On The Wing Podcast

Latest Episodes:

EP. 283: How to Improve Your Own Upland Photography Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever Editor Ryan Sparks for a discussion with professional upland photographers Brian Grossenbacher and Aaron Black-Schmidt. The conversation starts with Sparks sharing his vision for a photo essay to capture a quail hunt from the very beginning to the final meal. The final result of that concept appears in the current edition of the Quail Forever Journal and features multiple images from Grossenbacher and Black-Schmidt. Episode Highlights: • Grossenbacher kicks things off with the funny story behind the essay’s lead photo featuring a pair of legs wearing brush pants sticking out from under a jacked-up truck with a flat tire. • Black-Schmidt, who is also PF & QF’s video production coordinator, talks about his philosophical approach to capturing film and still photography, while also offering practical tips for using the camera phone in everyone’s pocket. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

EP. 282: Previewing the Grouse & Woodcock Hunting Season with Ruffed Grouse Society Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Jon Steigerwaldt, the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society’s forest conservation director for the upper Midwest, to preview the 2024 ruffed grouse hunting season. Jon describes the ideal habitat for ruffed grouse and woodcock, and offers plenty of tips to find more birds this season. The guys also discuss new projects in Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania getting underway because of the recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) between PF & QF and RGS & AWS. Episode Highlights: • Steigerwaldt talks about the science behind ruffed grouse drumming counts and what they indicate about bird survival through the winter, but what drumming counts don’t tell biologists about the population heading into autumn hunting seasons. • Steigerwaldt also talks about the 10-year ruffed grouse population cycle and how climate change is influencing swings up and down. • Learn more about the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society and check out their current membership offer at www.RuffedGrouseSociety.org. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

EP. 281: The Prairie Grouse Forecast, Hunting Tips, and a Game of Battleship Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever Editor Tom Carpenter and Quail Forever Editor Ryan Sparks for a conversation with professional dog trainer Clyde Vetter, who also happens to be husband to PF & QF President and Chief Executive Officer Marilyn Vetter. Each member of this conversation also considers themselves prairie grouse hunting junkies, so they provide a forecast for the 2024 sharp-tailed grouse and greater prairie chicken hunting season and weave their hunting tips into a game of Prairie Grouse Battleship. Episode Highlights: • The group plays four rounds of “Prairie Grouse Battleship” in which each participant provides a fresh hunting tip for sharpies and/or chickens in hopes of scoring points for tips the other competitors don’t have on their lists. • This episode marks the introduction of the brand new “Premium Moments in the Field” stories from Grain Belt Premium, “The Pheasant Friendly Beer.” • Check out the state-by-state prairie grouse hunting forecast at www.PheasantsForever.org/Primer presented by Sportsman’s Guide. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

EP. 280: New PF & QF Board Chair and Vice Chair talk Pheasants, Quail, and Alligators Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s newly elected national board chair Jerrod Burke and vice chair Dan Forster. Burke hails from southwest Nebraska where he farms, works on habitat, and bird hunts. Forster is a biologist from Georgia where he chases bobwhite quail, ducks, and alligators. Episode Highlights: • Burke and Forster talk about their professional, conservation, bird dog, and hunting backgrounds, then they explain the board of directors’ role in helping guide the organization’s vision for delivering its’ habitat mission. • Unable to help himself, St.Pierre’s fascination with alligator hunting leads him to keep bringing the conversation back to gator hunting in Georgia, which will likely result in this edition of the podcast being referred to as “The Gator Episode.” onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link: https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/r/p56q9fg to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

EP. 279: National Board Member Thomas Harris on his Passion for Bobwhites Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre visits with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever National Board member Thomas Harris about quail, bird dogs, wildlife art, and his commitment to volunteering. A passionate Alabamian, Harris talks about a very personal connection to his quail hunting property, and how his conservation ethic resulted in being named the Alabama Conservationist of the Year for 2019 as recognized by the Alabama Wildlife Federation. Episode Highlights: • Harris talks about growing up outdoors and how that upbringing was the impetus for the creation of Alabama Blackbelt Adventures in 2009. • Harris also previews the Wetumka Wildlife Arts Festival coming up on October 19th featuring PF & QF President and CEO Marilyn Vetter. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

EP. 278: Joining Forces with The Flush and Birdshot podcasts to talk Ruffed Grouse Aug 12, 2024

