Wildlife Management Institute

Season 3: Episode 21: Teaching Hunting Across America with Eric Morris What does it take to bring a new generation of hunters and anglers ...

What does it take to bring a new generation of hunters and anglers into the outdoors, especially from communities that have historically been shut out, left out, or simply never invited in? In Season 3, Episode 21 of Connecting with Conservation, co-hosts Jon Gassett of the Wildlife Management Institute and Jim Curcuruto of the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation sit down with Eric Morris, founder of Black Wolf Hunting Club and Non-Typical Outdoorsmen, a Georgia-based hunter, Army veteran, and one of conservation's most candid and committed voices on diversity, recruitment, and retention in the outdoors. Eric retired from the Army as a Major in 2016 after three combat tours, two to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, and asked himself one question: what would he do for the rest of his life whether he got paid or not? The answer was teaching people to hunt. He has been doing it ever since, and his approach is as no-nonsense as his military background would suggest.

The conversation covers the full arc of Eric's journey, from founding Black Wolf Hunting Club in 2010 to launching Non-Typical Outdoorsmen TV on the Pursuit Channel, growing that show to nearly 75,000 viewing households before cable's decline forced it into hiatus, and now delivering hunter education workshops, firearm safety classes for kids as young as five, and mentored hunts across the Southeast and beyond. Eric and Jon dig into one of the most important and underappreciated debates in the R3 space, whether to recruit kids or adults first, and Eric makes a compelling, experience-backed case that reaching parents first is the key to unlocking generational change. He also reflects candidly on the history that has kept many Black Americans out of the woods, the perception barriers that remain, and why he refuses to let those barriers be an excuse.

This is not a polished, politically careful conversation. It is honest, direct, and sometimes uncomfortable in exactly the way that productive conversations about conservation's future need to be. Eric Morris has been walking this walk for nearly 16 years, and the ripple effects of his work, from Darrell Smith's Minority Outdoor Alliance to Ivan Ford teaching his eight-year-old son to hunt, are the proof. This episode is sponsored by OpticsPlanet.

For more information, find us at:
• Wildlife Management Institute: https://wildlifemanagement.institute
• Outdoor Stewards of Conservation: https://stewardsofconservation.org
• Non-Typical Outdoorsmen: https://www.facebook.com/EricN.T.OMorris
• Optics Planet: https://www.opticsplanet.com

Season 3: Episode 21: Teaching Hunting Across America with Eric Morris What does it take to bring a new generation of hunters and anglers ...

If you've ever wondered what it takes to manage wildlife and fish across two thirds of a continent, this episode has your answer. In Season 3, Episode 20 of Connecting with Conservation, co-hosts Jon Gassett of the Wildlife Management Institute and Jim Curcuruto of the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation sit down with Zach Lowe, Executive Director of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA). WAFWA represents 23 states, provinces, and territories stretching from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic, encompassing more than 1,500 species and roughly 18,000 fish and wildlife employees. Zach brings a unique perspective to the conversation, having started his career as a prairie habitat specialist and Farm Bill extension biologist before spending 13 years at the McGraw Foundation leading the Conservation Leaders for Tomorrow program, and ultimately landing in the executive director's chair at WAFWA five years ago.

The conversation covers the full sweep of what makes western wildlife management genuinely different from the rest of the country, from the scale of federal land ownership and the politics of multi-jurisdictional management to the quirks of shed hunting regulations and the lottery-level odds of pulling a float permit for Hells Canyon. Zach and Jon dig into how harsh western winters drive boom-and-bust cycles in pronghorn, mule deer, and elk populations, why tag quotas are a biological necessity and not a punishment for non-residents, and how WAFWA's big game migration and connectivity initiative is working at a biome scale that most conservation organizations can't match. On the fisheries side, Zach walks through three of WAFWA's fish habitat partnerships, including the Western Native Trout Challenge, the Desert Fish Habitat Partnership, and the newly expanding Great Plains Fish Habitat Partnership, and introduces one of the most innovative fisheries tools in the conservation toolbox: the Trojan Male Fish program, which uses genetically conditioned hatchery fish to crowd out invasive brook trout and, potentially, carp from western watersheds.

Whether you're a hunter chasing elk tags in Wyoming, an angler working to check off native cutthroat subspecies, or simply someone who wants to understand how the vast, complicated, and spectacular American West is managed for wildlife, this is a conversation worth your time. WAFWA may not be a household name, but the work it does shapes hunting seasons, fish populations, and habitat conservation across the largest wildlife management jurisdiction on the continent.

To learn more, find us at:
Wildlife Management Institute: https://wildlifemanagement.institute
Outdoor Stewards of Conservation: https://stewardsofconservation.org
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies: https://wafwa.org

Season 3: Episode 20: Managing Wildlife Across Two Thirds of a Continent If you've ever wondered what it takes to manage wildlife and fish a...

Season 3: Episode 20: Managing Wildlife Across Two Thirds of a Continent If you've ever wondered what it takes to manage wildlife and fish a...

Season 3: Episode 19: Wildlife Habitat in the Intermountain West. Water, fire, sagebrush, and the vast open landscapes of the America...

Water, fire, sagebrush, and the vast open landscapes of the American West are at the heart of this week's conversation. In Season 3, Episode 19 of Connecting with Conservation, co-hosts Jon Gassett of the Wildlife Management Institute and Jim Curcuruto of the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation welcome two guests from the Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV): Hannah Nikonow, Communications and Marketing Coordinator, and Charlie Holtz, Field Delivery Capacity Coordinator. Together, they pull back the curtain on one of the largest, and least talked about, conservation partnerships in the United States, one that spans 11 states, roughly half a billion acres, and three of the West's most critical habitat types: sagebrush rangelands, working water and wetlands, and dry frequent-fire forests.

Hannah and Charlie walk listeners through what the IWJV does on the ground, from helping multi-generational ranching families implement conservation practices on their working lands, to placing conservation professionals within BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, and NRCS offices to deliver habitat programs where they're needed most. The conversation ranges from the mechanics of beaver dam analogs and low-tech stream restoration to the challenges of invasive annual grasses, encroaching conifers, big game migration corridors, and the West's intensifying water scarcity. Hannah also shares the IWJV's innovative approach to public outreach, including hands-on journalist field workshops that take reporters into sagebrush country and along the Bear River corridor to see conservation work firsthand rather than just reading a press release.

Whether you're a wildlife professional, a western landowner, a hunter chasing sage grouse and pronghorn across public lands, or simply someone who wants to understand how the vast open spaces of the Intermountain West are being protected and restored, this episode delivers. The IWJV is one of conservation's unsung institutions, and this conversation is a compelling reminder that the people, partnerships, and funding mechanisms behind the work matter just as much as the work itself. Learn more and explore their stories at IWJV.org.

For more Information, Visit Us at:
• Wildlife Management Institute: https://wildlifemanagement.institute
• Outdoor Stewards of Conservation: https://stewardsofconservation.org
• Intermountain West Joint Venture: https://iwjv.org

Season 3: Episode 19: Wildlife Habitat in the Intermountain West. Water, fire, sagebrush, and the vast open landscapes of the America...

Season 3: Episode 18: A Declining Icon: Mule Deer, Public Lands & the Fight to Turn the Tide What's happening to mule deer, and why should anyone west of the Mississippi care? In this episode of Connecting with Conservation, hosts Jon Gassett of the ...