National Wildlife Federation Outdoors

Bill and Aaron welcome Rue Mapp, founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro to talk all things outdoors, Rue’s recent journey back into hunting and her new book – Nature Swagger. We hear about Rue’s early life and how her father, in particular, shaped her connection with the outdoors and how that led her to found Outdoors Afro. We also talk about Black Heritage Hunts, a unique hunting opportunity Rue co-lead...

Aaron and Bill sit down with Mitch and Jarred, two experts from the great Northwest, to discuss transboundary mining issues. Numerous mines, and one in particular, in British Columbia threaten people, watersheds, and wildlife in Northwest states, including years of salmon recovery and restoration. We discuss the Copper Mountain mine, the potential for a catastrophic disaster that would devastate d...

After tons of travel and scheduling conflicts, Aaron and Bill are together again and joined by the world’s biggest promoter of kayak fishing! Retired Naval officer, kayak fishing pioneer, author and television show host Chad Hoover has a lot of experience and a lot to say. From what it was like being a young naval officer on September 11 to starting a tournament organization to getting people invo...

We are excited to launch a short form story telling series on the NWF Outdoors podcast! We invite you to enjoy the premiere of our “From the Field” series with an episode recorded on board a 90’ wooden fishing vessel off the coast of Sitka, Alaska. For this episode, Aaron and Mandela joined the crew of the “North Wind” for a beautiful morning in the harbor and open water off the coast of Southeast...

Continuing with our newfound love of "from the field" podcasts, we take this one to Florida. Podcast co-host Bill Cooksey attended ICAST (a big fishing industry tradeshow) in July and had the opportunity to sit down with Geoff Mullins from the Everglades Foundation and Captain Chris Wittman from Captains for Clean water to talk about the myriad habitat problems in the Everglades and South Florida...

Join us for this fun pilot episode of our new “From the Field” podcast series we are beginning to explore. For the past week, our sporting team has been traveling around Southeast Alaska recording interviews with hunters and anglers regarding the endless opportunities and abundance of the region. During this episode, Aaron and Mandela sit on the edge of the Tongas National Forest with Artemis amba...

It’s late July, and much of the country is in the midst of a heat wave, but Aaron and Bill are back talking ducks with Dr. Mike Brasher from Ducks Unlimited. Waterfowl are both a vocation and advocation for Mike as he’s spent his career studying and his free time hunting them. For the last two years, COVID protocols in Canada have prevented the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from conducting the Wate...

Aaron and Bill sit down with David Willms and Mike Butler to discuss the recently introduced the RETURN Act and how it would dismantle the world’s most successful conservation program and begin a cascade effect that would set back America conservation in myriad ways. We walk through a refresher on the Pittman-Robertson Act – what it is, how it works, why it is so successful and why we need to prot...

Aaron and Bill sit down with lifelong hunter and professional angler Crispin Powley. Crispin is a husband and father who spends hundreds of days afield each year and has hunted waterfowl in 30 states and three countries. He also runs an outdoors ministry at his local church.   Show notes: 3:44 – Bill shares a little background on Crispin and how they met. 5:00 – Crispin, Bill and Aaron share what...

Aaron and Bill sit down with the 2021 Orvis Conservationists of the Year, owner of Alaska Sportsmen’s Lodge, and renowned Bristol Bay conservationist Brian Kraft. Brian has spent nearly 20 years working to stop the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay from ever becoming a reality. The EPA recently announced another comment period regarding prohibiting discharge of dredge or fill materials. If the latest eff...

If you love bass fishing, this is the episode for you. Our guest today is Steve Bowman, and when it comes to bass fishing, conservation and tournament angling, he’s definitely the guy you want to hear from. From being a member of The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame to his work as manager of Bassmaster.com tournament coverage and BASS Manager of Angler Relations, he’s in the mix. His career and work are...

Jake Latendresse may be the most well-known sportsmen you’ve never heard of. He’s one of the nation’s finest hunter/angler videographers and has produced content for some of the biggest companies and organizations in the world. You see his work on Bassmaster every weekend and on videos and television shows from myriad entities, and it’s there because Jake had the courage to live his dreams. As a b...

