Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Conservation Leadership Program Manager Levi Day for a discussion about the organization’s effort to foster more interest in conservation careers, ranging from biologists to marketing professionals and accountants to educators. Episode Highlights: • Day recounts becoming a hunter, pursuing a career as an education professional, then developing a hunting friendship via social media that resulted in his jump into a conservation ...
May 01, 2024•47 min
Continuing Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s special Women on the Wing podcast series, host Ashley Chance is joined by co-host Britta Petersen for a conversation with North Dakota Senior Field Representative Renee Tomala. Renee talks to us about growing up in the outdoors, DIY dog training and how she works with Pheasants Forever Chapters to carry out our organization’s mission. SPOILER ALERT: There are now 13 Women on the Wing Chapters across the country with more on the way! Episode Highli...
Apr 24, 2024•57 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Tony Jones, an adult-onset hunter, theologian, author, professor, podcaster, and former pastor. Jones has just released a new book, The God of Wild Places with the subtitle “Rediscovering the Divine in the Untamed Outdoors.” In the book, Jones writes about the role pheasant hunting, bird dogs, and wild meat have played in shaping his new perspective on life following a tumultuous divorce. Episode Highlights: • The guys start off the episode with a spirited flusher...
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Clay Thompson, a SportDOG Brand pro staff dog trainer, for a conversation about his Oklahoma quail roots and his current South Dakota waterfowl and pheasant passions. The guys also discuss the new SportDOG Brand FieldSentinel, which Thompson equates to a dog’s “check engine light,” as it monitors a pup’s heart rate and the intensity & duration of exertion. Episode Highlights: • Thompson explains how skipping a day of college to go on a duck hunt with a well-tr...
Apr 10, 2024•55 min
Continuing Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s special Women on the Wing podcast series, host Ashley Chance is joined by co-host Britta Petersen for a conversation with Iowa Senior Farm Bill Biologist Allie Barth. Barth is one of the longest tenured biologists in the organization and brings a wealth of knowledge to the discussion focused on prescribed fire and the ins and outs of the Conservation Reserve Program. The trio also discuss how our organizations’ biologists use their skills and pass...
Apr 03, 2024•1 hr
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined Ben Wheeler, a Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever wildlife biologist and prescribed fire expert from Nebraska, for a conversation with author Maura O’Connor. The discussion focuses on O’Connor’s new book, Ignition, which is subtitled “Lighting Fires in a Burning World.” The trio talk about the importance of prescribed fire for wildlife habitat, as well as the importance of regular burning of prairies and forests to prevent massive wildfires. Episode Highlights: • Wh...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 15 min
Host Ashley Chance is joined by co-host Britta Petersen to introduce a special Women on the Wing series of the podcast focused on highlighting the women that make up the Habitat Organization. Learn about who Britta and Ashley are as hunters and conservation professionals as well as what inspired them to tell the stories of other women in this series. SPOILER ALERT: 36% of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever staff are women and sharing their professional conservation journeys through this series ...
Mar 20, 2024•41 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three biologists from Oklahoma and Texas to discuss the massive wildfires in the panhandle areas of both states in recent weeks, as well as the impact those wildfires have had on upland birds. Those biologists include Tell Judkins, upland game biologist with Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation; John McLaughlin, upland game program leader with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department; and Thomas Janke, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s state coordinator f...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by veterinarians Dr. RuthAnn Lobos and Dr. Seth Bynum for a podcast version of our “Ask a Vet” video series being presented by Purina Pro Plan. To kick off the conversation, Dr. Lobos and Dr. Bynum share their hunting and bird dog backgrounds, then Bob asks follow-up questions from the first six episodes of the video series. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoOX_tNUo44MiMiZqXrjqQqCDfw1jbFlI Episode Highlights: Ask a Vet Episode 1 – What’s in your bird dog’s fir...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever Editor Tom “Carp” Carpenter and PF & QF Director of Communications Jared Wiklund to preview the special section, “Pheasant Habitat Essentials Guide” coming up in the spring edition of the Pheasants Forever Journal. The trio discuss nesting & brood-rearing habitat, winter habitat, food plots, pheasant stocking fallacies, the science of predators, and federal Farm Bill conservation and access programs. Episode Highlights: • Carp drops a wid...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 28 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by three Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever co-workers to provide overviews of family-centric attractions that’ll be a part of National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic coming up on March 1-3 in Sioux Falls. Episode Highlights: • Kim Cole, PF & QF’s Habitat Education Program Manager, provides an overview of the event’s Youth Village sponsored by Sportsman’s Guide, which features archery, fly tying, and conservation career development. • Ashley Chance, PF & ...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Buddy Huffaker, the President & CEO of The Aldo Leopold Foundation, and Rich Wissink, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s VP of Conservation Programs for a discussion about Aldo Leopold’s influence on conservation in 2024 and the 75th anniversary celebration of Leopold’s seminal work, A Sand County Almanac. The trio discuss how hunting and bird dogs shaped Leopold’s view of the natural world, his writings, and his Land Ethic. Episode Highlights: • Huffaker t...
