Have you ever wondered how elk or other big game change their distribution when facing hunter pressure? Do they respond to different hunters differently whether it's archery or rifle season? What if elk aren't targeted but other hunters are in the area? This week, we dive into research by Joshua Smith and his colleagues out of Oregon to answer these questions. In this study, bull elk are tracked during various hunting seasons and the researchers looked at how they changed the amount they move around, the habitat that they select, and their distribution on the landscape. Check it out to increase your chances on your next hunt!

If you want to see more from the paper, you can read the document at this link.

This week we are excited to have Brittney Parker from BHA join us to talk about the ways recreationists impact wildlife in the outdoors. Britt has spent a lot of time thinking about this topic and wrote up a great article on it that you can find at this link. As the human population grows and more people access public lands, recreational trails will see more use and become more present on the natural landscape. But what does that mean for the wildlife that depend on those places? We dive into a study by Michael Wisdom and colleagues that assessed how elk in Oregon respond to four types of recreation: ATVs, mountain bikes, hikers, and horseback riders. As you’d probably expect, elk aren’t too happy when people are in the woods with them. We consider how all outdoor recreationists, not just hunters, impact wildlife and discuss ways we as outdoors enthusiasts may be able to minimize that impact. Enjoy the episode!

You can read the full paper by Michael Wisdom at this link

This week we dive into some of the complexities associatedwith conservation and wildlife management focusing on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. We are joined by the Chief Conservation Officer with FWC, George Warthen, to learn how the commission operates and uses facts and science to inform their decisions and policies. We also discuss some history of conservation and recognize how challenges that were faced in the past are still common today. Enjoy the episode!

Announcements:

- Fish and Wildlife ConservationCommission meeting on August 13th and 14th to discuss apotential bear hunt - ⁠link⁠

- Colorado Chapter of Backcountry Hunters andAnglers annual Rendezvous August 8th-10th - ⁠link⁠