The Upland Social

Today's guest is Geoffrey Greiner, a retired punk rocker turned passionate bird hunter who made his way from Massachusetts to Arizona by way of Colorado. Although he didn't grow up in a hunting family, Geoffrey found his path into the uplands through his fascination with bird dogs, eventually becoming devoted to the Braque du Bourbonnais breed and chasing Gambel's, scaled, and Mearns quail across...

This week's guests are Brooks Maurer and Skyler Wenninger, two Minnesota educators, coaches, bird hunters, dog owners, and entrepreneurs who have turned a shared passion into a growing outdoor brand. Brooks grew up hunting behind retrievers across central Minnesota and now balances life as a PE teacher, coach, husband, father, and bird hunter in Luverne. Skyler, a former college baseball player an...

Today’s guest is Scott Linden, one of the most recognizable voices in the world of wingshooting and bird dogs. Scott is the creator and host of Wingshooting USA, an award-winning outdoor television series, longtime outdoor writer, seminar speaker, and author of What the Dogs Taught Me. From teaching fly fishing and directing school bands to producing some of the outdoor industry’s most respected m...

Matt Fruge is a cattle feedlot consulting veterinarian who’s built a life around both livestock and the landscapes they depend on. Raised in southwest Louisiana and now rooted in the West after nearly a decade in Nebraska, Matt balances a busy family life with a deep obsession for upland hunting. Whether it’s chasing prairie grouse on horseback across big country or traveling state to state in pur...

Chris Ingram is a Vermont-based storyteller and sportsman dedicated to capturing the authentic connections between people, place, and the outdoors. A communicator by trade—working across government, nonprofits, and media—Chris brings a thoughtful, boots-on-the-ground perspective to conservation and community. He’s deeply involved in organizations like the Ruffed Grouse Society and Delta Waterfowl,...

Ryan Doughty is the voice behind A Break in the Action, a podcast dedicated to the world of shotguns and the sporting life. What started in 2019 as a creative outlet alongside a career in commercial banking has grown into a respected platform exploring everything from fine guns to bird hunting, clays, and the people who shape the culture around them. With over 25 years spent chasing birds behind d...

Jake Maricle grew up in the small town of Arcade, New York, and has spent the last 15 years honing his craft as a tattoo artist. About four years ago, he opened Old Gold Tattoo in nearby Yorkshire, building a name rooted in hard work and creativity. Outside the shop, Jake’s passion runs just as deep in the uplands—running three bird dogs, Rif, Kreek, and Brook, and chasing grouse across New York’s...

Stephen Biello grew up in the heart of South Philadelphia, just steps from the historic Italian Market, where his love for animals—and eventually hunting—first took root. Despite not coming from a hunting family, he carved his own path into the uplands through sheer grit, mentorship from neighborhood hunters, and a deep passion for bird dogs. From chasing the last of Pennsylvania’s wild pheasants...

From the hardwoods and creek bottoms of Northeast Ohio to the prairies and big woods of Minnesota, Colleen Foehrenbacher found her way into hunting in a way that’s becoming more and more important to the future of our community—she came to it as an adult. Raised in a family that valued nature, wildlife, and especially birds, she spent her early years exploring outside but never pulled a trigger or...

Not everyone who becomes a bird hunter grows up in a hunting family. For Joe Palmer, it started with a Scoutmaster who took the time to introduce a 13-year-old kid to Hunter’s Ed and his very first bird hunt behind dogs. That experience stuck. Even though he didn’t hunt much again until he turned 18 and bought his first shotgun, the spark was there for Joe.  Today he’s the co-owner of Bird Hunter...

Reid Bryant is a writer, editor, and storyteller who believes deeply in the lasting power of the written word. Living along the Mettawee River in Dorset, Vermont, Reid has built a life around the outdoors, bird dogs, and the traditions of upland hunting. A former farmer and teacher, Reid now works with Orvis on their hunting and shooting programs and serves as Editor at Large for Shooting Sportsma...

John Wallace has spent nearly two decades building a life around conservation, wild game, and family. Married for almost 20 years and a proud dad to three kids — two teenage boys and a 12-year-old daughter — John balances time in the field with time in the stands at ball games. With a degree in Fish and Wildlife, he built a 17-year conservation career working with the Ohio Department of Natural Re...

