00:00:02 Speaker 1: From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is Cal's Weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers dot com. Now Here's Your Host. Ryan cal Callahan, the. 00:00:22 Speaker 2: Host of a popular hunting show in Canada, has pleaded guilty to multiple wildlife crimes and has been fined more than thirty thousand dollars. Michael bow Yu or bow Lou Michael Blue. Let's gonna go with Blue Like Blue the Bear is the host of the Alpine Carnivore TV show, and you may also know him from a popular Instagram account I assume by the same name. According to law enforcement officials, Blue and his wife committed these crimes in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one in both Alberta and British Columbia. Search warrants of their home and office uncovered tons of evidence, including sheep and moose parts that were matched with kill sites in Alberta. Shellcasings from the sheep killed in Alberta also matched the firearm officer seized in British Columbia. What did these two admit to doing in British Columbia? Blue admitted to allowing his hunting license to be used by another party and was fined forty five hundred dollars. His wife, Lynn, admitted to hunting without a license and received a two thousand dollars penalty. They will also be banned from hunting in the province for one year. Their crimes in Alberta were even more serious. There, they admitted to hunting without a license, hunting in a closed season, unlawful possession of wildlife, unlawful export of wildlife, providing false information, as well as abusing license requirements in relation to the killing of big horned sheep, antlered moose and antlered elk within a protected wilderness area. The pair was fined twenty five thousand dollars. In addition, all wildlife seized was forfeited to the government. For his part, Blue posted a video online apologizing to his fans for his actions and admitting to the violations for which he was convicted, but he claims that he never meant to break any laws on any of the three hunts in question. On the sheep hunt, he says he entered into an area he wasn't allowed to hunt without realizing it. On the moose hunt. He says he didn't realize that in Alberta, unlike in Ontario, the province he grew up in, it's illegal for either of two hunters to shoot at an animal with only one tag. On the bear hunt, he says he let his wife use one of his bear tags again without realizing that that was illegal. Now, there's a lot of unknowns when you're talking about the actions of another person that you don't know, and you weren't there and you've never met. So I'm not going to take that on. But Giannis ptell Us a meat Eater fame, a man who has Yanni, how many episodes have you produced? 00:02:48 Speaker 3: Yeah? 00:02:50 Speaker 2: Fifty? He has produced around fifty episodes of the Meat Eater Show himself. He also runs his own show that you can see acrossultiple channels. The guy's got a lot of experience, and so I'm gonna dip off and let you listen to Jannis Pitelisa's subtle tones on what he thinks could be the motivation for stepping outside the law or maybe just not knowing what you're doing when you're out there running a TV show. 00:03:17 Speaker 3: Okay, that's right. 00:03:19 Speaker 4: Cal fifty episodes approximately of Meat eater and I don't know how many more of my own. And yes, we have learned over the years that all of the United States different states, and we've traveled, you know, into Canada and Mexico as well. Regulations do differ greatly from place to place. But I feel like, as as you know, the maker of hunting television, you have to stay on top of all those regulations. We would spend a lot of time not only researching them, but also you know, having other people sort of be the fallback and check and make sure that, you know, our licenses were in order. That being said, we're not one hundred percent clean. We have had some minor infractions, and when we figured out that that stuff happened, we would turn ourselves in and uh, you know, take care of whatever issue it was. It was always minor, nothing major. Like this guy. It seems as though this fella Blue stepped over the line big time. And uh, what his motivations are, I don't know, but it'd be hard for me just to uh to accept his apology and accept that he just didn't know what he was doing and didn't understand it. I mean, he's literally the definition of professional hunter. Professional hunter needs to know what the rules and REGs are there you have uh you know, if you disagree with Yanni, you can write into ask c a L. 00:04:45 Speaker 2: That's Ascal at meater dot com where we're gonna put the pro back in Professional Hunter. 