Ahi Va

The future of hunting depends on those who show up. Nate Serlin shows up. Just a few years after harvesting his very first deer, Nate found himself leading a collegiate chapter of Ducks Unlimited. Despite having no prior experience working in professional conservation, Nate’s leadership resulted in huge success. In addition to permanently protecting critical wetland habitat, his collegiate chapter...

In his book, "The Comfort Crisis," author Michael Easter writes, "Doing physically hard things is an enormous life hack. Do hard things and the rest of life gets easier and you appreciate it all the more.” In the book, he goes into great detail as to what a Misogi challenge is and what differentiates it from the plethora of other challenges we all face on a regular basis. The first rule of a Misog...

This episode's guest, Andy Neal, is an outdoor and fashion model, filmmaker, producer, and content creator who has built a powerful presence across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Threads. His work has reached tens of millions of people, and he has gone viral numerous times through his nature focused storytelling, his honesty about mental health, and his signature Stupid Hike for My Stup...

From the roughest, driest deserts, to our towering, high-alpine peaks, Senator Martin Heinrich has explored the most remote public lands in New Mexico. As an avid hunter, angler, birder and forager, New Mexico's Senior United States Senator cherishes every opportunity to spend time outdoors. Sen. Heinrich is not shy about expressing his tremendous love for the state he proudly chooses to call home...

The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance [DBA: NM Wild] is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) grassroots organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and continued enjoyment of New Mexico’s wildlands and wilderness areas. Founded in 1997, they achieve our mission through administrative protection, federal wilderness designation, and ongoing stewardship. NM Wild has a membership of individuals from all corn...

For this 55th episode of the show, it seemed appropriate to bring on the man responsible for starting the Ahi Va Podcast. In February of 2021 Brandon Butler was in New Mexico hunting over-the-counter barbary sheep with NMWF's executive director Jesse Deubel. As the two men drove to and from hunting spots they intermittently listened to a variety of hunting/conservation podcasts. As the owner of Dr...

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation is proud to announce our recently formed partnership with Legacy Ranch, a shooting range for everyone. At Legacy Ranch, their mission is to provide an exceptional experience for every customer and member while committing to quality across all aspects of their operation. Their focus remains on professionalism, safety, and innovation, ensuring that each venture enh...

Less than 1% of hunters in the United States will ever harvest a bighorn sheep ram. One of the guests on this episode of the Ahi Va podcast talks about the disbelief he felt when he learned that he drew a very coveted tag for a Desert Bighorn Sheep in New Mexico's Fra Cristobal Range. Garett Hayes joins the show to talk about his recent experience and share the story of the hunt and the harvest wi...

When Chrissy Streit met and later married an avid hunter she made it clear that she was never, ever going to hunt. As a very conscientious eater of animal protein, her opinions about hunting shifted over time. When the young couple began a family and the thought of both the origin and the content of the food they would feed their children came into play, Chrissy really began to experience a change...

Andy McLaughlin joins the show from a remote island in Alaska where he lives off the land enjoying a true subsistence lifestyle. Having grown up with grandparents who were passionate about the outdoors, Andy became interested in nature at a very young age. Spending much of his childhood on farms in the Midwest, his early connections to the land ranged from farming to hunting, fishing and foraging....

On this very special episode of the Ahi Va Podcast listeners will have the opportunity to meet District 15; State Representative Dayan Hochman-Vigil. Having served as the Chair of the House Transportation, Public Works & Capital Improvements Committee, Rep. Hochman-Vigil was instrumental in helping New Mexico become the very first state ever to develop a statewide Wildlife Corridors Action Pla...

New Mexico became a national leader in providing equitable opportunity to experience the outdoors when the New Mexico Outdoor Equity Fund was created in 2019. Now, more than five years later, the impact this program has provided to communities across New Mexico is undeniable. Listen in as Jesse Deubel speaks with Karina Armijo, the director of New Mexico's Outdoor Recreation Division. Karina Armij...

