Ducks Unlimited Podcast

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Host Chris Jennings gets Tony Vandemore, guide and co-owner of Habitat Flats, on the line to discuss the pace of the light goose migration. Vandemore moved from Arkansas up to his home turf near Sumner, Missouri in the middle of the month. Listen to find out more. Download, subscribe, and...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Dr. Scott Stephens rejoins host Dr. Mike Brasher to continue their discussion about DU Canada’s conservation programs in the Canadian Prairies. This episode describes some of the new conservation partnerships that DU Canada is forging within the farming and ranching communities, and how t...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Friend and colleague Dr. Scott Stephens, DU Canada, joins Dr. Mike Brasher to discuss some of the important habitat conservation work being undertaken to benefit breeding waterfowl in the Canadian Prairies.  This discussion highlights some of the historical and traditional programs that D...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Dr. Mike Brasher is joined in studio by a trio of special guests to discuss trends in waterfowl hunter numbers and the importance of recruiting our next generation of hunter-conservationists.  Former DU Chief Scientist Dale Humburg, University of Nebraska PhD student Katherine Graham, and...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  In the final installment of this special series on waterfowl harvest estimation, Drs. Kathy Fleming and Paul Padding discuss the 2 critical surveys that are part of this process:  Migratory Bird Hunter Survey and Parts Collection Survey.  This episode sheds light on how these data are col...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Host Chris Jennings is joined by Jay Anglin, DU Great Lakes Migration Editor, to discuss light goose migrations into Illinois and Indiana. The two also talk about Arkansas goose numbers and opportunities for hunters to take advantage of these late hunts. Download, subscribe, and rate the...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  In part 2 of this series on waterfowl harvest estimation, Drs. Kathy Fleming and Paul Padding go in-depth on the Harvest Information Program, known to most people simply as “HIP,” to explain how it works and how the data are used to select hunters for participating in the core surveys fro...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Waterfowl hunters harvest 12–14 million ducks and 3 million geese annually in the U.S.  The process used to estimate annual waterfowl harvest has several components and relies on the cooperation and participation by State wildlife agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and most imp...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Kevin Kraai, Waterfowl Program Leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department joins the podcast to discuss the history of the Texas Mid-winter Waterfowl Survey and results from the most recent survey in January 2020.  We learn about the numerous ecoregions and important waterfowl habitats...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Host Chris Jennings is joined by Jay Anglin, Great Lakes migration editor for ducks.org. Anglin brings to light some interesting observations by hunters throughout the region, including an influx of white-fronted geese and light geese into southern Illinois and Indiana.  www.ducks.org/dup...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Dr. Mike Brasher is joined by Amelia Raquel, DU Biologist from California, for a discussion about waterfowl habitats and conservation in Southern Oregon and Northeastern California, also known as SONEC. Although an arid landscape, wetland habitats provided in the SONEC region are continen...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Dr. Mike Schummer, SUNY-ESF, rejoins the show with host Dr. Mike Brasher to provide a late season update on prevailing weather patterns in the eastern U.S. and how these have influenced waterfowl migration since the outbreak of cold weather in November. We wade into a discussion about lar...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Host Christ Jennings is joined by John Pollmann, Ducks Unlimited freelance contributor, to discuss the best practices to plan and execute a youth hunt. Pollmann goes into detail regarding his Sept/Oct feature from DU Magazine and talks about his personal experiences hunting with his young...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  In this episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Rocky Rockwell and learn about the lasting effects of hyperabundant snow geese on Arctic habitats and their potential for recovery. We then discuss other interesting research at La Perouse Bay including goose productivity, drones, bea...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Light goose populations in North America have grown exponentially since the 1960s. The famed goose colony at La Perouse Bay, Manitoba, became the epicenter for studying this explosive growth and its damaging effects on Arctic ecosystems. In this episode, Dr. Mike Brasher is joined by spec...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Widely considered the most successful wildlife conservation plan on the planet, for over 30 years the North American Waterfowl Management Plan has set the bar for effective and relevant partner-based conservation of an internationally shared resource.  Hosts Chris Jennings and Dr. Mike Br...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Former DU Chief Scientist, Dale Humburg, joins hosts Chris Jennings and Dr. Mike Brasher to discuss the history and significance of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) in shaping international waterfowl conservation as we know it today.  Ambitious in scale and intent, the...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Houston Havens, Waterfowl Program Coordinator for Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, joins Dr. Mike Brasher and Chris Jennings to discuss results from Mississippi’s December aerial waterfowl surveys. Listen in to learn about the history of Mississippi’s survey effor...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Mike Casazza rejoins the show to continue our discussion about cutting edge radio telemetry and its importance to waterfowl science. Specific topics on this episode include new estimates of waterfowl flight speed and why this is important, unexpected movements and behaviors of waterfowl,...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Since its introduction to wildlife research in the mid-20th century, radio telemetry has enabled scientists and conservationists to understand waterfowl behaviors and ecology at levels previously not imagined. In this episode, co-hosts Chris Jennings and Dr. Mike Brasher are joined by Res...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Previously published (Ep. 9 – 10) Host Dr. Mike Brasher discusses interesting research being done on urban mallards and the role they play in hunter harvest with Dr. Ben O’Neal. O’Neal serves as a wildlife ecology professor at Franklin College just south of Indianapolis and is studying th...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  In this episode we bring you updates on mid-December waterfowl numbers and habitat conditions in Missouri and Illinois.  Friends of the show, Frank Nelson and Aaron Yetter, explain that ice is prevalent and duck numbers continue to decline across much of their respective states. Hardy mal...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Mark Biddlecomb, DU director of operations for the Western Region, joins the podcast and shares information about DU’s Sacramento office, along with some of the unique conservation challenges faced in the Pacific Flyway. Download and subscribe to follow along with all things waterfowl as...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  Host Chris Jennings is joined by Dan Wrinn, DU national director of government affairs, to discuss DU’s D.C. office and the importance of policy work for wetlands conservation and waterfowl hunting. Craig LeShack, DU director of conservation operations, joins in on the conversation to exp...

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN  DU Regional Biologist from the San Joaquin Valley in Central California, Matt Kaminski, joins the show to discuss a multitude of topics, including a description of DU’s conservation efforts in the California Central Valley, an update on waterfowl migration in the region, and insights on W...