00:04:51 Speaker 1: But just. 00:04:56 Speaker 2: This week we do have a real life no Joe pro on the show. Very special episode, Sarah Parker Paully, the director of the Missouri Department of Conservation, is going to talk about her impressive thirty year career in conservation, what makes Missouri a leader in wildlife management, and why she supports the agency's latest controversial move to change the turkey hunting regulations. If you care about conservation and state policy, as I know you do because you're listening to this podcast, it's not a conversation you want to miss. All right, friends and neighbors, we are on the line with Sarah Parker Paully, who is about to retire after a thirty year career at the Missouri Department of Conservation. She spent the last eight years as the director of the agency, which is a really big deal. I also see that you are the first female director in the history of the Missouri Department of Conservation. 00:06:00 Speaker 5: True, are you asking are you asking me if that's true. 00:06:03 Speaker 2: I just gave you some appropriate pause to see if you wanted to jump in. 00:06:06 Speaker 5: Hey, that sounded like that sounded like a question. 00:06:10 Speaker 6: No, I am the first female director, kel And just to correct you, I started my career more than thirty years ago with an apartment and I had a moved around a bit to other organizations as well, and then came back as the director, as you note, almost eight years ago. 00:06:31 Speaker 5: So anyway, said delight to join you today. 00:06:35 Speaker 3: Well, yeah, thank you so much. 00:06:36 Speaker 2: And I think it kind of a couple of reasons I really wanted to get you on the show. One is a conservation topic that we'll talk about a little later on. But the other is just Missouri. Missouri is talked about in conservation circles everywhere in very envious tones because Missouri does things a little bit differently on the funding side, because there's attacks that everybody contributes to that goes to conservation in Missouri. And I was wondering if you wouldn't mind letting our listeners know how that works and maybe how that came to be. 00:07:27 Speaker 6: You bet, that is as I go around the country and certainly as I talk to colleagues who are heading up other state fishal life agencies. I often hear from them how kind of in wistful tones, how they wish they had the same sort of funding source, And so I certainly understand that. But are what we call the Missouri model of conservation. It really dates back more than eight decades ago, and it's when what we call Amendment for Amendment four of the Constitution came about through initiative petition. And you know, that's an important feature that our agency was really founded by our Missouri public. And then several decades later, in the nineteen seventies, once again it was our Missouri public, through initiative petition that voted for and passed the Designed for Conservation, which does provide that one act of one cent sales tax that is sixty percent sometimes higher of sixty percent of our revenue source. So that you know, the Missouri model for us is grounded in citizen support throughout from beginning until now, and it's the most important feature of what we do here in Missouri in the way of Missouri conservation. 00:08:49 Speaker 3: That's that's amazing. 00:08:50 Speaker 2: And currently are there any threats to that funding model in Missouri? Because I know in years past that there's attempts to get some of that cash for other programs and take it out of wildlife and habitat. 00:09:10 Speaker 6: So you know, we always kind of reminisce, you know, nineteen thirty six Amendment four passes, which does create this independent Commission, a four member commission that I report to. That's governor appointed, confirmed by the Senate, and you know. 00:09:26 Speaker 5: So that model is pretty important. 00:09:28 Speaker 6: That commission has the authority for fish and wildlife regulations, passes our budget, passes major policies, hires the director, so they'll certainly they're in the process of looking for my replacement. So they have very important responsibilities. The very first attack by the legislature of that independent commission authority was the year after the commission came into being, so nineteen thirty seven they're finally in place. Nineteen thirty eight comes the first attack. It was with the sales tax in the nineteen seventies. We've seen legislative legislative attempts to tweak or divert some of. 00:10:11 Speaker 5: That funding, but they have not been successful. 00:10:16 Speaker 6: I think our citizenry, our public feels very strongly about conservation here. And I might add we're the only state that I'm aware of, we really have. 00:10:24 Speaker 5: Two different constitutional taxes. 