Senate Bill 5 [SB5], The Wildlife Heritage Act recently passed the NM State Legislature and was signed into law. SB5 provides a wholistic approach to updating the systems in place for wildlife management in New Mexico. This bill was supported by one of the largest and most diverse conservation coalitions ever to be assembled in the state. Each organization who worked tirelessly to help this necess...

Jesse Deubel invites David Willms, Associate Vice President of Public Lands for the National Wildlife Federation onto the show. Before joining the National Wildlife Federation, David served as a natural resources policy advisor to Wyoming Governor Matthew H. Mead, and a natural resource attorney in both the public and the private sector. He also teaches a graduate course on the Endangered Species...

Hunting is conservation. That phrase was popularized by David Allen while he was the CEO at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. David is a marketing genius. That phrase went viral and hunters continue to use it at every opportunity. There is a lot of truth to those words. For about the last 100 years hunters have been the primary source of conservation funding. The New Mexico Department of Game and...

At Zulu, they believe that everything is better in hiking boots. Zulu Archery & Outdoors is a veteran-owned business that supports all local outdoor communities and provides outdoor experiences that can accommodate any explorer. Their outdoor services provide life-skill experiences through hiking, land navigation, camping adventures, and guided hunts. They specialize in creating outdoor experi...

URGENT: The very existence of public lands in the United States of America is under the greatest threat conceivable. What would the loss of public lands mean for you, your family and the activities you enjoy? What if the road leading to your favorite trailhead or camping spot was gated and locked? What if you were blocked from your favorite hiking or fishing spot by "PRIVATE-NO TRESPASSING" signs....

Seek Outside designs and manufactures performance-built backcountry products in Western Colorado. The mission of Seek Outside is founded in their passion for the outdoors, wild places and the experiences they provide. The company exists to improve the all season backcountry experience, and to help protect and conserve the wild places we all love. In mid-October, Jesse Deubel had the opportunity to...

Anyone who has driven through New Mexico recently has seen the large installations of wind turbines popping up across the landscape. If you've been next to a semi-truck carrying a single blade for use on one of those turbines you can appreciate the massive size of these windmills. These modern structures are drastically different from the old, rickety, wooden stands that might stretch 40' into the...

Join NMWF's executive director Jesse Deubel as he talks with the president and president-elect of NMWF's board of directors. After spending his career with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, John Crenshaw has invested twelve years leading NMWF as a board member and perhaps as the longest serving president of the board. John shares some very interesting history about the organization and n...

Mandela Leola van Eeden sits down with Jesse Deubel to discuss "The Trail Less Traveled" and a wide array of global conservation topics. "The Trail Less Traveled," hosted by Mandela, is dedicated to documenting humanity & planet earth by gathering stories & sounds from the most remote locations around the world.  Growing up, Mandela spent a season in South Africa, a season in Montana &...

On June 3rd, 1924 the Gila Wilderness became the world's first ever administratively designated wilderness. Forty years later when the Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson the National Wilderness Preservation System was established and the Gila became a congressionally designated wilderness. Remarkably, even four decades before the United States Congress had the abilit...

On this special episode, Jesse Deubel talks with Brandon Butler about all things conservation including Brandon's newest film, "SHIRAS: A Nonresident Montana Moose Hunt." Brandon Butler is a syndicated outdoor newspaper columnist and freelance magazine writer. His column, Driftwood Outdoors, has appeared in over 50 different newspapers and magazines, and currently runs in over 30 publications. He...

On this very special episode of the show Jesse Deubel sits down to have a candid conversation with his good friend and mentor, Kent Salazar. Kent worked for 20 years as a director of environmental health for the City of Albuquerque. He was appointed by NM Governor Johnson to the Western Governors Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission to develop regulations to improve visibility in Class 1 w...

The Arizona State Game Commission recently passed a rule to eliminate the practice of auctioning off select tags for big game species as a tool to raise money for conservation. Many people are concerned the reduction in conservation dollars will have a negative impact on wildlife in the state. Some advocates commend the commission in Arizona for their ongoing commitment to adhering to the North Am...