Feb 21, 2024•53 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Jordan Martincich, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s VP of Development, and Ariel Wiegard, PF & QF’s VP of Government Affairs, for a discussion about a new effort to create sustainable conservation funding in Kansas. Jordan, a lifelong Kansas resident, provides the background on the initiative’s origin story, proposed funding structure, and anticipated deliverables. In fact, the Kansans for Conservation coalition includes a wide array of partners covering ...
Feb 14, 2024•49 min
Host Bob St.Pierre has a “get to know you” chat with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s new Vice President of Government Affairs Ariel Wiegard. Following career stops with TRCP, Syngenta, and American Soybean Association, Wiegard joined PF & QF’s leadership team in late 2023. During the conversation, she talks about her hunting roots, her bird dogs, and how her career path in agriculture and conservation has culminated in her dream job at PF & QF. Episode Highlights: • Wiegard shares ...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Charlotte Roy, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Grouse Project Leader and Bailey Petersen, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Assistant Area Wildlife Manager for northeast Minnesota, for a deep dive into the biology, habitat, and hunting tactics for spruce grouse. Episode Highlights: • Roy discusses a recently completed spruce grouse study spanning three years, which provided a tremendous amount of insight into this beautiful and secretive grouse...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 17 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Dave Simonett, lead singer and songwriter of the band Trampled by Turtles, to preview Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s first-ever Concert for Conservation. In partnership with Pepper Entertainment, the show will open with Chester Floyd and Carl Hansen before Trampled by Turtles takes the stage at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Thursday, February 29th. Check out the available tickets to PF & QF’s first-ever Concert for Conservation...
Jan 24, 2024•59 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by lifelong South Dakota pheasant hunter and longtime Pheasants Forever chapter volunteer Darwin Weeldreyer. With two weeks remaining in South Dakota’s pheasant hunting season (as well as Nebraska and Kansas), Weeldreyer offers a few hard-earned tactics for outsmarting late season longtails. Episode Highlights: • Weeldreyer talks about originally getting involved with South Dakota’s Wessington Springs Chapter of Pheasants Forever to learn how to improve the habitat o...
Jan 17, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Ryan Sparks during his first week as the new editor of Quail Forever Journal. Sparks talks about growing up in Nebraska and how quail have played an important role in every stage of his life leading to his dream job with Quail Forever. In fact, Sparks’ master’s thesis was titled, “Feathers and Farmers: A Cultural Ecology of Bobwhite Quail in Nebraska’s Platte River Valley.” Episode Highlights: • Sparks discusses his passion for Elhew English pointers, wild game co...
Jan 10, 2024•41 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever President and CEO Marilyn Vetter for an in-depth conversation with Donnie Vincent, a biologist, explorer, conservationist, hunter, and filmmaker. Vincent will serve as the keynote speaker at the organization’s Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic National Banquet on March 2nd in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Episode Highlights: • Vincent explains the origin of his favorite quote, “To experience fantastic things, you have to put yourse...
Jan 02, 2024•1 hr 25 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever member Vincent Martino to share Idaho’s secrets as a top-tier upland bird hunting state. Marino, a former Marine Corps officer who recently was able to retire after selling his software company, recaps his recently completed adventure to hunt and bag all nine of Idaho’s upland bird species in a single season. Episode Highlights: Martino runs through his hunts for each of the nine species, which he successfully took over points by one of his two B...