00:10:27 Speaker 6: One is the one we just talked about, the one eighth of one cent that goes to the Missouri Department Conservation. But there is another tax that was passed maybe a decade after that, one a one tenth of one cent that goes to our state parks, which is part of another agency and soil and water efforts. So you know, Missourians held very very strongly about their natural resources, and you know both are significant funding sources for our agency and for the Department of Natural Resources. But to answer your question, throughout time, there have been slight of attempts non attempts through initiative petition or you know, attempts through through our public but the legislature always ripe with good ideas, so to speak, and none that have really moved. 00:11:17 Speaker 2: That's right, because not all good ideas are thought through all the way, right. 00:11:22 Speaker 5: That's right. That's exactly right. 00:11:25 Speaker 6: So I should have put idea good ideas for a podcast in air quotes, but so you know that, and legislature certainly has their right to to throw out some options. 00:11:38 Speaker 5: But we we. 00:11:40 Speaker 6: Have a legislature too that is pretty committed to the Missouri model of conservation, and they know that we are recognized nationally, that the model is recognized nationally. 00:11:50 Speaker 5: So the vast. 00:11:51 Speaker 6: Majority of our members of the legislature strongly support what the agency does and you know, supports conservation in Missouri. 00:11:59 Speaker 2: I do want to tell based on the citizenry of Missouri and being so proud of this. And back when I was living in Idaho, had a friend who was from Missouri and and didn't really know what all I was involved in. And when he found out that I was, you know, active in a lot of conservation efforts and working with different groups conservation groups, he showed up my doorstep with his entire life collection of the Missouri Conservation magazine that you put out and made it very very clear that those were just on loan, which I thought was a pretty serious testament to Missourians and their relationship to conservation efforts in the state. 00:12:54 Speaker 6: So we're pretty proud of that magazine. And by the way, you can now there's an a the mo con mag app so nowadays you can download it on any smartphone and so, but we're pretty pretty proud of that magazine. 00:13:10 Speaker 2: Heck, yeah, well, I think it's just it's awesome that that's open to everybody there in the state and give some more insight as to what the department's doing. So, yeah, thirty plus year career, and we have as you're setting your sights on retirement, we have all sorts of interesting things. I was just in Missouri hunting birds, hunting waterfowl. But we just had, you know, as one of the more serious spikes of avian influenza roll through last year and it seems to be not as severe this year. Chronic wasting diseases on the landscape, all sorts of things. Now, what have been kind of the biggest topics of your career, the things that the departments had to get involved with. 00:14:06 Speaker 6: Well, maybe I'll hitch just a couple under a couple of different categories. And so you mentioned some of the just resource challenges, So the challenges to our fish force and wildlife here in Missouri and cal you named a couple. We are seeing emerging diseases that we've not seen in the past. You mentioned chronic wasting disease. We spend a lot of our focus and resource on trying to minimize the spread of that, to really keep that prevalence right low. But that's not the only disease we're seen here, and so it is concerning. And so we have added a lot of additional capacity at the department to really focus on the health side of our fish and wildlife populations, and in fact have a brand new section under our science branch and have added some additional capacity there to really do our best to determine what are those existing and emerging threats to healthy, sustainable fish and widlife populations, and then how do we mitigate harm to them once they're on the landscape. So there is definitely those are new challenges that maybe my predecessor certainly didn't. They had their own challenges over the last eighty some years, not necessarily those challenges, but we've also seen a lot of opportunities as well in my tenure, certainly the opening of elk season, the opening of a black bear season, and so always trying to increase opportunity for those who hunt and fish in our state. Maybe under another category of just connecting people to the outdoors. I think one of the on the challenge side, you know this very well, just how society is changing, and it's a generational thing. It's just also a combination of many other things and other priorities. You know, we're competing for a time in many other ways, but we're just seeing a society that has become more and more disengaged from the out of doors and that is brought with concerns for somebody like me heading a conservation organization. So under the opportunity category, we've really tried to remind people of their conservation areas. We have about a thousand conservation areas