January 29, 2024 • 34 mins
Buy Tickets here: https://e.givesmart.com/events/AdF/
Join us on this episode of RadCast Outdoors as Blake Fegler and Rowdy Anderson of the Muley Fanatic 10 Chapter share their insights on mule deer conservation. Listen in as they discuss important topics like habitat restoration, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) research, and community engagement initiatives. Immerse yourself in their extensive knowledge and compelling stories about these endearing creatures that hold a central position in their organization.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation for the annual Muley Fanatic Foundation dinner, a fundraiser event dedicated to local conservation efforts. Learn how community engagement plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy mule deer population, and discover the various ways you can contribute to these efforts. Our guests paint a vivid picture of how their conservation strategies affect Fremont County's wildlife legacy.
Our discussion also dives deep into the current challenges faced by the mule deer population, and diseases posing significant threats. Despite these concerns, we end on a note of hope as we spotlight the considerable efforts dedicated to improving the outlook for mule deer. Whether you are a passionate hunter, a concerned resident, or a nature lover, this episode is sure to inspire you to take action in preserving our natural resources.
Blake and Rowdy from the Wyoming Predator Board further enrich the conversation, discussing their organization's contributions to conservation efforts. Hear stories of their successful fundraising initiatives, the importance of youth involvement, and the profound impact of hunters' active stewardship. Despite certain challenges, they express optimism thanks to modern technology, united community efforts, and the dedication of individual hunters.
Wrap up this insightful episode with an invitation to support local conservation efforts. At the heart of this narrative is a reminder that every contribution—be it financial, participation in projects, or spreading awareness—plays an important role in the preservation of our wildlife. Tune in to this episode, and let's all work to safeguard our shared outdoor legacy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Fish on hey radcast is on
and welcome to the show mr jim zumbo gentlemen i
am pleased to be here and i use that term loosely when i say
gentlemen al winder i just want to welcome you to the show thanks for uh taking
time out of your busy schedule to hang out with us on a podcast for a little
bit i am looking forward to it there's nothing makes me happier than a cold
(00:25):
in minnesota If I can't be out fishing, I should be talking about fishing.
Hailing from Wisconsin, Jana Waller. Thank you so much for having me. It's Radcast.
Hunting, fishing, and everything in between. Powered by Bow Spider.
Brought to you by PK Lures and High Mountain Seasonings. And now,
here's your hosts, Patrick Edwards and David Merrill.
(00:52):
All right, welcome to another episode of Radcast Outdoors. I'm one of your hosts,
Patrick Edwards, and I think we have David here with us. David, are you there?
I'm here. All right. So today, we're going to have some guests on that we've had on before.
The last time we all hung out together, we had Mr. Jim Schake on with us, which was fun.
But I have Blake Fegler and Rowdy Anderson with me from the Muley Fanatic 10
(01:16):
chapter here in Fremont County. So welcome, fellas.
Thanks, guys. It's another year, and you got another banquet that you're planning,
and I know it's a lot of stress and it's a lot of work, but why don't you guys
tell us what we can expect out
of this year's County 10 Muley Fanatic Foundation dinner and fundraiser?
(01:36):
All right. So we got a heck of a night planned. It's going to be March 16th.
It's going to be at the Lander Community Center. We've had it there for the
past several years. Good place to have an event, super nice facility.
And it's going to be good. We've got a special guest coming this year,
Cody Robbins from on the hit TV show, Live to Hunt.
He's going to come down and along with that, he's going to bring some of his
(01:58):
fine Canadian trophies, world record type stuff for people to look at and put their hands on.
He'll be there just like Jim was last year. People have the opportunity to get
to visit with him, ask him questions throughout the night.
We've got a heck of a selection of firearms. We've got bows.
We've got lots of one-of-a-kind items for people to have an opportunity to purchase
(02:20):
there that night. And yeah, it's going to be an exquisite evening.
Like we always say, we're trying to offer up for the evening and evening.
People won't forget more of an experience than just a banquet.
So that's what I've got for that. Whatever you think you should add to that, Blake.
Yeah, I think everybody that came last year, I think really enjoyed it.
(02:40):
And I think good as it was, I think we had some things that we can definitely improve on.
So any little hiccups we might've had last year, we've got all cleaned up.
