Wisconsin's Hunting Heritage

This week Noah talks with Hank Shaw of honest-food.net.  If you haven't heard of Hank, you really need to do it.  His books NEED to be in every hunter's kitchen. If you can legally hunt it in the United States, odds are good that Hank has a recipe for you.   Subjects discussed: How Hank is responsible for Noah starting a podcast; coming to hunting as an adult; going to the woods with a grocery list; the difference between game and domestic meats; the power of nostalgia when it comes to how we cook wild game; Hank needing to write Noah a note so he can hunt and fish more; what would Hank do?; who to call if you have an excess of ruffed grouse on your property, and more...

In this weeks episode Noah talks with TJ Hauge about the trials and tribulations of being a politically conscious hunter in the modern day and age.  Subjects discussed: Why TJ might get tazed; What hunters are supposed to do when it seems that neither party is 100% with us, TJ taking more notes in preparation for this episode than Noah ever has; Brinkley's "The Wilderness Warrior" and more... 

This week Noah speaks with Jeffrey Guerard of Wisconsin's Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.  Subjects discussed: BHA's coming to Wisconsin, the group's focus here, Green Decoys and the people who use that term, representing hunters on social media, walking the fine line of politics as a modern hunter.

In the second part of our Spring Hearing Special, Noah speaks with Josh Greil of Ten Point Crossbows about the question regarding creating a separate crossbow season.  He then speaks with Justin Vandehey, a fisheries biologist from UW-Stevens Point about some of the fishing questions that are on the ballot including changing the bag limit on the Winnebago System. 

The annual Conservation Congress Spring Hearings are being held April 9th at 7 p.m. in counties across the state.  This week Noah Talks to Larry Bonde the Chair of the Conservation Congress about the organization and how it works.  He then speaks with all around outdoors woman Skye Goode about some of the trapping questions that are on the ballot. Then he talks to TJ Hauge of the Wisconsin Backcountry Hunters and Anglers about a proposal to impose a fee on users of public lands across the state.

Dylan Jennings of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission talks with Noah about the rights of the tribes in the Ceded Territory.  Topics discussed: What GLIFWC does; Noah's tortured telling of the history of the treaties and their effect on hunting and fishing; Walleye spearing and it's regulations; why the tribes don't have to use torches and canoes while spearing; how the quota system works; Night hunting for deer; having a warden come out and check your night hunting spot in order to approve it; why it seems that some tribal members can shoot so many deer; the surprisingly low deer harvest by tribal hunters; the upcoming Elk Hunt and why the tribes get half of the tags.

Adrian Wydeven headed up the wolf recovery program for the DNR for over 20 years.  After retiring, he took a position with the Timber Wolf Alliance with Northland College.  There is probably no one in the state who knows more about these animals, and how they came to be back in Wisconsin. Subjects discussed: Why Noah held this episode for so long; how wolves came back to Wisconsin; Why people think that they were released back into WI by the DNR; What impact these animals have on the deer population; The long and sordid tale of the wolf's position on the Endangered Species List; what a proper population goal looks like; the possibility of a future wolf hunt.

"You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own facts." Paul Smith is the last full time outdoors writer employed by a daily newspaper in Wisconsin.  Subjects discussed: changes in the newspaper industry, changes in the DNR, changes in us as a hunting community, why Noah should learn to avoid social media debates, and how much Paul is charging for interviews...

Mike Foy is a retired wildlife biologist with the Wisconsin DNR.  He made the news when he presented a plan to combat Chronic Wasting Disease at the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Milwaukee.  His proposal is to pay hunters AND the landowners for each deer that tests positive for CWD. It may strike many hunters as absurd at first, but it may be our best shot to put this knock this disease out before it becomes unmanageable. For more information on this disease you can do no better than listening to the Meateater Podcast and Wired To Hunt episodes on the matter.

This week Noah talks with Robert Willging, author of On The Hunt, a book about the history of deer hunting in Wisconsin.  Topics discussed: the genesis of modern deer hunting in the state, deer wars, and the cyclical nature of hunting controversies.

This week Noah speaks with Jim Posewitz.  Jim has written a number of books that lay out the history of the hunting conservation movement in this country.  Every hunter needs to read these and to share them with all of their friends.  They might send a copy to their legislators as well.  Subjects discussed: The status of Wisconsin's wildlife in the 1940's and early 50's; the Packers; That "damned cowboy" becoming president; TR and Gifford Pinchot thumbing their noses at congress and then hitting the road to save us all; Germany, Kyrgyzstan, and Iraq as examples of what we might have become; the beautiful story of the passage of the Pittman Robertson Act; the Sirens calling to Ulysses; and what we risk by not knowing what those who came before us did to make sure that we could enjoy the hunting and fishing. 

This week's guest, Scott Zimmerman is the President of the Wisconsin Trappers' Association.  Subjects discussed include a brief overview of trapping, how to get into trapping, current legislation that affects trappers, trapping and social media.    

Scott Roepke of the Wisconsin DNR talks about the Elk Recovery program.  Subjects discussed: Where the Elk went? Why Kentucky? Elk v. Cars, Citizen involvement, the possibility of a hunt, why Scott won't hunt them here, how wolves are affecting the reintroduction efforts, CWD and the killing of a cow elk by the DNR for the protection of the herd.

This week Noah talks with former DNR Secretary George Meyer.  Subjects discussed: The pitfalls of a governor appointed secretary, politics and the DNR, the wetlands bill, wardens not being above the 4th amendment, posers in the legislature, and working for our children and grandchildren. 

This week Noah talks to retired DNR Wildlife Program Manager Tom Hauge.  Subjects discussed: Earn a Buck, CWD, the changing landscape in Wisconsin's DNR, Wisconsin's Green Fire, politics and wildlife, wolves and why the legislature may be putting too much at risk to delist them.

In this podcast, host Noah Wishau lays out what the reason that he is doing the series, and what he hopes to cover in future episodes.