The Hunter Conservationist Podcast

In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by fellow turkey hunter, and wild turkey aficionado Brad Siemens. Brad hails from the Grand Forks region of Southern BC and literally lives with wild turkey year-round.  The crew discusses how their turkey season is going so far and the pain of missing a wild turkey. The guys talk about wild turkey hunting strategies for BC such as locating tom birds, ca...

This episode is sponsored by Fisher Peak Brewing Company and supported by iHunter app. In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Kevin Kossowan and Jeff Senger. Kevin and Jeff are from northern Alberta and produce the inspiring internationally recognized From The Wild show. Kevin and Jeff talk about why they created From The Wild and provide their thoughts on why they are different from the m...

In this episode Mark digs into the new call for a wolf hunting and trapping moratorium in BC, whether wolf trapping and hunting affects populations, the high rate of female salmon mortality in the Fraser River system, salmon-eating herons, a new salmon aquaculture industry in Newfoundland, the annual Cree southern goose hunt in Quebec, night hunting in Manitoba, too many mule deer in Saskatchewan,...

This episode is sponsored by the Heid Out Restaurant and Brewhouse and supported by iHunter app. In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Paul Irngaut, Director of Wildlife and Environment for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Paul talks about growing up in Igloolik and his memories of being on the land with his family. Paul describes his experience when his family was moved off the land to a matchbox...

This episode is sponsored by Deluxe Wall Tents and supported by iHunter App In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Dr. Keith Munro, wildlife biologist with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. In 1999, the Ontario government banned the spring black bear hunt. The guys discuss why the ban occurred, the misinformation campaign around orphaned cubs, the controversy around how the cu...

This episode is sponsored by Fisher Peak Brewing Company and supported by iHunter In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by hunter and Ph. D. candidate Britt Longoria. Britt was the centre of a global hate campaign against hunting when her photograph was pirated from a private website. Britt explains how this anti-hunting campaign came about, how she learned about it, what happened to her, ho...

Sponsored by the BC Firearms Academy In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Robbie Kroger of Blood Origins – the Truth About Hunting. Robbie brings his perspective to the hunting and trophy hunting debates that are taking place across the world.  In Canada, the narrative about trophy hunting is filling the news lately and is influenced by perceptions of trophy hunting in Africa. Robbie dem...

This episode is sponsored by the Heid Out Restaurant and Brewhouse. In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Dr. Yasmine Majchrzak and Dr. Michael Peers to talk all things snowshoe hare. Topics discussed include whether or not hares are rabbits and jackrabbits are hares, all the hare subspecies, distribution of the hare in Canada, habitat preference, food, behavior, breeding, dominant bucks,...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Leland Brown and Chris Parish, founders of the North American Non-Lead Partnership. In this episode, the guys learn about the history behind why the Partnership was created, what its goals are, and where it's headed. Topics covered include, the impact lead bullet fragments have on wildlife especially birds, why birds guts are different than mammals wh...

In the first episode of 2021, Mark and Curtis are joined by Dr. Marco Festa-Bianchet from the Unversité de Sherbrooke in Quebec. In addition to studying roos down under Marco has been researching bighorn sheep in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta for many decades. Marco covers when and how wild sheep got to North America as well as the species and subspecies that now inhabit the continent. Marco expl...

In this episode Curtis and Mark are joined again by Dr. Marco Festa-Bianchet – professor wildlife researcher at the Unversité de Sherbrooke in Quebec and Jesse Zeman – Executive Director of the BC Wildlife Federation. Topics discussed include Mountain Goat ecology and biology and what makes goats unique, what some of the newest science is telling us about goats, shifting age of primiparity, whethe...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Tim Killey, President of the BC Trappers Association. Hang on as the guys take a deep dive into furbearer conservation and the business of trapping. Topics covered include learning whether trapping is a business or a hobby, the fur market ups and downs, the economic value of trapping in Canada, who's who in the furbearer world, what is happening with...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis have a conservation about natural forces and intangible entities in hunting. This is a conversation that is rarely openly spoken about or even acknowledged. It may even be a conversation that gets scoffed at. Mark talks about his Remembrance Day 2020 hunt and the relationship between a soldier who died in World War I and two recently harvested whitetail bucks. The...

