Mule Deer Foundation - Talking Mule Deer Podcast

S2 E24 - MDF Women Board Members, Kirsti Pike and Kelli Poole

MDF Podcast - Talking Mule Deer with Steve Belinda and Jodi Stemler

S2 E24 - MDF’s Women Board Members, Kirstie Pike and Kelli Poole

This episode of Talking Mule Deer features two of MDF’s board members, and the two ladies of the board – Kirstie Pike, founder of Prois Hunting Apparel, and Kelli Poole. We learn a little bit about how Kirstie, a nurse by training, decided to launch one of the first performance hunting apparel companies designed for the female hunter. Kelli, a wildlife biologist who has done research on ungulates, is also a consultant working on community-based conservancies and training local women in Tajikistan to serve as hunting guides. We learn more about how this program works and how Kirstie and Kelli met during Kirstie’s hunt in Tajikistan in 2018. Kelli talks about how hunting conservancies ensure the conservation of wildlife in these countries and how sustainable use of wildlife is benefiting local communities. Both women describe how they are bringing their perspective about how to reach out to and engage women hunters in the Mule Deer Foundation’s mission, and to help introduce more women to hunting. To wrap up, Kirstie talks about some of Prois’ new products, in particular a new upland hunting line called Pradlann. And Kelli tells us about her plans for the coming hunting season in Tajikistan and how hunters can learn more about community-based conservancies and hunting opportunities there at https://tajwildlife.com.

S2 E23 - Utah Mule Deer Conservation

MDF Podcast - Talking Mule Deer with Steve Belinda and Jodi Stemler

S2 E23 Utah Mule Deer Conservation with MDF Volunteer Darren West and Utah DWR’s Covy Jones

We are talking this week to MDF’s volunteer habitat conservation coordinator in Utah Darren West, and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resource’s big game coordinator Covy Jones about the collaborative work to improve and increase mule deer habitat in the state of Utah. These partners are working to share MDF’s Chapter Rewards generated by Utah chapters’ fundraising events and MDF’s Expo Tags as well as other state, federal and partner dollars for large landscape projects across the state. The efforts through the Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative are helping to increase the carrying capacity of mule deer in the state by adding more optimal habitat areas. Covy tells us how state game biologists are studying the herds and individual animals to assess herd health, and Darren explains how MDF chapters identify priority projects for chapter volunteer work days. We also hear about new collaring efforts in the state to learn more about mule deer migrations in order to know how deer are using the landscapes and where these migrations intersect with highways resulting in increased road mortality. To wrap up, Darren tells us about some of the projects that Utah chapters will be engaged in, many of which are working to restore wildlife management areas that were impacted by fires in 2018.

S2 E22 - Identical Draw Outdoors

MDF Podcast - Talking Mule Deer with Steve Belinda and Jodi Stemler

S2 E22 - Identical Draw

Today on Talking Mule Deer we visit with Thomas and Nathan Krick, identical twins from Lincoln, Nebraska who produce an online outdoor television program known as Identical Draw. Their first season was featured on Carbon TV and the second season is available on Bear Archery’s Youtube Channel. The brothers grew up hunting and learned film production through Heartland Bowhunter’s film school. As outdoorsmen and mountaineers in their early 20s, the duo is focused on social media and other online platforms as a way to target younger hunters offering techniques for do-it-yourself, backcountry public land hunts. We hear a bit about their first mule deer hunts in the sandhills of Nebraska as well as last year’s intense mountain mule deer hunt in Idaho. Nate and Thomas tell us about their efforts to integrate a conservation message into their episodes, this year they began working with the Mule Deer Foundation to provide more detailed information about our organization’s work.

