Mule Deer Foundation - Talking Mule Deer Podcast

Welcome Back! MDF Talking Mule Deer is back on the airwaves in 2023. The last 15 months have been a crazy time at MDF and a lot has happened in our quest to conserve black-tailed and mule deer and it's time to bring you all up to speed. This episode's Guest is MDF's President & CEO, Joel Pedersen, who visits with Steve and Jodi about the exciting times at MDF including a record setting mule de...

We are excited to have host of Skullbound Chronicles on CarbonTV , after a long absence! Jana is a Life member of MDF, a MDF Ambassador, and a newly appointed Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Game Commissioner . Those that have attended the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo will also likely recognize her from her hosting duties in recent years, or her painted or beaded skulls, donated to raise...

Spring has sprung, and Talking Mule Deer is back with President/CEO Joel Pedersen , who takes time to discuss his first Western Conservation and Hunting Expo as the leader of MDF, and talks in-depth about the first annual Mule Deer Summit that was held at the WHCE. Big dollars were raised at the show, and Joel talks about how MDF will be utilizing those funds to accomplish work on the ground acros...

Into 2022 we are racing, headed full steam into the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo ! We get WHCE Director Ray Crow and MDF President/CEO Joel Pedersen on the record, talking all things Hunt Expo. WHCE is a huge fundraiser for wildlife conservation across the West, and we've got some new events, changes, and a breakdown of how MDF utilizes funds raised towards work on the ground that directly...

Just in time for your holiday travels, for our final episode for 2021 we are spending time checking our lists, and reviewing the work being accomplished in Wyoming. We chat with one of the newest MDF Biologists, Habitat Partnership Coordinator Nicole Reed on her work in WY and CO, and WY Regional Director Shawn Blajszczak gives an update on how to get your hands on some special edition Wyoming Whi...

As the year draws to a close we are headed to Arizona, to get updates on how GPS collar data is being utilized to determine how the Mule Deer Foundation accomplishes its project work. Lucas Olson, MDF/ Arizona Cooperative Wildlife Biologist is a GIS and mapping specialist, giving us a rundown on how GPS collars are driving the next level of research on mule deer migration and habitat use, while Ja...

Today we are headed to Nevada to check in on the status of the mule deer herd with Nevada Department of Wildlife Director and President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Tony Wasley and Game Division Chief Mike Scott. Tony and Mike spend time discussing project work occurring in Nevada, how these projects are financed through auction tags, MDF Chapter Rewards, and grant funds provid...

With Montana archery seasons already in process, and the rifle season racing up, we are going in-depth with MT Game Management Bureau Chief Brian Wakeling, and MDF’s MT Regional Director Chris Fortune . Brian details how weather conditions across the state will affect hunting opportunities, particularly the drought conditions and wildfires this summer, and Chris gets granular about how MDF is work...

2021 Range-wide Status of Black-Tailed and Mule Deer with Jim Heffelfinger and Joel Pedersen - Season 4 Episode 10   We are excited to bring you the 75th episode of Talking Mule Deer, and we could not think of better guests than MDF President/CEO Joel Pedersen, and Arizona Game and Fish Department Wildlife Science Coordinator Jim Heffelfinger to talk about the 2021 Range-wide Status of Black-Taile...

Randy Morrison, MDF California Habitat Partnership Coordinator - Season 4 Episode 9   After a little break from episodes, Talking Mule Deer is back with Randy Morrison, MDF’s Habitat Partnership Coordinator in California. Randy discusses his transition into this new role after being Regional Director for the state. Randy starts off telling us about a current project in the Stanislaus National Fore...

John Nosler – Season 4 Episode 8 – June 9 On this episode of Talking Mule Deer, we are joined by Nosler Inc. President and COO John R. Nosler. John starts off with an overview of the history of Nosler and how his grandfather, truckdriver John A. Nosler, turned the first Nosler bullet out of spare car parts in the late 1940s, launching a family-owned and operated bullet manufacturing dynasty. John...

This episode of Talking Mule Deer features Brigham Young University wildlife researchers telling us about their mule deer studies in Utah. Brock and Randy, both avid mule deer hunters, are professors in the BYU Wildlife Ecology Lab and landed at the university 13 years ago when they applied for the same job—and both got hired! Brock and Randy discuss one of their early projects evaluating fawn mor...

This episode of Talking Mule Deer features our conversation with the co-founder of Public Land Tees, Sam Soholt. Sam tells us about how he got his start in the outdoor industry as a photographer and videographer, and about his modified school bus that he used as his base to hunt and raise awareness about public lands with an active social media presence. His journey to learn about conservation iss...

