BHA Podcast & Blast with Hal Herring

Hal Herring visits the headquarters of Vista Outdoor to talk with Vista Director of Conservation Ryan Bronson. Vista represents dozens of the most popular brands     of ammunition, guns and other outdoor gear and clothing, including BHA corporate partners Savage Arms, Federal Ammunition and Camp Chef. Bronson, a wildlife biologist by training, brings a unique perspective to the role of hunting and shooting in restoring and building America’s wildlife.

BHA Podcast & Blast, Public Lands Month BONUS Episode: Ryan Callaghan and Kenton Carruth of FirstLite

Last winter, Hal met some Southern wilderness warriors in the small town of Moulton, Alabama, at the headquarters of Wild South, where the mission is simple: “We inspire people to enjoy, value, and protect the amazing wild and natural places that belong to us – the public.”

Montana-based multimedia journalist and Outside magazine correspondent Elliott Woods served as a soldier in Iraq and was an embedded reporter in Afghanistan, where he won a National Magazine Award for his work. His film about elk hunting in the Durfee Hills of Montana – a parcel of public land completely blocked by private land held by the billionaire Wilks brothers – was released in 2017. This podcast was recorded along the Flathead River.

After almost two years of trying, Hal catches up with Adam Gall, visionary fishing and big game guide who, with his wife Ana, started Timber to Table Guide Service based in Paonia, Colorado. Adam's dream: to create a guide service for people who may never have hunted before but who want to learn the entire process. Adam’s business is about experience, the heritage of ethical hunting and conservation, and the freedom of the wild Colorado public lands where it all takes place.

Hal goes to Washington, D.C., with Land Tawney to hunt up Land’s sister Whitney, who has worked for Ducks Unlimited for seven years. More importantly, Whitney has just added a wild-eyed new conservation and hunting legend to the family line: a baby named Henry Philip who joins the group briefly in this ferociously wide ranging conversation about roots, family, waterfowl and elk – and making sure that what we love the most is around for the next generation.

In this episode Hal catches up with T. Edward Nickens, editor at large at Field & Stream magazine and author of the Total Outdoorsman Series of books. Eddie is an old-school Southern gentleman and a consummate outdoorsman and conservation leader, and he writes about it all with the depth and passion of the greatest of the Romantic poets. Eddie and Hal had a huge amount of pure fun doing this podcast.

Hal Herring and longtime BHA member and British Columbian Bill Hanlon swap stories in Whitefish, Montana. Hanlon tells the tale of his incredible 1999 adventure that begins with a Dall sheep hunt in northern British Columbia and ends with a wild discovery of the remains of an ancient hunter. It's a story of one hunting culture connecting with another over the centuries and into modern times. This is a hunting journey like no other, and it's not to be missed. 

Hal Herring goes to Washington, D.C., to talk with members of Congress about hunting, fishing and public lands and waters. Sen. Michael Bennet (D) of Colorado, Dr. Roger Marshall of Kansas (R), Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico (D) and Sen. Richard Burr (R) of North Carolina meet one-on-one with Hal, zeroing in on the Land and Water Conservation Fund and its importance to public access. BHA Conservation Director John Gale offers additional insights on the LWCF and why it matters to sportsmen and women.

Hal Herring talks with David Ledford, president and CEO of the Appalachian Wildlife Foundation. They discuss Ledford's history as a biologist, the accidental wildlife boom on reclaimed mines, how the private sector works with conservation, tracking birds with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Kentucky's wildlife success story, the differences between mountain lions and bobcats, diversifying the future of coal country, fundraising for the Appalachian Wildlife Center and more.

Hal Herring talks with father and son team Barry Whitehill of Alaska and Kai Whitehill of Montana at the 7th Annual BHA North American Rendezvous in Boise, Idaho.  The outfitters and BHA life members talk with Hal about growing into an appreciation of wild places, snaring a rabbit, barbecuing iguanas, occupying ancient campsites, the unpredictability of The Grizz and an adventure worthy of a Stephen King novel. 

Hal Herring sits down with Johnny Carrol Sain, a writer and native Arkansan who lives in Newton County, Arkansas.  They discuss the legend of the Dover Lights, learning to fly fish, Ned Christie's troubles, 30 years of bowhunting, the author David Petersen, the spiritual nature of hunting, squirrel dogs, water quality in the South, the meaning of purple paint, Robert Redford's The Unforeseen, incentivizing conservation, crappie fishing and the wild breadth of the Arkansas River.

Hal Herring talks with Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia and legendary outdoorsman, at the 2018 BHA North American Rendezvous in Boise, Idaho. They discuss Chouinard's roots, hunting jackrabbits with goshawks, replacing stuff with knowledge, a business borne of necessity, Chouinard's climbing crew, rugby shirts and corduroy pants, the Patagonia method of management, the cure for depression, national monuments, an agricultural revolution and the joys of simplicity.

Hal Herring talks with historian and conservationist Lamar Marshall in Calloway, North Carolina.  They discuss Lamar's work with members of the Cherokee nation to conserve the Bankhead National Forest, the Forest Service policing their own, good stewardship of the Earth, converting hardwood to loblolly pine, mapping historic trails in North Carolina, the importance of chestnuts, hunting and fishing in the South, homesteading, Lamar's favorite books, and much more. 

Hal Herring talks with Brandon Butler, Executive Director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri.  They discuss Missouri's historic conservation ethic, Indiana's Kankakee swamp, bowhunting and Fred Bear, Brandon's place in eastern conservation and his first trip west, bringing back whitetails and turkeys, the special culture of the Ozarks, staying active in democracy and much more.