around this state, about a million acres that we manage. We're trying to open our areas to new opportunities. Maybe you don't hunt and fish, but maybe you like to bike, or bird, or rock climb or do other things. We have a brand new branch of the agency that is focused on ensuring that we are relevant to new audiences and so that's a generational thing, but it's also urban. Whatever your background may be, we want you to see yourself as the Missouri Department of Conservations serving you, and so we've added new capacity there as well. We're focused on communities that we'll call them underserved communities, because without the Department Conservation coming to them, I'm not sure they would even know we exist quite honestly, or would know the programs and services. So we've really refocused our efforts on community conservation as well. 00:17:29 Speaker 5: So biggest challenges. 00:17:30 Speaker 6: Probably in my tenure, as you noted just you know, continued loss of habitat, decline and species. Missouri alone has about seven hundred species that are in decline. You know, there's at least twelve thousand nationwide increase in disease. You know, certainly a disconnected society. So plenty of challenges face during my tenure, but we have really tried to reinforce all of the opportunities and to re enforce all of the benefits that conservation provides, not only for recreation, but I would say for our very quality of life. So it is, it has been daunting, but it has been such a privilege to serve alongside my team here at the Missouri Department of Conservation. 00:18:18 Speaker 2: Wow, so on the access side of things, that's one good story that made me think that we really need to get you on the on the podcast. So I want to hit that. But absolutely have to recognize the challenges of how these game agencies that they're really started as a game agency, the expectation is now to serve these broader constituencies. And and then there's always this concern of if we start to say this is for everybody, are we going to lose the hunting and fishing part if the other parts decide that they don't want that anymore? So how does Missouri handle that so far? Like what are the are there guardrails in place that say this is first and foremost a game agency? Do you see it as a threat. I'm piling this on you because I know you can handle it, But do you. 00:19:23 Speaker 3: See this as is it a threat. 00:19:26 Speaker 2: To fish and wildlife management and the continuation of the hunting and fishing of species that we've enjoyed by serving non hunting and fishing recreation interests. 00:19:43 Speaker 6: So cal that's probably not a new question opposed to me, And so I'm not sure how much time you have, but I'll try to hit some high points on that one. You know, first of all, I'm going to go back to our history and our mission. You know, even back in the nineteen thirties, certainly the first focus of our first director. 00:20:03 Speaker 5: It body longest serving director. 00:20:05 Speaker 6: I think he served like at least fifteen years. But though his first focus was absolutely game, species if you go back to the original records of who those citizens were who brought about proposition for that turned into Amendment for, it was all sorts of people. It was certainly sportsmen and women, but it was also members of garden clubs in Saint Louis and Kansas City. It was a pretty wide swath of constituencies that understood that if an agency could really be more independent than the existing agency, and had the law enforcement, had the science, had a little bit of the autonomy to make the right decisions to ensure sustainable of fish and wildlife and forest for us forced resources in the state, then that would benefit all Missourians. And so I'm going to tell you, even from the beginning, our mission statement has probably been a little broader than many state fish and wildlife agencies, where we have focused on sustainable and healthy populations and connecting people to those resources. Then with the Design for Conservation in the seventies, that promise to our citizenry in that campaign was really to offer resources to a much broader constituency than we'd even serve in the past. So the sales tax and large part past because we were promising those in the urban areas that they would have the opportunity for nature centers and fishing, lake accesses and new trails. So I feel like we've maybe had a longer go at this at serving a broader array of constituencies. Now it's you know, I think it's easy to kind of get in that binary discussion of hunting and fishing or and you and I know that those aren't the options. They're not the only options. So we say, do we want to broaden the tent? We do, and in part to ensure that a citizenry understands the value of hunting and fishing. If we have a citizenry that doesn't even know the name of the Department of Conservation, doesn't even know that we provide opportunities for people to hunt and fish, how in the world are they going to support hunting and fishing into the future, let alone other conservation related causes that we want them to support. So, for us, the biggest concern is a disengaged citizenry that doesn't even understand or know or care. That's the biggest concern for us. And so we are a yes, and do we want to continue to provide ample opportunities for our hunters and anglers you bet. 00:23:05 Speaker 5: They are our first there. 