Dec 20, 2023•1 hr 3 min
This is the fifth episode of Pheasants Forever’s 14th annual Rooster Road Trip. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Vice President of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Design Director Logan Hinners, and Video Production Specialist Jordan Darley to recap this year’s Rooster Road Trip. The featured element is the group answering questions crowdsourced from PF & QF’s social media channels. Episode Highlights: · Darley explains his rational for leaving paradise in Hawaii to pursue his dream in N...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 14 min
This is the fourth episode of PF’s 14th annual Rooster Road Trip. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Vice President of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Design Director Logan Hinners, and Social Media Strategist Nate Akey to recap the final day of this year’s adventure in Nebraska. Episode Highlights: The conversation starts with the group reminiscing around Rooster Road Trip’s origin story as an experiment for social media that has burgeoned into the PF’s largest online event and a driver of s...
Dec 06, 2023•1 hr 12 min
This is the third episode of Pheasants Forever’s 14th annual Rooster Road Trip. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Vice President of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Iowa Regional Field Representative Lexi Ashbrook, and Nebraska Coordinating Wildlife Biologist Ben Wheeler as the group recaps hunting public lands in Iowa and Nebraska for pheasants and bobwhite quail. Episode Highlights: Ashbrook explains bonding with her dad while growing up pheasant hunting without a dog and how excited she is...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 30 min
This is the second episode of Pheasants Forever’s 14th annual Rooster Road Trip. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Vice President of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Corporate Partnerships & Product Development Coordinator Erica Divan, and Iowa State Coordinator Josh Divan for opening day of pheasant hunting season in Iowa. Episode Highlights: · The Divan’s share their special opening day traditions as a young married couple and Erica Divan talks about feeling great at 5 ½ months pregnant while bi...
Nov 22, 2023•1 hr 30 min
This is the first episode of Pheasants Forever’s 14th annual Rooster Road Trip. True to Rooster Road Trip’s ethos, this year’s “Hunting the Heartland” edition takes place exclusively on publicly accessible lands. Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF’s Vice President of Marketing Andrew Vavra, Senior Regional Representative Will Clayton, and Regional Representative Chance Steward to recap the trip’s first day of public land hunting on wildlife areas in south central Minnesota. Episode Highlights: ·...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever’s Program Manager Andy Edwards for a conversation focused on the upcoming bobwhite quail hunting season in the Southeast. Michael Hook, small game program coordinator for South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and chair of the National Bobwhite and Grasslands Initiative – Technical Committee and Tim Caughran, PF & QF’s director of field operations in the South Region, roll through a highlight reel of hunting opportunities across southern ...
Nov 01, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever’s Program Manager Andy Edwards for a conversation focused on guests Casey Cardinal, resident game bird biologist for the New Mexico Game & Fish Department and chair of the Western Quail Working Group, and Lauren Stamm, Quail Forever’s regional representative for the southwestern U.S. The group provide an upland bird hunting forecast covering quail species across the western states starting in the southwest desert up to the mountains of the Pacifi...
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by PF & QF’s Nebraska Senior State Coordinator Kelsi Wehrman, Iowa State Coordinator Josh Divan, Missouri State Coordinator Andrew White, and Oklahoma & Kansas Regional Representative Laura McIver for a conversation about the upcoming pheasant and quail hunting seasons across the Great Plains. Each participant discusses weather, upland habitat, public lands, and hunting tactics in their respective state. Episode Highlights: · Wehrman and McIver talk about Neb...
Oct 18, 2023•57 min
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined PF & QF’s North Dakota and Montana Senior Field Representative Renee Tomala, Minnesota State Coordinator Tanner Bruse, and South Dakota State Coordinator Matt Gottlob to preview the pheasant hunting seasons in each of their home states. The group talks about weather, habitat, and hunting tactics. Episode Highlights: · Tomala provides an update about her bird dog, Quill, who suffered a traumatic injury in the field last season during the filming of an episode of T...
Oct 11, 2023•1 hr
Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever Program Manager Andy Edwards for a conversation with University of Tennessee’s Dr. Craig Harper and Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Park’s biologist John Gruchy for a discussion focused on bobwhite quail research and management. Episode Highlights: · Dr. Harper discusses historic quail management recommendations and how we have learned a lot from our mistakes over the last 20 years. He also urges, “every day of the year is a possible...
Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 30 min