After a month of tech issues and time conflicts, Aaron and Bill finally get together with Jim Ronquest of RNTV. Jimbo outlines his 21/22 duck season experiences from both home and on the road filming the show before moving to the timely topic of turkeys. After decades of population growth, many regions are experiencing declines, and we learn how Turkeys for Tomorrow is trying to find out why. It’s...

In this episode Aaron and Ashley talk with Representative Ron Kind of Wisconsin. Representative Kind discusses how he came to understand the weight of CWD and eventually become a champion for it in Washington D.C. We cover what the Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act is, it’s current status, how it could impact states’ ability to manage the disease, and the boost it would give to r...

Aaron and Bill have an interesting chat with Casey Stemler, the lead for Secretarial Order 3362. S.O. 3362 was issued during the Trump Administration but continues to this day. It is aimed and conserving and resourcing big game migration corridors. It has already helped infused millions of dollars into migration areas and connectivity projects. We discuss how and why the order came to be, it’s lat...

Aaron and Ashley talk interstate borders, barriers to management, and the financial and emotional toll that CWD can take on state wildlife agencies. Kelly speaks poignantly on the issue of chronic wasting disease and offers a unique perspective informed by her background as a wildlife veterinarian and manager of an entire state wildlife section. We even ask her about the “E” word! Links: MN DNR CW...

Aaron and Bill sit down with forester, sportsman, and conservationist Alex Harvey to discuss a life rooted to the outdoors, hunting, and land management and restoration. We cover Alex’s family roots and hunting traditions while he helps us understand and unpack several historical and social contexts regarding Southern African American sporting traditions, barriers to land management and ownership,...

Ashley and Aaron talk with Kip Adams about how hunting traditions can impact chronic wasting disease. Kip is the Chief Conservation Officer for the National Deer Association and very well-versed in both the science and culture of deer hunting. He lends a unique and optimistic perspective on what sportswomen and men can do to in their backyards and at a state level to slow the spread. Links: Chroni...

Aaron and Bill host Bob Budd to wax on the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which utilizes a unique model to conduct habitat and restoration projects across Wyoming. These projects help restore and enhance the lands and waters that sportsmen and women from Wyoming and across the country have the privilege to enjoy. The Wyoming state legislature is currently considering adding $75...

Ashley and Aaron sit down with Dr. Colin Gillin to talk about the captive cervid industry and how it’s stymied efforts to control CWD. Colin is the State Wildlife Veterinarian for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and takes us on a deep dive into how cervid farms work and how they need to change in order for us to make headway in the fight. Recommended link: https://www.fishwildlife.org/a...

Bill and Aaron wax poetic on a few subjects after a few failures to get the famous Jim Ronquest connected (we’ll get him back soon). We talk end of duck season, getting outside, preview the Ronquest episode, and point to some current events in conservation.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Dunfee is a career CWD expert and in this episode he walks us through everything from the discovery of the disease to how its affecting deer populations today. Along with a deep dive into the biology of CWD, we talk about the responsibility that hunters have and the fears they face around CWD. Join us for this incredible primer on what’s happening out there and what needs to be done about it....

Welcome to the Chronic Wasting Disease Chronicles, brought to you by NWF Outdoors and Artemis. Chronic Wasting Disease is an always fatal and definitely complex neurological disease afflicting cervids across North America and beyond. More than 50 years after its discovery, the impacts of this disease are ramping up quickly while hunters are having to make tough decisions about how they hunt and fe...

Aaron and Bill sit down with renowned archery author and traditional bow craftsman, Ron Rohrbaugh. We discuss conservation, archery, getting young people outdoors and his two recent books, A Traditional Bowhunter’s Path and Echo: Living Wild with the Orions. Ron also reads an excerpt from Echo, discusses the visceral and intimate act of hunting at very close range, and tells some great hunting sto...

Aaron and Bill have a chat with renowned entrepreneur, duckman, and conservationist, Warren Coco. "Coco’s" inventing the GO-DEVIL Longtail motor in the 1970s changed duck hunting forever, but he didn’t stop there and continued innovating longtails, surface drives, and boat designs. In the 80s he collaborated with Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty on what many duck hunters believe to still be the best...