00:23:08 Speaker 6: It's like our first born there are you know, there are traditional stakeholders and we care about them deeply. But what we need to understand is in order to protect what they love and care about, they've got ensure we've all got ensure that the citizenry cares about what they care about. So that is a big step for us to get in. I guess my more detailed response is on each of our conservation areas, we have an area plan and area priorities. So if an area was intended to be primarily a waterfowl area, then we're going to protect that use as a primary use. Then if we want burners and others to come along, they'll be you know, there'll be a secondary We still want them to see it as their area. We still want them to benefit from that, but we try to ensure that our uses really minimize those conflict of uses, and so sometimes it means establishing primary uses on our areas. Now another conservation area, the primary use may be critical habitat for species in decline or at least a portion of that area, but that's the importance of area planning, so we know if the primary use is hunting or fishing. Then we do everything we can to protect that as a primary use during the appropriate seasons, but that we don't shut the rest of the public out to that helps support that area well. 00:24:35 Speaker 2: First of all, bin areas is very hip right now. We need to be able to put our groups in tidy little boxes. But I think that was a fantastic response because out here in the West, you may identify more as a mountain biker. 00:24:55 Speaker 3: But you also ski, you also hike. 00:24:59 Speaker 2: You also probably have a family dog, and if you're not hunting, you probably have somebody who at least gives you some elk meat during that time of year. 00:25:08 Speaker 3: So it. 00:25:10 Speaker 2: Is pretty comical when we get very defensive of the borders that we put around people. Right Furthermore, when you're doing habitat work because you want to shoot a quail or a pheasant out of that habitat that's only a small part of the year, and if you're doing the habitat work correctly, it supports a lot more life than just the quail in the pheasant, And that's messaging that we need to make sure people understand too. 00:25:42 Speaker 6: Absolutely cal Maybe one other thing I want to mention just about Missouri in the Midwest, perhaps it's a bit different than the Western states, and that is just a Missouri. Ninety three percent of our lands are in private land ownership, so we cannot accomplish anything really. I mean, we've got a footprint of a million acres and there's some additional public land here. But if we're going to be successful at all, we have to have the support of our private landowners and always have and so even with the creation of the department, really one of the first areas that was focused on was our private land work. I think we're one of the few state fishal life agencies that has an entire branch of private land specialists who really focus on that engagement relationship with our private landowners. But we spend a lot of time and effort focusing on private land cost share, technical assistance. But that also then goes to our capacity internally, where we have a pretty healthy social science group of folks who I think are very first social scientists for State Ficial Life Agency was with the Missouri Department of Conservation doctor Dan Whitter back in the late nineteen seventies. Because back to that founding of the of the agency by the citizen ry. 00:27:04 Speaker 5: It's been always. 00:27:04 Speaker 6: Important for us to ensure that we are hearing from our public. Often over two hundred thousand surveys a year go out to republic. We do a Conservation Monitor, which is a quarterly survey of random Missourians to ensure that they, you know, that we are being successful in maintaining the public trust. So I think I just want to ensure that you hear from me. Gauging the public's interests. Gauging the public's attitudes, whether it's about a wildlife regulation or about an area, has been a key part of our formula. 00:27:43 Speaker 2: Absolutely hear you loud and clear, there's our wildlife doesn't understand that they can't cross the three strand barbed wire fence. Would you would you like to talk about Swan Lake refuge. I know that's a federal refuge, but I hear that you were very helpful in getting the hunt program over there, that the area of public hunting back up and running right. 