MOJO’S Duck Season Somewhere Podcast
EP 491. Land Man Ronnie Richardson
A hunter since way back when, Ronnie Richardson explains that it’s not about killing, so much as it’s about experiencing places. National Land Realty’s CEO, Richardson’s wealth of knowledge in recreational and investment properties was derived the old-fashioned way–by spending decades doing it well. And it’s been these two things–hunting and land–that’ve kept us in touch since high school. We catch up today, talking about people, places, and hunting land. Good stuff.
EP 489. Important Considerations: Old Dogs and Aging Retrievers
“Her hips are beautiful and knees look great, but at her age one of the biggest risk is blowing out her ACL like aging athletes do,” said veterinarian Dr. Bill Sullivan during Char Dawg’s recent visit. She’s only 6 years old. In today’s highly informative conversation, we cover need-to-know, aging-retriever topics quicker than a hard-charging lab through sheet water. Topics include retriever aging, conditioning, expectations versus reality, avian influenza, dietary needs, training versus hunting, major threats to aging retriever health (some you’d never think of) and much, much more. Seriously good info concerning your ride-or-die canine partner’s health on the back side of their way too brief career. Listen and let us know your thoughts.
EP 485. Habitat Management: Emergent Marsh Wetlands Magic (Part 2)
Now among the scarcest waterfowl habitat in the delta, it was emergent wetland-type habitats that sustained overwintering migratory in their heavily forested, ancestral Deep South wintering grounds. What exactly are emergent wetlands, and why are they so desirable when managing for duck habitat? Building on our previous discussion (EP 483.), wildlife biologist Kevin Nelms deftly slogs mid-thigh deep into this swampy topic, explaining emergent marsh productivity relative to other habitat types, important need-to-know water depths and timing, hemi-marsh concepts, plant communities, hands-off benefits, type invertebrates and their critical importance to both ducks and habitat managers. Under the right conditions, it’s almost as easy as just putting your boards in and walking away, and after hearing this conversation it’s possibly something worth considering.
As USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Wildlife Biologist in the Mississippi Delta, Nelms has spent decades designing and developing numerous private-lands waterfowl impoundments. He’s worked extensively with private landowners throughout the region, improving desirable waterfowl habitat conditions, enhancing duck utilization, even putting together a handbook that’s considered a must-have staple for waterfowl habitat management (see related links below for your own PDF copy). Contact Kevin Nelms at kevin.nelms@USDA.gov.
EP 490. Duck Hunter Satisfaction
“I want the biggest pile of dead ducks over the longest period of time,” implies the maximum sustained yield model by which North America’s waterfowl populations are managed. North America likely harvests more waterfowl than the rest of the world combined. But is it really what hunters want? To hear a few grumbling internet malcontents, you’d think maybe not–but what does the data say? Former Migratory Bird Chief Brad Border is back, discussing North American Waterfowl Management Goals and changes, measuring and managing hunter satisfaction, North America waterfowl harvest levels, maximum sustained yield–and consequences–duck hunter participation declines and implications, and much, much more! These hot-button topics are making the rounds. Listen, learn, let us know your thoughts.
EP 488. Mississippi Delta Supper Club Influences
For Chef David Crews, growing up in Mississippi’s Delta was inspiration enough. He describes how home-cooked meals and a his first part-time job while a teenager got him started. We talk about the unique Mississippi delta culture, the many iconic resturants located throughout this relatively remote area where folks don’t blink at an hour-plus drives down dusty turnrows to enjoy dinner, how hot tamales became a staple, the Delta Supper Club that attracted renowned chefs and out-of-state member patrons from throughout the United States, cooking on reality TV, and giving weekly cruise ship tourists a true taste of the Mississippi Delta. And when asked his personal favorite go-to comfort food? Well, I reckon that, too, goes back to his Delta roots.
EP 487. Long Point Ontario Diver Hunting
Mallards may be the so-called rockstars of the duck hunting universe, but not if you were born and raised on Long Point, Ontario, where massive diver rafts on Lake Erie form ravenous swarms that strafe your ice-encased layout rigs when the weather’s just right. And especially not if you’re a third-generation diver hunter and boat builder like Jayden Bankes, who excitedly describes bluebills, redheads, and king cans starved for lush wild celery beds so thick they bog outboards! Jayden takes us deep into his north-of-the-border duck hunting world, telling fascinating stories about the men, the ducks, the traditions and the legendary boats that forever shaped his big water world view. We should all be so lucky!