S2 E21 - Federal Premium Ammunition

MDF Podcast - Talking Mule Deer with Steve Belinda and Jodi Stemler

S2 E21 - Ryan Bronson and Jon Zinnel, Federal Premium Ammunition

On this episode of Talking Mule Deer, Steve and Jodi are talking with Federal Premium Ammunition’s Ryan Bronson and Jon Zinnel. Ryan has served for six years on the MDF Board of Directors and, prior to joining Federal, Jon was MDF’s director of youth programs and helped to launch our M.U.L.E.Y. program. Jon tells us about how Federal Premium is helping youth shooting sports programs across the nation and their efforts for the recruitment, retention and reactivation (R3) of hunters. Ryan also tells us about how Federal Premium has supported state wildlife conservation through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program (Pittman-Robertson) through the tens of millions of dollars in excise taxes they pay. We talk a bit about the critical importance of this user pay/public benefit program in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. We also hear about efforts to allow states to increase use of these funds to develop bigger shooting ranges that will benefit youth groups and other hunters and shooters. Ryan tells us that Federal is bringing back the Barnes Triple Shock ammunition that is loved by many western big game hunters, as well as the expansion of the .224 Valkyrie ammunition and the package changes that hunters will be seeing on all Federal Premium ammunition this year. Finally, Jon talks about the coordinated R3 efforts across states and non-profit organizations and Ryan talks about what he sees as important federal policy issues that he will be dealing with in the coming year.

S2 E20 - Dan Harrison - Celebrity Guide with Harrison's Hunting

MDF Podcast - Talking Mule Deer with Steve Belinda and Jodi Stemler

S2 E 20 - Celebrity Guide, Dan Harrison with Harrison’s Hunting

This week we have our first co-host – MDF President/CEO Miles Moretti – and we’re talking with MDF board member and celebrity guide, Dan Harrison with Harrison’s Hunting. Dan talks about how he got started by doing private land timber management and habitat improvements which led to opportunities to guide hunters on these properties. He got his start on outdoor television with Chris Dorsey of Dorsey Productions and then with Tred Barta on The Best and Worst of Tred Barta; more recently he has co-hosted Remington Country, along with leading hunts on Grateful Nation and several other outdoor television shows. We hear about his passion for mule deer in the West and how they are such an iconic part of western hunting, and why he believes mule deer conservation is so important leading him to become part of MDF’s board. Dan believes in supporting youth as they become successful hunters, he also gives back by hosting veterans and first responders on hunts through American Hero Adventures. He gives us some tips on things hunters can do to be more successful and he tells us about some of the gear that he uses. We talk about long range hunting and why it’s essential to know your effective range, and we hear about a wreck he had on a mountain during archery season last year. Miles and Dan also talk a bit about what it’s like to be a member of the MDF board of directors.

S2 E19 - Kryptek Outdoors Founder - Butch Whiting

S2 E19 - Butch Whiting, Kryptek Outdoors

Today we are talking to Butch Whiting, co-founder of the hunting and tactical apparel manufacturer Kryptek. Butch served in Iraq and Afghanistan flying Army Attack helicopters and he and his junior officer Josh Cleghorn would spend down time dreaming about being back in the U.S. hunting. Their vision was to spiral the features and functions of special operations apparel into the civilian hunting world. He tells us how they put together their business concept which really took off due to a Department of Defense solicitation for a new camo pattern. He tells about the selection process DoD took and how well the upstart Kryptek camo did being down-selected as one of four companies alongside three multi-billion-dollar companies. Kryptek’s performance apparel, using this highly-tested camo pattern, taps into both tactical and mountaineering design making it incredibly functional in the hunting application. Butch tells us more about some of the other branding opportunities the company has had through video games, movies and limited licensing through other lifestyle brands. When all is said and done, Butch’s favorite hunt is for mule deer because of his memories of growing up hunting mule deer with his family in Idaho. We talk about some of his recent hunts and how he loves hunting with his wife and daughters. We wrap up talking about Kryptek’s participation in the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo and how they company is strongly supporting the Mule Deer Foundation and our conservation efforts.