00:28:18 Speaker 5: So I think. 00:28:22 Speaker 6: One of my roles is to make sure that we are communicating with our colleagues and other state and federal agencies, and so you know, I do think that was That's why relationships are so key cal relationships are key in your industry. They're key among you know, government to government. And I will just say that I really appreciate the responsiveness of the Fish and Wildlife Service, I think in that situation. I know they certainly were limited and staffing capacity, but it was important for the Fish Life Service higher ups to understand just how important Swan Lake is to our waterfowl hunters and and I really appreciate their responsiveness in that instance. 00:29:14 Speaker 4: Yeah. 00:29:15 Speaker 2: Yeah, interesting coalition there, because I had spoken with some public land hunters through back country hunters and anglers, and then on the other side of the fence, I spoke with Tony vandmore a habitat flat which is you know, world famous private outfitter and in a pretty darn good size private land footprint, and you could see how your public hunters and your your private hunters could not align on. 00:29:51 Speaker 3: Odd some of this. 00:29:55 Speaker 5: Sorry about that. 00:29:56 Speaker 3: I have one that is the exact same. 00:30:01 Speaker 6: Eight months old, and he was told to stay in the other part of the house and he found a way in. 00:30:06 Speaker 3: So I fought that's great. 00:30:09 Speaker 2: Yes, for those who can't see it, Sarah was just a viciously attacked by her black lab it's a good, good looking bird dog from what I can see. But on this access issue, it was a pretty good overlap of interests that wanted the same thing. So the public hunting program, due to a lack of funding, was shut down at Swan Lake Refuge. The public folks wanted to be out there physically hunting it, and some of the private uh, you know, generational hunting, recreational properties, plus the outfitting properties wanted it open as well because they want people to have places to go and it helps move some birds around on on days when they need a little bump. So I thought that was that was a pretty good little project that we could point to for again, as you pointed out, it's not always buying area, It's not not always one way or the other. 00:31:16 Speaker 3: So that was. 00:31:16 Speaker 6: Again absolutely and you know, it probably is also an example and a little bit of defense of the official Live Service because I understand where they're at where with you know, we still have limited resources, and there's something about you know, infrastructure in uh, infrastructure that depends upon mother nature. We spend more time trying to resurrect infrastructure in floodplains or maintain infrastructure in our waterfowl areas hatcheries. We spend a big chunk of change just trying to maintain those opportunities, and sometimes mother nature wins out. I'm thinking of a couple of areas that we have fought repeated floods and we finally said, okay, maybe we need to recognize mother nature wins in this case and rethink how we offer those opportunities. So you know, it's it's never perfect, but I will say what I appreciate about backcountry hunters and anglers and Ducks Unlimited and other organizations is you know, when we all can come together and identify where we have that shared priority, a lot can happen. 00:32:26 Speaker 2: Yeah, and thank you for bringing up Ducks Unlimited as well. I believe they had ten million dollars into some habitat restoration and I think some blind work there at Swan Lake. So definitely a key player. And then do you do some hunting, you said. 00:32:48 Speaker 6: I'm an avid turkey hunter of an avid angler. I think I mentioned to you my husband's been a professional best fisherman for more than thirty years and headed to the to the snow goose. 00:33:01 Speaker 5: Blind here in a little while. 00:33:04 Speaker 6: So yeah, when I absolutely I wouldn't be in this business for over thirty years if I am. I am a bow hunter as well do the traditional things here in Missouri, but we are blessed with a diversity of opportunity. 00:33:19 Speaker 3: And is that going to be ramping up for you now that uh is season? 00:33:26 Speaker 6: That is I'm trying to finish my World Slam turkey wise, so headed to Mexico right about my departure time, and you better believe it's gonna ramp up. 00:33:36 Speaker 5: It's going to ramp up everybody. I You know, I've. 00:33:39 Speaker 6: Seen who's retired from the Department of Conservation, you know, a few months out. They look about twenty years younger because they've been spending time afield and away from the office. 00:33:49 Speaker 5: So I'm hoping the same outcome for me. 00:33:54 Speaker 2: Oh that's fantastic. Uh do you do joint to talk turkey? 