Show notes

We’ve assembled a special upland bird hunter’s super show episode with Travis Frank of The Flush and Nick Larson of Birdshot Podcast for a conversation focused on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ new Bird Hunter Diary app and ruffed grouse drumming counts. Joining the conversation from the Minnesota DNR are Assistant Area Wildlife Manager for northeast Minnesota Bailey Petersen and Resident Game Bird Consultant Nate Huck. Episode Highlights: • On the Wing host Bob St.Pierre kicks off the show with a recap of his recent visit to Washington, D.C. to moderate a panel focused on the idea of a North American Grasslands Conservation Act and to talk with elected officials about a new federal farm bill. • The conversation then jumps into Minnesota’s eye-popping ruffed grouse drumming counts indicating the highest adult carryover of birds since 1972. Peterson, a wildlife biologist, explains what those counts do AND don’t indicate for the upcoming hunting season. • Huck provides an overview of Minnesota’s new Bird Hunter Diary, what the state is looking to measure through the app, and how all upland hunters can help provide better data through citizen science. ✓ The Minnesota DNR’s Bird Hunter Diary is available at https://tinyurl.com/2nbdyz6p ✓ The Flush podcast is available at www.theflush.tv ✓ The Birdshot Podcast is available at www.birdshotpodcast.com onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. To get a free month of onX Hunt, go to https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/r/p56q9fg and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

EP. 277: U.S. Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow on Farm Bill Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Vice President of Government Affairs Ariel Wiegard for a conversation in Washington, D.C. with U.S. Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow focused on farm bill legislation. A democrat from Michigan, Chairwoman Stabenow talks about the bi-partisan nature of the farm bill’s conservation title II and the legislation’s intersection between farming, ranching, hunting, and fishing. Episode Highlights: • St.Pierre plays a fun game of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” based upon a famous baseball player from Senator Stabenow’s hometown of Clare, Michigan. • Chairwoman Stabenow explains how her proposed farm bill legislation would increase funding and acres for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). • Chairwoman Stabenow talks about the importance of seizing the opportunity to integrate Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding into the farm bill’s conservation baseline before the end of the year or else that opportunity disappears forever. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

EP. 276: U.S. House Agriculture Chair Glenn “G.T.” Thompson on Farm Bill Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Vice President of Government Affairs Ariel Wiegard for a conversation in Washington, D.C. with U.S. House Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson focused on farm bill legislation. A republican from rural Pennsylvania, Chairman Thompson talks about the bi-partisan nature of the farm bill’s conservation title II and the legislation’s intersection between farming, ranching, hunting, and fishing. Episode Highlights: • Chairman Thompson kicks off the conversation with a story of how his shotgun ended up in Jamaica on his way to a duck hunt in Arkansas that nearly resulted in him bringing home a new Labrador retriever puppy from a Ducks Unlimited banquet. • Chairman Thompson talks about his work on the House’s farm bill language that includes improved soil rental rates for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and a tripling in funding for Voluntary Public Access – Habitat Incentives Program (VPA-HIP). • Chairman Thompson also “handicaps the race” to get a new farm bill across the finish line before the current bill expires. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

EP. 275: Marilyn Vetter Recaps First Year as President & CEO and Unveils New Strategic Plan Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever President & Chief Executive Officer Marilyn Vetter for a conversation in which she reflects on her first year in the organization’s top leadership role. The pair also detail the vision, mission, values, and four strategic priorities comprising the organization’s new strategic plan themed “Building Forever.” Episode Highlights: • St.Pierre asks Vetter to share stories from her first year as “The Habitat Organization’s” leader; including the significant moments, times of frustration, best advice received, and favorite hunt. • Despite the organization already having a strategic plan in place, Vetter explains her philosophy behind initiating a revitalized strategic plan with a larger collection of PF & QF employee executives focused on the following quote from business leader and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek, “If a movement is to have an impact, it must belong to those who join it not just those who lead it.” • Vetter goes on to explain why the organization’s wildlife habitat mission isn’t changing, but how increasing a reliance on science-based decision-making and improving accountability sharpened the organization’s focus on four strategic priorities, which include: a. Increase & improve wildlife HABITAT on public and private lands b. Advance conservation POLICIES and program funding c. Expand public ACCESS to upland wildlife habitat d. Expand, educate and engage the upland conservation COMMUNITY Learn more about PF & QF’s new strategic plan by reading “Aiming High,” an excerpt from the Pheasants Forever Journal. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

PODCAST EP. 273: Books Every Upland Bird Hunter Should Read Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever Journal Editor Tom Carpenter and Quail Forever Journal Editor Ryan Sparks for the first-ever meeting of the Upland Bird Hunters’ Book Club. The conversation starts with a discussion about Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It and how that book, and subsequent movie, changed the general public’s perception of fly fishing. St.Pierre poses the question, “has the upland bird hunting version of that classic narrative been written yet?” Episode Highlights: • The “national treasure” Tom Carpenter dives deep into his bookcase of classics with personal tales, including a story of his cherished friendship with renowned bird hunting writer Ben O. Williams. • Sparks covers a wide array of genres with his selections as his top five picks include a cookbook, a collection of essays, a couple of classics, and even a wacky fiction where a wealthy English hunter is reincarnated as a pheasant on his own hunting estate. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

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