S2 E18 - Muley Slayer Marc Smith

S2 E18 - Muleyslayer Marc Smith

This week Steve and Jodi are talking to Muley Slayer Marc Smith. We find out how he got the Muleyslayer handle as he was developing his social media following. Marc is a regular contributor to MDF magazine and seminar speaker at the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo. He tells us some of the tactics he’s learned over many years of chasing big mule deer bucks in the West. Marc has learned that you need to be adaptable to changes in habitat and food sources to find animals. We talk about his love of mule deer and how this drives his engagement in habitat conservation through the Mule Deer Foundation and helping others become more actively involved.

S2 E17 - NSSF and CAHSS with Bill Dunne and Samantha Pedder

S2 E17 - R3 Efforts with NSSF’s Bill Dunn and Samantha Pedder with CAHSS

This week we are talking about Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3) efforts being coordinated through the Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports (CAHSS) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Samantha Pedder with CAHSS and Bill Dunn with NSSF are talking with Steve and Jodi about what hunting organizations are doing to get more people outdoors. We hear about how traditional recruitment of hunters and shooters through family connections isn’t enough to help rebuild the participation rate in these pursuits. New programs that are focusing on connecting with the public through individual events, like M.U.L.E.Y. programs, and then developing mentorship opportunities to ensure that people who are interested in learning to hunt have safe, mentored experiences in the field as they learn more skills. We also learn about what state agencies and partners are doing to retain current active hunters, and also to reactivate people who used to hunt but may have stopped due to lack of opportunities. Bill and Samantha let us know about resources, such as LetsGoHunting.org and LetsGoShooting.org, that can support individuals who want to become mentors and help with R3 efforts in their areas. We talk about looking to different communities in urban areas and to people who are interested in being more connected to where their food comes from.

S2 E16 - Conservation Visions - Shane Mahoney

S2, E16 - Conservation Visions, Shane Mahoney

We are honored to feature the renowned conservationist Shane Mahoney on this week’s Talking Mule Deer episode. Shane describes how he grew up in Newfoundland and how his childhood experiences formed the foundation for his own conservation vision. Shane is one of the most eloquent philosophers in the hunting and outdoor community who has been carrying forward his message of continuing these honorable and sustainable traditions to a broad audience. Our conversation touches on the deeper connection we humans have historically had to the natural world and the need to tap back into this connection as a culture. Shane’s Wild Harvest Initiative is working to quantify the economic value of sustainably harvested wild game meat as an influence on our culture and health. We also get Shane’s perspective on the development of the concept of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation; the approach has been around for over 100 years but the conceptual framework to explain the approach has only been around for a few decades. Dr. Valerius Geist, Shane and several other colleagues helped to develop the original concept and how this vision has been the foundation of wildlife conservation in this country. He will be releasing a book in the Fall of 2019 that presents the Model and the challenges and opportunities we have as conservationists moving forward. This is one Talking Mule Deer conversation you do not want to miss!

S2 E15 - California Conservation - Randy Morrison and Kevin Zeman

S2 E15 - California Conservation with Randy Morrison and Kevin Zeman

This week’s Talking Mule Deer brings in Randy Morrison, MDF’s Senior Regional Director for the state of California, and Kevin Zeman who used to work for the U.S. Forest Service and now is working for MDF. Kevin’s focus is helping to implement habitat stewardship agreements, partnership opportunities with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to do larger scale habitat restoration across the West. These agreements are making a huge difference for mule deer conservation in California, which has seen its fair share of catastrophic wildfires in recent years. Randy and Kevin describe how stewardship projects are helping set back the natural ecological succession cycle to create a more natural forested environment that provides diverse habitat for wildlife and reduces fire risk. Kevin also tells us how the state has implemented the California Climate Initiative, and how MDF has received over a million dollars to implement projects on the Plumas National Forest and help provide matching funding for the federal funds used for stewardship projects. Randy also describes how California’s chapters are working to designate their Chapter Rewards funding and their volunteer hours toward these stewardship projects to make a much larger impact on the landscape. They then tell us about some of the creative new projects that are likely on the horizon in the state and the outlook for chapters in the state moving forward – including a new southern California chapter!