New MDF President/CEO Joel Pedersen – Season 4 Episode 5 – April 14   Today we have our first Talking Mule Deer conversation with the Mule Deer Foundation’s new President/CEO, Joel Pedersen. Joel tells us about how he grew up hunting and fishing with his family and how a chance encounter on a boy scout camping trip in New Mexico led him to become a wildlife biologist. He describes his educational...

Jason Matzinger Talks Shed Hunting, Off-Season Prep, and Hunting with Your Kids – Season 4 Episode 4 – March 12 On this episode, we are talking with Jason Matzinger, host of Into High Country and an ambassador for the Mule Deer Foundation. Spring brings the chance to get back into the field looking for shed antlers and Jason describes how he uses shed hunting as a way to scout and learn about beha...

Idaho Conservation Efforts with MDF state habitat coordinator, Jessie Shallow – Season 4 Episode 3  Today we are talking with one of the new conservation staff for MDF, Jessie Shallow, who works through MDF and Idaho Fish and Game to coordinate habitat restoration projects in mule deer migration corridors and winter ranges identified within the Idaho State Action Plan. Jessie contributed the “Cons...

MDF Magazine Redesign with Chet Hervey of the Northwoods Collective, and MDF’s COO Brian Fienhold  On this episode of Talking Mule Deer, we are visiting with the folks behind the recent redesign of the MDF Magazine that hit mailboxes last month. Brian Fienhold, MDF’s Chief Operating Officer describes how the relationship with the Northwoods Collective began and we hear directly from Northwoods Col...

It’s been awhile! Hunting season and conservation projects kept us away from recording a podcast at the end of last year, but we’re hitting 2021 running with our favorite repeat guest, Miles Moretti. Today’s Talking Mule Deer podcast takes a look back at some of MDF’s accomplishments for 2020, even with the many curveballs that were thrown our way. We hear about the conservation and stewardship pr...

2020 Rangewide Status of Black-tailed and Mule Deer– Season 3 Episode 16 – August 17 Steve and Jodi visit with Jim Heffelfinger from the Arizona Game and Fish Department and Miles Moretti, President/CEO of MDF, about the recently released 2020 Range-wide Status of Black-tailed and Mule Deer. This report produced by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (WAFWA) Mule Deer Working Gr...

Pre-Season Prep with Amy Ray and Chris Belinda – Season 3 Episode 15 – August 3 Hunting season is just around the corner with archery hunts starting in just a few weeks, so this episode of Talking Mule Deer focuses on how to get ready for your hunt – particularly through the eyes of two friends from the East who come West to hunt. Amy Ray is the owner of Sisterhood of the Outdoors , a business tha...

Relive Talking Mule Deer's first “live” podcast from Wednesday, July 22 in coordination with the final vote on the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) by the U.S. House of Representative . Join Steve and Jodi while they visited with their guests - MDF President Miles Moretti, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President Jeff Crane, and Wildlife Mississippi Executive Director and Chair of the Boon...

Fourth of July Kickoff with MDF Director of Field Operations, Mike Laughter – Season 3 Episode 13 – June 30 As we head into the July 4th holiday weekend, Jodi and Steve talk to MDF’s director of field operations, Mike Laughter, to get an update on our field events and fundraising opportunities. Mike fills us in on what regional directors are doing with their chapters under state public health orde...

The Boone and Crockett Club’s CEO, Tony Schoonen – Season 3 Episode 12 – June 18 This week, we are pleased to welcome our partner in conservation, Tony Schoonen the Chief Executive Officer of the Boone and Crockett Club. Tony gives us a little bit of the Club’s history and how it was founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887. He explains how the Club was started by “people of influence” and the bylaws...

“Human Dimensions” with Mark Duda – Season 3 Episode 11 – June 4 Today Steve and Jodi are talking to Mark Duda, one of the leading researchers studying what is known as the “human dimensions” of wildlife management. Mark explains what human dimensions is and why understanding the people side of conservation needs to be done in the same scientific process that drives the actual management of specie...

Mule Deer Memorial Day Marathon – Season 3 Episode 10 – May 21 This is our 59th episode of Talking Mule Deer and we are encouraging our listeners to get on a Mule Deer Memorial Day Marathon. This week, Jodi and Steve are reflecting back on the two years of the TMD podcast and hoping listeners go back and binge listen to some of our favorite episodes. We revisit those early days of putting together...