Backwoods University
The Backwoods University Podcast is about wildlife biology and the people who dedicate their lives to wild animals and their habitat. Guided by host Lake Pickle’s curiosity, you’ll hear insights from wildlife biologists and outdoorsmen, while gaining an intimate look at North American wildlife, their habitat, and the undeniable influence the human race has on them. This podcast is an efficient listen where you’ll learn from the experts so you can understand the wild. After all, you can’t love what you don’t understand.
Episodes
In most cases in this show, we operate very much within the real of explainable. Wildlife biology, close looks at specific animals, wildlife conservation history. Y'all know the deal. However, this time we will be hearing 5 separate stories, from wild places across the country. all of which I have no idea how to fully explain them, or believe whether or not they're even true.
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What's better than a story of triumph? I'll tell ya, A story of triumph involving wildlife conservation. The state of Alabama, much like the rest of the country in the early 1900s, was sitting on the brink Of complete natural resource destruction. We are going to take a deep dive into their wildlife conservation history and learn about the people involved, the ideas, and the actions carried out that not on...
Along the brackish waters of the southern gulf coast resides a unique species called diamond back terrapin, aka, the keepers of the salt marsh. In this episode we paddle along with field biologists to get our hands on one of these animals, as well as learn about what obstacles they face, and what that means for this essential coastal habitat.
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Along the Atlantic and gulf coast resides the only brackish water terrapin in the United States. This white beaked, diamond backed, crab and snail eating turtle has more to offer than just unique looks. It has a fascinating history in our country, and has earned itself the nickname, keeper of the salt marsh. Come along as we tag along with a field biologist to see if can get our hands on one.
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Maria Davidson is the North American large carnivore program coordinator for the Safari Club International Foundation. She has spent the vast majority of her career working with bears, including helping the restoration work with black bears in Louisiana, and now currently working with grizzlies in British Columbia. This conversation includes details of her past work, her current work in darting and collari...
Welcome to the final and triumphant chapter of one of the best wildlife comeback stories in the history of North America. From 1200 individual deer in Mississippi in 1929 to over 1.5 million in 2026, this story is one you don't want to miss. Including, the story of a first ever deer hunt on public land that involved over 3300 hunters, a vehicles lined up for miles waiting to check deer in!
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What would you think of a whitetail deer herd that jumped from 1200 to over 1.5 million in less than 100 years time? That is exactly what happened in the state of Mississippi. We are joined by Mississippi Deer Program Coordinator, William McKinley who knows all the wild tales that make up this incredible wildlife conservation story.
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It's not every day that we see brand new hunting season get put into existence. This coming October the state of Louisiana will be having it's first ever hunting season for black bellied whistling ducks. It's an exciting time for hunters, but there's a much bigger story at play here. The black bellied whistling duck is historically a tropical species that occupied mostly central and south America. What are...
Humans eating crawfish is nothing new. In fact, in North America alone it's been going on for several thousands of years. However, the craft of deliberately farming crawfish is relatively new in the grand scheme of things. Jason Roberts, a Mississippi native, walks us through the story and process of starting up his crawfish farm. What all went into it, how he figured it out, what type of crawfish species he targets, and the unexpe...
Without a doubt, crawfish, or crayfish, are the most well-known, and tastiest crustacean in all of North America- but how much do we really know about them? Where did they come from? How many of them are there? What role do they play in the ecosystem? We’ll all learn by the end of this that these tiny shellfish have more to offer than a what comes out of a boiling pot.
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In this bonus drop of Backwoods University, we have the opportunity to hear from a man named Joshua Lawes, who spent several years in the wild lands of Africa, working in antipoaching teams. As you can imagine, he has some pretty wild and fascinating tales, along with some insight on how conservation works in Africa and how it dippers for North America.
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In our final chapter of our series with Antonin Scalia, we will be taking a close look at why this man was so loved and respected by everyone that knew- including people that completely disagreed with him. On top of that, we'll learn how hunting, wild game, and the outdoors played a critical role in it.
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Antonin Scalia, whether you agreed or disagreed with him, was inarguably one of the most influential Americans in modern history due to his position as supreme court Justice for almost 30 years. However, in this part 1 of this series we will get the rare opportunity to see this man in way you may have never seen him before. Come along as we journey down to the place where Scalia first found his love for the outdoors and hunting, an...
Seeing as this episode releases on Memorial Day, Lake thought it would only be fitting to use it as opportunity to honor our the men and women who served the United States armed forces. This week, we will hear four different stories where wildlife conservation and the U.S military just so happened to overlap in some pretty incredible ways.
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In deep time we know the earth was covered with dinosaurs and ice age megafauna. However, the story gets all the more real and tangible when you narrow it down and dive into a specific region or state. This week we’ll learn about the mammoths, giant aquatic lizards, duck billed dinosaurs, stag moose, caribou, and many other species that used to inhabit Mississippi and other parts of the southeastern ...
Last fall we published an episode called “Pogie Boats” where we dove into a long-standing conflict between the commercial menhaden fishing industry and the recreational fishermen, charter fishermen, and conservation community. We also promised that we would keep you updated with this issue as it progresses. Just a few days ago, three key menhaden reform bills passed the senate natural resources committee, which is a big...
Wild Turkeys have been a shining example of conservation efforts since their recovery from the brink of extinction in the late 1900s. In this episode, we not only talk to a gentlemen who has had the unique perspective to see the the recovery of the wild turkey and participate in some of the early conservation work, but we then spring forward to present day to talk about some the most current efforts being initiated to ensure turkey...
The Florida water crisis, remains the focus of our discussion. However, we are going to hear about it from a different perspective. Pat Durden is a multi-generational Floridian, a cattlemen, and an outdoorsman. Pat is going to give his take on some the water issue Florida is up against, from the perspective of farmers and ranchers.
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When you think of the state of Florida, a water crisis is likely not the first thing that comes to mind. However, There has been an ongoing fight for decades now centered around water, and more importantly how it is managed. In it's natural state, water would flow slowly south out of Lake Okeechobee, down through the everglades, and into the Atlantic ocean. Now, after some artifical damming and canal build...
The Wild Turkey is one of the most beloved, and also most studied game birds. In this episode, Dr. Mike Chamberlain, also known as the Wild Turkey doc, gives us a look into one of the greatest new discoveries in the world of turkey science. A discovery that might have huge implications for the future of turkeys and turkey hunting.
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