EP 486. Favoring Historic Arkansas Ecosystems as Waterfowl Habitat?
Five Oaks Ag Research and Education Center focuses it’s habitat management on Arkansas’s historic bottomland hardwood forest ecosystems, using the life history of mallards that have migrated there for eons as living proof of healthy habitat. Empasizing the whole bottomland ecosystem’s historic importance, Ryan Askren talks about moist-soil management, comparing it to conventional agricultural crops, listing the pros and cons, naming favored plant communities. We also get into bottomland hardwood management, why managing for early water and holding late water are absolutely essential, the hemi-marsh effect, and philopatric imprinting. Arkansas’s historic bottomland ecosystems attracted and sustained wintering mallards since time immemorial. And to hear Askren describe it, with similar management they will continue to do so.
EP 484. Rocky Leflore–The End of The Line Podcast
The man, the myth, the legend–the waterfowl podcast godfather and host of The End of the Line Podcast himself–Rocky Leflore pays a long overdue visit and catches up. Rocky’s in-depth interviews with waterfowl hunters culminated in popular, episodic series such as Redemption, The Warden, Becoming Martin, Mondays With Rob, The Innovator, Thunder Rolls, and many more, taking us deep behind the scenes. The Life’s Short GetDucks series brought me into the podcast world, and for that am thankful. The End of the Line Podcast ended abruptly during the pandemic–when you come to a fork in the road take it–but Rocky fills in lots of blanks, reminding us about who he was as a duck hunter and person, how he got into podcasting, why he left, what he enjoyed about it and misses most, what he learned, the challenges of converting a chatroom to social media, and more. He also provides an update about the famous Mossy Island story. It was great catching up with our old friend, and already looking forward to having him on again.
EP 483. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Rethinking “Seed Mentality” (Part 1)
As USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Wildlife Biologist in the Mississippi Delta, Nelms has spent decades designing and developing numerous private-lands waterfowl impoundments. He’s worked extensively with private landowners throughout the region, improving desirable waterfowl habitat conditions, enhancing duck utilization, even putting together a handbook that’s considered a must-have staple for waterfowl habitat management (see related links below for your own PDF copy). Contact Kevin Nelms at kevin.nelms@USDA.gov.
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Related Links:
Wetlands Management for Waterfowl Handbook (PDF)
Managing Moist-Soil Impoundments (YouTube)
Other Need-to-Hear Habitat Episodes:
EP 125. Wetland Management for Waterfowl Habitat 1/3
EP 127. Wetland Management for Waterfowl 2/3
EP 129. Wetland Management for Waterfowl 3/3
EP 175. Wetlands Management for Waterfowl: Fall Considerations
EP 235. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Producing Desirable Moist-soil Vegetation
EP 237. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Controlling Problem Plants
EP 245. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Planting Agricultural Hot Crops
EP 254. Waterfowl Habitat Management: Good Intentions, Bad Ideas, Mismanagement
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EP 482. The Shotgun Conservationist
“How do I pay Mother Nature to make wild animals instead?” asks Brant McDuff from Brooklyn, New York, who grew up shooting shotguns, didn’t start hunting until recently, and is fervently spreading hunting gospel via speaking engagements, hunter’s ed courses and a fresh-off-the-press book. Yeah yeah, hunting is conservation. But coming from outside the cradle-to-grave hunting community, Brant brings fresh viewpoints to include venison diplomacy, preservation versus conservation, natural fiber versus synthetics, meat versus something else, virtue signaling versus land ethic, wildlife disturbances and rewilding nature from mountain cyclist/backpacker (I may have used the catchall word “granola”) as compared to hunters, social media representations, stigmatized words like trophy and hunting, and more. Ninety-six percent of Americans do not hunt. What now?
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Check out Brant McDuff’s book:
The Shotgun Conservationist: Why Environmentalists Should Love Hunting
As strong advocates of conservation, GetDucks.com supports the following organizations:
On GetDucks.com
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