In this episode Mark and Curtis are joined MLA Mike Morris from Prince George, British Columbia. Mike is a hunter and trapper and has been an MLA since 2013. Mike is an advocate for better forest practices and biodiversity conservation in the province. Mike reflects on his years of experience in politics and offers a ton of advice to hunter conservationists on how they can best work with their MLA...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis are stoked to have Kelly Molar of the Rookie Hunter Podcast on the show. The guys have a fireside chat about Kelly being a new Dad, how fatherhood changes hunting, and Kelly being joined by his Dad as a rookie hunter. Then the gang discusses the notion of ethics and morals in hunting, a way to resolve moral dilemmas while hunting and whether it is ethical and or mo...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by James Steidle from Prince George, British Columbia. James heads up a campaign called Stop the Spray BC which is dedicated to banning the spraying of glyphosate chemicals on public forests. James talks about some shocking aspects of the chemical herbicide Glyphosate, what ingredients we are not being told about that are in Glyphosate, and whether Glyph...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by the fun, energetic, and inspiring Land Tawney, CEO of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. The purpose of their conversation is to help Canadian hunters and anglers be effective in advocating for public land and water in Canada. With that purpose in mind, Mark and Curtis get Land to explain what makes BHA such an effective voice for conservation. Land...

this episode Mark and Curtis are helping celebrate Black Mammalogist Week by talking in-depth with Rhiannon Kirton. Rhiannon is a Master of Science candidate at Western University in London, Ontario who is studying the interaction between white-tailed deer and hunters. Rhiannon is a co-organizer for Black Mammalogists Week, and she explains the reasons behind this special week and all the events t...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis will walk through each of the new fair chase hunting regulations in effect in British Columbia this year. Part of this conversation will include what the new regulations are as well as how the decisions were made. Topics covered include e-bikes, wireless trail cameras, primitive weapons, smart rifles, drones, spotting from an aircraft, intentionally feeding and bai...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Dr. Vic Adamowicz, Professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Find why the University of Alberta is a hub for so many great Canadian wildlife scientists as well as what human dimension research is about and why an economist does research for wildlife management. Main topics discu...

In this episode Mark and Curtis are joined By Chad Day, President of the Tahltan Central Government in British Columbia and Jesse Zeman, Director of the Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program for the BC Wildlife Federation. President Day explains where Tahltan Territory is located, who the Tahltan people are, how he became President of his Nation, what life is like as the President and how governan...

In this episode, Mark and Curtis are joined by Taylor White, Ariana McKay, Hannah McIntyre and Emily Chow. This is a fun, uplifting and inspiring conversation about four friends and the story of their journey mentoring each other and learning to hunt. The group discusses how and why they each got into hunting, what their journey towards having a successful hunt has been like, whether hunting gets...

In this episode Mark and Curtis take the opportunity on their 1-year anniversary of podcasting to dive into the super complex and controversial issue of coal mining, cutthroat trout, and bighorn sheep in the Elk Valley of Southeastern British Columbia. The guys describe how coal was formed in the Rocky Mountains and describe the complex industrialized-wilderness blended landscape that defines the...

In this episode, in their quest for truth, honesty and objectivity, Mark and Curtis analyze the recent brouhaha over moose management in BC’s endangered caribou recovery zones. To kick things off, the hosts talk about the misinformation floating around over the number of black bear tags sold in BC, BC’s black bear harvest rate and some anti-bear hunting propaganda coming out of Vancouver Island. T...

In this episode Mark and Curtis break the barrier of pandemic isolation and are joined virtually by Dr. Adam Ford (not the dentist in Arizona) to talk about the best ways to protect your expensive fly rod, what happens when an elephant doesn’t like you and the emerging idea of misplaced conservation. Misplaced conservation is a multifaceted phenomenon going on right now involving misinformation an...