On The Wing Podcast Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologists Ciera Garner and Heather Francis to talk about the intersection between pollinator habitat for pollinating insects and brood habitat for upland birds. Garner is the organization’s pollinator coordinator in Tennessee and Francis is a farm bill biologist III and on-boarding coordinator in Nebraska. In fact, pollinators are so important to them both that Garner’s wedding earlier this spring included a variety of native wildflower components as did Francis’ youngest son’s wedding that happened on the very same day as Garner’s nuptials.

Episode Highlights:
• The group focuses their conversation on a Top 10 list of wildflowers as voted on by a sampling of PF & QF’s team of biologists.
• The criteria for the Top 10 list of wildflowers included each plant’s a) value in creating habitat structure; b) value as a food resource – both in seed produced as food, as well as the plant’s ability to attract soft-bodied insects as chick food; and c) as the wildcard value of the flower’s blooming beauty.
• Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are currently offering a special Pollinator Week package including a PF or QF membership, six wildflower plants, a “Habitat Creator” sticker, and a “Pollinator Habitat” sign. Check out the offer at: www.PheasantsForever.org/PollinatorWeek
www.QuailForever.org/PollinatorWeek


Thanks to our Pollinator Week partners:
• Corteva Agriscience
• Bayer U.S. Crop Science
• Syngenta US
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• Monarch Joint Venture
• Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Quail Forever Journal Editor Ryan Sparks for a conversation with Jesse Griffiths, a restauranteur, chef, cooking instructor, MeatEater contributor, and James Beard award-winning food writer. Griffiths wrote an article in the new summer edition of the Quail Forever Journal titled, “The Three Quail I’ve Known,” about wild, stocked, and farm-raised quail.

Episode Highlights:
• The conversation starts with a focus on quail hunting opportunities in Texas and how a love for eating quail can lead to a passion for quail habitat conservation.
• Sparks equates being a capable wild game cook at home to being able to read quality habitat for bird hunting. Both are equally important, but not always viewed as equals.
• Griffiths closes the conversation with a lightning round of his favorite way to prepare quail, favorite quail side dishes, and favorite quail libations.
Learn more about Jesse Griffiths by visiting the following sites:
- His restaurant Dai Due at https://www.daidue.com/home
- His books at https://www.thewildbooks.com/
- Follow Jesse on Instagram @sac.a.lait

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Mike Amman and Ashly Steinke, both volunteers with the Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, for a conversation about prairie grouse, barrens habitat, and dog training. When most folks think about sharp-tailed grouse and greater prairie chickens, they automatically think about the large expanses of prairie grasslands across the Dakotas or Montana or Nebraska. There is, however, a somewhat “secret” population of sharp-tailed grouse in Wisconsin’s brushland habitat.

Episode Highlights:

• Steinke, an ecologist with Audubon Society, shares his personal passion and professional knowledge focused on growing Wisconsin’s sharp-tailed grouse population through habitat management and brushland connectivity.
• Amman, a forester for Wisconsin’s Bayfield County, discusses his perspective on the importance of the state’s brushland habitat and the wildlife dependent upon this unique form of grasslands habitat, even though he’s also passionate about the state’s Northwoods forests.
• The guys also discuss the value Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society find in having a booth to recruit new members from all over the country at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic.
Learn more about sharp-tailed grouse in Wisconsin by visiting www.WiSharptails.org

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Irene Liu, Wenfei Tong, and Tom Swartwout, along with web developer and software engineer Ben Cooley for a “behind the scenes” conversation about the creation of the Map for Grasslands. The map is the output of a partnership spanning two years between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and more than two dozen conservation organizations working toward the creation of the North American Grasslands Conservation Act.

Episode Highlights:
• As a producer, editor, and director with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Center for Conservation Media, Swartwout explains his organization’s interest in grasslands conservation and his team’s role in turning data into a visual tool for the public.
• Liu and Tong discuss the data sources behind the map’s focus on bobwhite quail, pheasants, monarch butterflies, elk, and northern pintails as five of the fifteen different wildlife species highlighted within the www.MapForGrasslands.org.
• Cooley then explains how he turned the tremendous volume of data sources into a heart-breaking AND compelling story of the need for grasslands habitat conservation by utilizing the “martini glass” principle.

Continuing Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s special Women on the Wing podcast series, host Ashley Chance is joined by co-host Britta Petersen for a conversation with Dr. Jess McGuire who is the Senior Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) Bobwhite Program Manager. Jess shares stories about working on a variety of research projects, the ups and downs of conservation on private lands and why quail can save the uplands.

Episode Highlights:
• Why Jess has multiple unusual species in her freezer…. Cicadas anyone?
• Hear about Jess’s experience as a biologist climbing trees with a chainsaw to build red cockaded woodpecker habitat.
• How gopher tortoise conservation is quail conservation and why working with private landowners is extremely rewarding.
• The crew discusses how sharing their enthusiasm for the natural world with kids, neighbors, former teammates, and private landowners will save the world.
• Quail conservation at large and how creating and restoring habitat will produce more healthy and resilient quail populations.

To learn more about the Bobscapes app referenced in the podcast, visit: https://bobscapes.org/
Suddenly curious about gopher tortoises? Visit: https://gophergamesfilm.com/

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Nick Hoffman, a singer-songwriter, fiddle player, and host of “Nick’s Wild Ride” on Outdoor Channel and Bally’s Sports. At the age of 17, Hoffman ran away from his Minnesota home to chase musical dreams in Branson, Missouri, and then later to Nashville where he landed as the fiddle player in Kenny Chesney’s band. From there, Hoffman takes us on his “wild ride” in the music industry, and growing up in a non-hunting family to hosting an award-winning outdoor television show.
Episode Highlights:
• Hoffman discusses his growing interest in hunting while touring with Chesney for 12 years, then while as a co-founder of the trio The Farm. He then explains how he jumped from a successful musical career into outdoor television.
• The guys also talk about the importance of being a mentor beyond the initial introductory hunt, especially through failures.
• Hoffman also explains the role his grandfather, Harry Hoffman, played in the early days of Federal Ammunition and how it has all come full circle with Federal Ammunition as the longest tenured partner of “Nick’s Wild Ride.”