00:33:59 Speaker 5: Sure? 00:34:00 Speaker 2: So Missouri just changed their turkey regulations and it's a big talking point. From stepping foot into Rogers Sporting Goods there to hanging out with Tony for a few days and everybody wants to know why the big change in turkey regulations in Missouri. 00:34:22 Speaker 5: Yeah, so nothing like talking turkey. 00:34:29 Speaker 6: Yeah, on the show me state where we care deeply about our turkey population. 00:34:35 Speaker 5: And you know, probably none more than than me. 00:34:40 Speaker 6: I care a lot about sustaining healthy populations into the future. 00:34:45 Speaker 5: You know, this is something. 00:34:46 Speaker 6: First of all, I will tell you that we've got just a top notch regulations committee. It's chaired by one of my deputy directors, Jason Sumners. 00:34:55 Speaker 5: Who. 00:34:57 Speaker 6: Certainly is is regionally an actionally known as an amazing biologist and just a great leader in the conservation space. He chairs our regulations committee. And so this really had been a while in the consideration. 00:35:13 Speaker 5: I mean, I will tell you. 00:35:15 Speaker 6: All day turkey season is a hot topic internally and externally, and as long as I've been at the department, you want to throw out an issue with our staff that passionate people on both sides of that discussion, and the same thing externally of can our populations really sustain the added opportunity? 00:35:39 Speaker 5: And so. 00:35:41 Speaker 2: And I'm sorry, Sarah, can I just to succinctly put this, and I should have done this at the beginning here, But we're moving from and we is Missouri is moving from more of a conservative set of hunting regulations for turkeys to a more liberal all set of regulations for turkeys, and would you mind just defining that so our non Missourians know what we're talking about. 00:36:09 Speaker 6: Cal you say, we've gone from a conservative model to a more liberal model, and so I would maybe beg to redefine that just a little bit. Missouri's always had, I think, a pretty conservative model, and I would say we still have a pretty conservative model. But what we have done is, you know, we've kept the season the same in the spring. We've kept the total bag limit the same. It's just we've gone from a one o'clock on private land only, from a one o'clock stop time to an all day season on private land only. 00:36:44 Speaker 5: So it's still a one o'clock stop time on public land. 00:36:48 Speaker 6: So as our brilliant scientists have modeled and modeled and modeled and calculated, they really believe strongly that the East opportunity and the spirit of relevancy and the spirit of recruiting, retaining, reactivating hunters in everything that we talked about at the beginning of how do we ensure this next generation is engaged in the out of doors, including and hunting. Had we heard from a lot of our stakeholders that you know, they're kiddos. You know, yes, the retirees could get out there, and you know some adults could get out there. But if we're really focused on this next generation, that the one o'clock stop time was a barrier. And so after a lot of really discussing with our scientific team and modeling that they do not believe that adding the all day component on private land is going to have an impact on populations at. 00:37:59 Speaker 5: This same time in the fall. 00:38:03 Speaker 6: Whereas prior, if you were both an archer, if you participate in archery and in the fall firearms turkey season, you could get to it with archery to birds either sex with archery, and two in the gun season. So potentially it was a very small population that actually harvests four, but it was still a possibility. We did limit that to two birds in total. So regardless of method, whether you're bow hunting, whether you're firearm hunting, you have a total of two birds you can take in the fall. So in some cases we became you know, a little more prescriptive or conservative fall season in which either sex can be harvested. So I believe it was a very balanced approach. As you may know, Missouri does a lot of turkey research. Certainly, in partnership with n WTF and other partners, we do a lot of turkey research. We've got I think three different turkey research projects going on right now, and we certainly would do nothing in the way of changing regulations that we think would negatively impact populations of our wild turkey. But you can imagine that we will stay very focused on how any changes to regulations might impact the populations, and if we see an impact that we have concerned about, then we'll certainly change the regulation back. 00:39:36 Speaker 5: But I do think this we found a sweet spot. 00:39:39 Speaker 6: Here where we are at least allowing not an extension of the season or an increase in bag limit, just the opportunity for all day on private land will be more conservative in the fall. 00:39:55 Speaker 5: So we think we found a sweet spot. 00:39:57 Speaker 6: But you can be sued we will be vigilant in in determining any potential impacts. 