From elk hunting on the vast Zumwalt Prairie Preserve to noodling for catfish in Tennessee, MeatEater’s Director of Conservation Ryan “Cal” Callaghan is known to have some interesting weeks. He’s taking his Cal’s Week in Review podcast into the field for this new series. watch the videos below and be sure to subscribe to the podcast.
Cal in the Field – Ep. 1: Elk on the Prairie
On this episode of Cal’s Week in Review: In the Field, MeatEater’s Director of Conservation Ryan Callaghan heads to the Zumwalt Preserve, which is 37,000 acres of bunch grass prairie that look like heaven at first glance. Owned and operated by the Nature Conservancy, bow and rifle hunting are used as tools in the elk management plan. Hunters move elk around the prairie to prevent overgrazing and mitigate the presence of invasive weeds. Although Cal is the only hunter on the preserve with a bull tag—open terrain and large wary herds make hunting these elk more like hell. In the end he puts the pieces together and earns it the hard way. #fueledbynature
Cal in the Field – Ep. 2: Invasive Carp and Catfish Noodling
In this episode of Cal’s Week in Review: In the Field, MeatEater’s Director of Conservation, Ryan Callaghan heads to Tennessee to see how the recent addition of invasive Asian carp to the ecosystem is affecting fishing, recreation, and the environment. With the help of the TWRA, he meets with biologists, commercial processors, outfitters, and even tries his hand at noodling for flathead catfish. When it’s all said and done, they put this invasive newcomer up against two southern favorites—crappie and flathead—tune in to find out which fish wins the taste test. #fueledbynature
Cal in the Field – Ep. 3: Mule Deer by Canoe with OnX
In this episode of Cal’s Week in Review: In the Field, MeatEater’s Director of Conservation, Ryan Callaghann and Eric Siegfried of onX navigate around the crowds and into a hard to access piece of public land in Montana for a mule deer rifle hunt. Eric uses his E-scouting expertise alongside Cal’s river savvy to get to a spot that would be unknown and possibly forgotten without the public land data provided by onX—also a canoe, they’ll need a canoe. #fueledbynature
Want to spend more time with Cal?
Tune in every Sunday for Cal’s Week in Review, a podcast delivering a unique spin on outdoor news designed for folks that need to know what’s going on, and those who want to pretend they do. You can also pick up some badass Cal’s Week in Review merch here.
