On The Wing Podcast

Working Lands for Wildlife is the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s premier approach for conserving America’s working lands to benefit people, wildlife, and rural communities. This innovative approach is expanding into America’s Great Plains to restore and protect the critical grasslands there. Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Tim Griffiths, NRCS’s Western Regional Coordinator; Dean Kr...

Thanks to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s social media audience, we crowdsourced questions on bird dog health and nutrition for this special “Ask the Experts” episode featuring veterinarian Dr. Seth Bynum and Purina’s Karl Gunzer. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Director of Marketing Andrew Vavra joins host Bob St. Pierre for this entertaining and extremely informative conversation. Epis...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Public Relations Manager and habitat junkie Jared Wiklund for a conversation with Jim Wooley, the first biologist Pheasants Forever ever hired. Wooley talks about leaving a great job as the Iowa DNR’s upland bird biologist to join the fledgling habitat non-profit in 1985. Wooley is also credited as one of the biologists who helped create Pheasants Forever and Quail...

Our story starts on a school bus in Tennessee with two childhood friends and ends with a vision for healthy quail habitat spanning from southern Pennsylvania all the way to central Texas. Host Bob St. Pierre is joined for this episode by Dr. Dwayne Estes, known as the “Prairie Preacher,” Quail Forever biologist Brittney Viers, and new QF Program Manager Andy Edwards for a conversation about Quail...

Brothers Sam & Josh Soholt, owners of Public Land Tees, take a break from turkey camp to join host Bob St. Pierre for a chat about their love of hunting and their commitment to conservation. Highlighted during the discussion is the brother’s “Conservation Crossing” effort, which is helping Pheasants Forever, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Mule Deer Foundation, Delta Waterfowl, and National Wild Tu...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Brad Bortner, a bird biologist and the recently retired chief of migratory bird management at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, for a conversation about the federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) for migratory birds. All bird hunters are asked about HIP certification when they purchase a small game license, and this is a discussion to explore what those question...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Chad Harvey, the organization’s regional representative for Montana, the Pacific Norwest, Canada, and Alaska, for a conversation with brothers Tyler and Brad Heine. The Heine brothers are Pheasants Forever volunteers in Montana with jobs that are slow in the winter which has allowed them to hunt wild bobwhite, Mearns, Gambel’s, scaled, valley, and mountain quail ac...

Our Women on the Wing Program Manager Marissa Jensen leads this episode’s fun conversation with MeatEater’s Danielle Prewett for a conversation about the organization’s upcoming virtual event on May 6th. Episode Highlights: • Danielle talks about her Deutsch-Drahthaar named “Zissou” as a nod to both the movie “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” and the oceanographer. There are some good laughs ab...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Amanda & Andy Doak for the story about how they fell in love through a mutual affiliation with the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA). Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Hunting Heritage Program Manager Colby Kerber also joins the conversation to talk about Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s partnership with NAVHDA. Episode Highlights:...

Nicole Qualtieri tuned in to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s recent Call of the Uplands campaign video launch at the same time she was studying America’s massive decline in bird numbers resulting from habitat loss. Our campaign’s bold effort to improve 9 million acres of habitat resonated deep within Nicole and she’s emerged as a vocal advocate for wildlife habitat conservation. During this...

We crowdsourced bird dog training questions from the Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter channels for this special “Ask the Experts” episode featuring professional dog trainers Tom Dokken and Josh Miller. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Director of Marketing Andrew Vavra joins host Bob St. Pierre for this entertaining conversation covering flushers, pointers, a...

Biologist Monty Gregg closes out our western quail species series with a deep dive into California valley quail. A passionate bird hunter, Gregg talks about habitat, hunting, and the life cycle of valley quail. He also explains how the U.S. Forest Service is connected to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and America’s National Grasslands. Episode Highlights: • Gregg talks about growing up as a bi...

Grasslands are inherently dynamic in space and time, evolving with frequent disturbance from fire and herbivores (bison, cattle, etc.). As a consequence of human actions, many remaining grasslands have become homogenous, which has led to biodiversity loss and decreased ecological services. Enter the concept of grassland heterogeneity. Host Bob St. Pierre is in over his head for a fun master’s leve...

