Ducks Unlimited Podcast

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  First developed for midcontinent mallards, Adaptive Harvest Management has since been expanded to eastern and western mallards, black ducks, pintails, and scaup. Dr. Scott Boomer, wildlife biologist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, joins the DU Podcast to discuss modern changes to AHM...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois rejoins the DU Podcast to share the stories behind his recently launched video project, “Duck Camp Dinners”. This new show details duck camp life at a floating lodge in south Louisiana. He walks through the full process of shopping for meals, cutting brush, and ev...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Like most states in the eastern U.S., the 2020-21 waterfowl season has been a rocky road. Dr. Justyn Foth, the waterfowl, turkey, and upland game bird program leader for Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, joins the DU Podcast to share results from the recent mid-winter survey and dis...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Dr. Jim Dubovsky, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service central flyway representative, rejoins the DU Podcast to provide nostalgic reflection as he share insights on the role of sex-specific duck regulations, how they were formulated under the point system, and what determined if a bird was wort...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Mathematics was once a required practice in the duck blind, courtesy of the point system of the 70s and 80s. Dr. Jim Dubovsky, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service central flyway representative, joins Dr. Mike Brasher for a trip down memory lane to discuss the origination, objectives, implement...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Steve Cordts, waterfowl staff specialist for Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, joins Dr. Mike Brasher to provide a recap of the 2020-21 waterfowl season and share insights on a waterfowl hunter opinion survey being used to gather input from Minnesotans on preferences for future w...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  The northeastern U.S. provides habitat for waterfowl throughout the annual cycle, making it a critical region for DU’s conservation work on breeding, migration, and wintering habitats. Sarah Fleming, DU’s director of conservation programs in the northeastern U.S., joins the DU Podcast to...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Mallori Murphey and Katie Burke welcome back Colin McNair, Decoy Specialist for Copley Fine Art Auctions. In this episode, Mallori must endure Katie and Colin nerding out on the history of decoys and their evolution from utilitarian object to highly sought-after collectibles. The crew als...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Mallori Murphey and Katie Burke are joined by Colin McNair, Decoy Specialist at Copley Fine Art Auctions. In this episode, Colin talks about his life growing up carving decoys and hunting waterfowl with his dad and brother. The crew dives into the world of a decoy specialist as well as th...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  With the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Tradeshow canceled for 2021, the DU Podcast is excited to be able to introduce a new waterfowling product to the market with Benelli USA. George Thompson, director of product management for Benelli USA, joins Chris Jennings to discuss the new Super Bl...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  In this concluding episode about the implementation of Adaptive Harvest Management, Dr. Jim Nichols and Dr. Mike Brasher discuss the importance of population data, band returns, and harvest estimates in AHM mechanics. This episode wraps up with a reflection on 25 years of liberal regulati...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Is duck harvest mortality additive or compensatory? Is duck production strongly or weakly density dependent? Which habitat features most influence duck production? And how are optimal duck harvest regulations selected in the face of this imperfect knowledge? The DU Podcast is again thankf...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  As regular duck seasons wind down, Jay Anglin, Great Lakes Region migration editor, joins the show to talk about weather, habitat, and late-season goose hunting opportunities. Anglin and host Chris Jennings discuss solid Canada goose numbers throughout Illinois, Indiana, southern Michigan...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Luke Naylor, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission waterfowl program coordinator, joins host Chris Jennings to discuss the current state of habitat and hunting conditions in the Natural State. Naylor recently finished tabulating the mid-winter aerial survey and the pair discuss numbers and po...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Dr. Jim Nichols rejoins the DU Podcast to share stories about early champions of Adaptive Harvest Management and how they promoted it as a better way of setting harvest regulations, with unexpected support resulting from unusual political maneuverings in the mid-90s. Dr. Nicholas and Dr....

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Concern for waterfowl populations and frustration with the status quo of duck harvest management in the late 80s stimulated new ideas for setting annual regulations and learning about their effects. Dr. Jim Nichols, retired senior scientist from Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and one o...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  With the 2020-21 duck season winding down, we look ahead at how spring wetland conditions may be shaping up. Dr. Scott Stephens, DU Canada’s director of regional operations for prairies and boreal, rejoins the DU Podcast to discuss conditions needed to produce abundant spring wetlands and...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  The ideas of “fair” and “equitable” in harvest distribution have been a challenging undercurrent for regulatory decisions over the years. Dale Humburg and Ken Babcock join the DU Podcast one last time to discuss zones and splits, “shortstopping” in geese, the frustration it caused, and ho...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  The 1970s and 80s brought a flurry of activity, including early teal seasons, stabilized regulations, foundational analyses of compensatory vs. additive mortality, new views on harvest management, and the most important development for waterfowl management in at least 50 years – the North...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Dr. Tom Moorman, former DU Chief Scientist, shares in-depth information about certain aquatic vegetation ducks prefer over others. Host Chris Jennings and Moorman discuss species-specific food preferences and how duck and goose hunters can find, and identify, these natural food sources. C...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Kyle Spragens and Brandon Reishus rejoin Dr. Mike Brasher to expand their discussion about harvest management for Canada and Cackling geese in Oregon and Washington. Today’s discussion focuses on Dusky Canada Geese and how harvest regulations are crafted to protect them from harvest witho...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Kyle Spragens, waterfowl section manager for Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, and Brandon Reishus, migratory game bird coordinator for Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, join the DU Podcast to discuss the 7 subspecies of white-cheeked geese found in the Pacific northwest. Topics cov...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Kelly Warren, DU regional biologist in western Oregon, joins Dr. Mike Brasher for an introduction to geese and goose hunting in the Pacific Northwest. We learn about the 7 subspecies of white-cheeked geese, including the dusky Canada goose for which harvest is not allowed, goose identific...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Building from earlier discussions in episodes 41, 42, and 43, Dr. Mike Brasher visits with John Vradenburg, USFWS supervisory biologist for the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex to get an update on the alarmingly low waterfowl numbers, habitat conditions, and difficult huntin...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Threats of a closed season in the Mississippi Flyway in 1968 led to intense disagreement, restrictive regulations, and amplified the challenges of managing the resource while considering the interests of people. Collectively, these times generated solid foundations for future progress. Dr...