines out so the knowledge only lives on their platforms. A bird dog going on point in a San Francisco park while everybody watching thinks the dog is "glitching out."

So this episode is about a decision. The Sporting Life Notebook isn't going to be about chasing an audience — it's going to be a resource. A living archive. Real, tangible, human knowledge preserved on purpose, in a time when there's a very deliberate attack on our history, our traditions, and our connection to nature. I'm not running from technology. I'm using it to keep what's worth keeping.

I get into the website rebuild, why I'm moving toward a field-notes format, what Solange's library model and the Lucasfilm archive have to do with any of this, and where my family fits — including the plan to travel the world in a few years and why the work has to be portable enough to come with us.

New beginnings and continued traditions. That's the notebook.

Read the full archive at thesportinglifenotebook.com.

— D.S.

Show notes / links:

• The Sporting Life Notebook: https://thesportinglifenotebook.com (https://thesportinglifenotebook.com/)

• The Unlikely Upland Hunter (eBook): https://durrellsmith.gumroad.com/l/unlikelyuplandhunter

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thesportinglifenotebook

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesportinglifenotebook

• Presented by Field & Stream Pack Provisions: https://www.packprovisionspet.com

Durrell Smith hosted a special episode recapping his recent, highly memorable trip to the Minnesota Boundary Waters, joined by guests Land Tawney (co-chair of American Hunters and Anglers), Katie McKalip (conservation communications expert), Lukas Leaf (Executive Director of Sportsman for the Boundary Waters, who also served as camp chef), and Matt Schultz (Program Manager at SBW). Durrell described the wilderness as one of the most memorable times of his hunting career, providing an unparalleled opportunity to experience wilderness that felt like being in a "theme park... just for nature" and fulfilled a childhood sense of adventure. The trip yielded a true "cast and blast" mixed bag, during which Durrell harvested his first rough grouse in Minnesota, caught smallmouth bass, and foraged for mushrooms. Central to the conversation was the advocacy needed to protect the Boundary Waters—a unique and irreplaceable landscape that is an "objective good" for all Americans—from the threat of the Twin Metals nonferrous copper-nickel mine planned upstream from the watershed. Guests confirmed that organizations are in "defense mode" against potential attempts to overturn the 20-year mineral moratorium issued by the Biden administration in January 2023, urging listeners to raise awareness and call elected officials to secure permanent protection for the watershed. Durrell concluded by announcing he is developing related content, including a video recap on the American Soul, American Soul YouTube channel, writing, and artwork, while also promoting new products and upcoming events, such as an Atlanta photography exhibition on November 1st.

The episode features host Durrell Smith and four guests who joined the trip to advocate for the Minnesota Boundary Waters wilderness: Land Tawney (introduced in the source as Lan Tommy Tony and Lan Tony), the co-chair of American Hunters and Anglers, and Katie McKalip (introduced in the source as Katie Maleb), who works in conservation communications dedicated to elevating stories about opportunities and cherished places held dear by outdoors people. They are joined by the team from Sportsman for the Boundary Waters (SBW): Executive Director Lukas Leaf (introduced in the source as Lucas Leap), who also utilized his past experience as a professional chef to serve as the camp chef for the group, and Program Manager Matt Schultz (introduced in the source as Matthew Schultz), who lives near Ely, Minnesota, close to the Boundary Waters and whose wirehaired pointing griffon, Salmon, helped Durrell get his first grouse in Minnesota.