00:40:03 Speaker 2: I get the impression that this is a hotter topic than chronic disease in Missouri. 00:40:09 Speaker 6: Oh. Chronic waste and disease is also hot, especially if you're in one of the core areas. But well, you know what I've I've always said, cal is I would much rather have a passionate public that we may disagree with than a disinterested public. So bring on the passionate constituents who feel who have very different opinions on different topics. 00:40:36 Speaker 5: I'll take that any day. 00:40:38 Speaker 3: That's fantastic. 00:40:39 Speaker 2: And or do you have any passionate topics that you're going to stay on top of here in retirement. You said you are going to be joining a few boards or working with different conservation groups. 00:40:53 Speaker 6: Maybe I will be staying engaged with a couple of boards at the national level. And you know, again R three is an important topic for me, ensuring that we are doing everything we can to protect our hunting heritage, and still will stay engaged there. You know, there are a lot of topics that are of interest to me, and I think one of them too, is just in the spirit of relevancy. We started this discussion cal we're kind of talking about wildlife. 00:41:24 Speaker 5: Disease and. 00:41:27 Speaker 6: What's happening to nature, And I would say, what's happening to nature is probably akin to what's happening to us, right is just we see that it really is as our public becomes more and more unhealthy, it's kind of reflective of nature too. And yet I know that, you know, quality of life means that we're all thriving, that we're all flourishing, that our resources are flourishing, that our people are flourishing, the environment's flourishing, and so that connection, it kind of goes back to Leopold's land ethic of how do we better understand this interconnection between all of us and ensure that we are starting the land and our resources in the way we should and it probably leads to us taking better care of ourselves as well. But that interconnection, in that spirit of the land ethic, it's certainly a passionate topic of mine. And however, I figure out a way to ensure that my voices continued to be heard and continue to exert effort and focus where I can. 00:42:27 Speaker 2: That's great, great to hear if you wanted to point anyone in Missouri into areas where their voices could be heard. What is the best way to be involved in conservation in the state of Missouri? 00:42:44 Speaker 6: You know, I think one of them is the Conservation Federation of Missouri. And so we talked about our founding back in the nineteen thirties. It really was that organization, the Conservation Federation in Missouri that was instrumental in bringing people together to create the agency that is still our umbrella organization here represents you know, hundreds of different organizations and members. But we're delighted that Backcountry Hunters and Anglers also has a chapter now and has involvement here in Missouri. And I think that just think the world of them and just the whole grassroots focus of that organization. Obviously, I'm a big NWTF Nashwelle Turkey Federation, a fan and member. Pheasants and Quail are very active here in Missouri. We care a lot about that organization, as we do other organizations as well. So lots of opportunity here to engage. 00:43:45 Speaker 2: All right, folks, That's all I got for you this week. Remember, come out to pheasant Fest and hang out with some of us, talk about conservation, hit up the public land stage, lots of amazing people, fantastic dogs, and you get at rub shoulders with policymakers that are out there working on important things that affect all of us, like the farm bill. Plus, it's just like a whole lot of fun supporting one of my all time favorite habitat organizations. The other question, I get a ton of is like, what group should I join? How do I get involved? Well, one thing that PFQF that's Pheasants Forever Coil Forever does really really well is they bring in a ton of conservation groups from across the country, all under one big tent, so to speak. So at Pheasant Fest you can eat good food, have some adult beverages if you like, You can learn about a bunch of stuff, check out brand new gear from awesome brands, play with super cool dogs, and you can go talk face to face with people at all these different conservation organizations and sign up for the ones that you click with. That's all I got for you this week. Thank you so much for listening, and remember to write in to A s K C A L. That's Ascal at the meeteater dot com and let me know what's going on in your neck of the woods.

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