We continue our series of western quail species with this episode’s focus on the mountain quail. Mikal Cline, an upland biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, joins host Bob St. Pierre and PF & QF’s Western Regional Director Al Eiden for a conversation about mountain quail biology, habitat, and hunting tactics. Episode Highlights: • The group discuss the mountain quail’s geograp...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Western Regional Director Al Eiden for a conversation about scaled quail with John Sherman, a wildlife biologist with the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico. A lifelong New Mexican, Sherman talks about his passion for scaled quail and the thrill of hunting them. Episode Highlights: • The trio talk about scaled quail being...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Western Regional Director Al Eiden for a conversation with Arizona Game & Fish Department’s Biologist Wade Zarlingo focused on Gambel’s quail. Zarlingo, a lifelong Arizonan, talks about how to hunt these fabulous desert birds and their habitat needs. Episode Highlights: • Zarlingo talks about the upswing in Arizona’s Gambel’s q...

On February 25th, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever announced the Call of the Uplands comprehensive campaign to raise $500 million to improve 9 million acres of upland habitat, introduce 1.5 million new people to the uplands, and permanently protect 75,000 acres of land FOREVER. It’s the boldest, most important initiative in the organization’s history. Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by volunteer...

Upland hunting is an experience like no other. For those who may be new to the uplands but seek the serenity of the prairies, the rugged desert uplands of Southwest, or the fall colors of the Northwoods, we bring you our new content series, “Path to the Uplands” to help you embark on a lifetime of new adventures. The Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever crew of Marissa Jensen, Colby Kerber, Tom “Ca...

SPECIAL MIXED BAG MASHUP EPISODE: In the second installment of this series, host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Ron Boehme of The Hunting Dog Podcast, Travis Frank of The Flush, and Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s very own Marissa Jensen for an entertaining conversation recapping their 2020 bird hunting seasons. Episode Highlights: • Travis Frank talks about how his new bird dog created joy and...

SPECIAL MIXED BAG MASHUP EPISODE: In the first of two special episodes, host Bob St. Pierre is joined by fellow podcasting hosts Nick Larson of Project Upland Podcast, Durrell Smith of The Gun Dog Notebook, and Tyler Webster of Birds, Booze, and Buds Podcast for an entertaining conversation recapping their 2020 bird hunting seasons. Episode Highlights: • Tyler Webster, henceforth to be known as “M...

BONUS EPISODE: It’s our 9th inning, two-minute warning, buzzer beater episode to close out the pheasant hunting season. Host Bob St. Pierre connects with Pheasants Forever’s Public Relations Manager Jared Wiklund who is fresh off a late season pheasant hunting trip where he found public land rooster success. Episode Highlights: • Listen for a few great tips to find roosters during the last weekend...

With seemingly every bird hunting Instagrammer chasing Mearns’ quail to start 2021, host Bob St. Pierre dives deep into this fascinating bird with Arizona Game & Fish’s Quail Biologist Kirby Bristow. The guys talk about the biology, life cycle, and habitat needs of Mearns’ quail with hunting tips and tactics interwoven throughout the discussion. Episode Highlights: • The guys talk about how unique...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Aaron Kuehl, a long-time biologist with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever who runs the organization’s national seed program. It may be the heart of winter, but right now is the perfect time to start planning your spring habitat projects with a focus on understanding the organization’s various seed mixes to produce more birds, bucks, and pollinators. Episode Highl...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Ron Leathers who was recently named Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s first-ever Chief Conservation Officer. In the new role, the organization’s conservation delivery functions will align under Leather’s vision. Those conservation delivery functions include habitat delivery, legislative advocacy, and education & outreach. Get to know Ron through this fun conver...

Host Bob St. Pierre is joined by Editor Tom Carpenter to bring “Carp’s” story “It Ain’t Over Yet” from the Winter edition of the Pheasants Forever Journal to life. The duo explores misconceptions about late season pheasant hunting and tactics for finding success when the temperatures plummet and the snow piles up. Episode Highlights: • The guys talk about all the hunting pressure on public lands d...