Keith Crowley is an award-winning outdoor journalist and photographer with more than four decades in the field, and a bird hunter since he first followed his father through the grouse woods of Minnesota in pursuit of “King Ruff.” While ruffed grouse remain close to his heart, Keith has become a passionate generalist, with a deep affinity for the birds of America’s grasslands and prairies. His work...

Blayten Winters grew up in northwest Iowa, where trapping with his dad and chasing pheasants sparked a lifelong passion for the outdoors. From running beaver sets for the county to hunting over farm-raised retrievers, bird hunting always had a strong pull. After a few years away from the field due to heavy work travel, he found his way back to pheasants, coyote calling, and fishing around the Des...

Today’s guest is Jared Anderson, the founder of Ballad of the Bird Dog in Brenham, Texas. Jared’s journey started with a bird dog named Skeet—not just a hunting partner, but a best friend who walked beside him through college, traveled the world with him, and ultimately taught him lessons of loyalty, patience, and simplicity. Skeet showed Jared what bird dogs have shown their masters for generatio...

The North American Grouse Partnership is on a mission to ensure a future where all 12 grouse species not only survive—but thrive—across the continent. Through science-driven conservation, smart policy, and strong partnerships, they’re working to protect and restore the habitats these birds depend on. With a special focus on prairie grouse, they’re tackling one of the most threatened ecosystems in...

CJ Moore is a Georgia outdoorsman whose hunting roots run deep in family tradition and a lifelong love for working dogs. A lifelong resident of west-central Georgia, CJ is married to his high school sweetheart, Kasey, and together they’re raising two boys, Lukas and Layne. These days, much of his time outdoors is shaped by fatherhood, sharing the same woods and fields with his sons that first shap...

Serving as the Forest Conservation Director for the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont Region, Sara Cerv brings a deep-rooted commitment to sustainable forestry and wildlife habitat management through the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society. Inspired by the strong conservation ethic upheld by RGS & AWS, she joined the organization to advance science-based forest stewardship across...

Tony Mullinax is a South Carolina outdoorsman, artist, and man of deep faith whose life has been shaped by family, loss, and a lifelong connection to the land. Raised in Cherokee County, where he still lives with his wife, Tony is the proud father of three grown children and grandfather to two. Many of his best days are spent hunting and fishing with his sons, continuing traditions first passed do...

Evan Moak is a Washington-based upland hunter who came to bird hunting later in life and isn’t shy about the steep learning curve that came with it. Living in Puyallup (PEW ALL UP) with his wife Amber, their daughter Martha, and two dogs, Evan’s journey into the uplands truly began with Pete, his American Brittany and first bird dog. What started with preserve birds quickly grew into an obsession...

Ryan Sparks is a storyteller of the sporting life, using both writing and photography to capture his passions for fishing, hunting, wild food, rivers, mountains, and bird dogs. He’s the editor of Quail Forever Journal and a senior contributor to NEBRASKAland, and he previously founded and led Strung Sporting Journal. Ryan’s work has appeared in many of the most respected outdoor publications in th...

Aaron Hepler has been drawn to the outdoors since he began hunting at 12 years old, a passion that also sparked his love for writing. A Pennsylvania native, he spends his free time bowhunting, chasing upland birds, fishing, camping, and hiking with his family. His relationship with God is paramount and believes that the created world is something to be cherished. He also holds that time spent outd...

Collin Kelly is the founder and owner of Elkhorn Coffee, a specialty-grade coffee roaster based in Elkhorn, Nebraska. He studied exercise science at the University of Nebraska Omaha before pursuing an MBA at Colorado State University, where the idea for Elkhorn Coffee was born. Inspired by its hometown and the historic Elkhorn Ranch, where Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation ethic took shape in the...

Kyle Hedges and Frank Loncarich are lifelong upland hunters and professional wildlife biologists whose careers have focused on quail, grasslands, and habitat conservation across the Midwest. Kyle was raised in southeast Kansas hunting quail with his family and later attended Kansas State University. He began his career managing more than 60,000 acres of public land at Fort Riley, Kansas, before mo...

Patrick Hunter was born and raised in the Carolinas, growing up between the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and his grandparents’ farm in the South Carolina Lowcountry. These two landscapes sparked his lifelong passion for hunting, fishing, and the outdoors. A fourth-generation hunter, Patrick carries a deep-rooted legacy in the traditions of quail and duck hunting, though his favorite purs...