So it should be even better.
Yeah. And with them hiccups, I know last year there was a little bit of complaints
about the line getting in the door. We've fixed that now. When you buy your
ticket, you'll be issued a QR code.
And as long as all your information is filled out there, when you get to the
(03:02):
door, we'll have some people out there scanning your QR code.
They'll scan it and boom, you're right in the door.
So we should cut the time standing outside immensely. For people to sign up
for the event, where do they go to get that information and just see what all is available?
Available so we should have this ready if you go to the website you're going to want to go to is.
(03:25):
2024 10 the letter c n
t r y b a n q dot give smart.com and if you go to there it will take you to
a portal where you can go buy all your tickets and everything that we have available
at this time you can purchase right there perfect so what's the food going to
be like because Cause everybody always wants to know,
(03:45):
Hey, if I'm coming to this thing, what kind of food am I going to get?
That's Blake's department there.
Once again, we went with our buddy, James Bunker.
Bunk's Barbecue will be there again doing dinner. And I think we changed a little
bit from what we did last year with him.
And I think we'll, same thing, we'll be even better than last year.
(04:05):
That's awesome. Bunk's Barbecue is delicious. So I'm looking forward to that.
And what's the cost per person to attend this event? So if you buy a singles
ticket, we've got the singles tickets right now.
They're $150, and then we have two different table options.
We've got a VIP table option that's seating for eight.
Obviously, the best seat in the house come with some special gifts and swag. Those are $2,000.
(04:28):
And then we have our reserve seating for eight, which also come with some little
special goodies on your table. And those are $1,500.
Good deal. And guys, this is something here on the podcast, Patrick and I always
talk about conservation, North American conservation model, giving back.
And I know this is your guys' one fundraiser for the year, but explain a little
(04:51):
bit of what you guys do the rest of the year besides working your tails off to put this evening on.
Yeah, we meet every month, sometimes multiple times per month.
But yeah, once we host these banquets and the smoke clears and we see what kind
of money to spend, we go to project allocation, which is usually a month or
two where we take in projects from the Fremont County and around the state.
(05:16):
We run them through our committee and then we choose them and we start granting
dollars and cents here and there.
But we're always doing something. It seems every month, every couple of weeks,
we have something going on.
Last year, just to name a few things, we started a scholarship program,
which the eligibility will be for students from Fremont County.
(05:38):
We'll award two of those. That started already.
We did a Sinks Canyon sheetgrass project. We funded that. That project actually
won't take place until summer of 2024.
We went ahead and funded that. that. We've put up some outdoor boards in our
local middle schools where kids can go in and hang up like a bragging board
at the hunting store. It's really cool.
(06:00):
We thought that maybe give kids a chance to have something to talk about other
than playing video games. And that's been a big success.
But we still do the putting the ewe and hunt. Last year, we facilitated three of those.
We did a hunt in the Saratoga and Campman area and the Dubois area and then
Red Desert elk hunt. We're doing funding to the U.S. 26th crossing still.
It sounds like that's taken top priority now, so hopefully we can get that done soon.
(06:24):
We're working on a potential partnership on a large-scale CWD research project,
which would be done here locally in Fremont County.
We just recently finished up our mule deer summit, which we were taking public
input, trying to put some proposals together to go to the Game and Fish Commission
with, to let them know what the wants and needs of people here in Fremont County are on the mule deer.
And then I guess one last thing we did last year was we funded the grand prize
(06:49):
for the big bowl contest here in Riverfin for the youth category.
So I think we've been pretty busy. What do you think, Blake?
Yeah, absolutely. I don't think you really missed anything. And the biggest
thing is that we're actually turning around and spending people's money in Fremont
County back here in Fremont County.
I think that's the biggest thing to reiterate on is that your dollars are being spent in your vacuum.
(07:14):
What's the number one priority for you guys going into this next year?
Obviously, the crossing up around Dubois is a big deal, but what are the top
priorities of your organization in the county?
I think that some of the top priorities that we see, especially after we had
our input meeting the other night, people are very concerned about CWD.
(07:36):
I think we need to take a different approach on that.
People want to be way more educated. They want up-to-the-minute details on what's going on.
I think that's going to take over.
But that's the beauty of what we do. Like Blake said, we're spending money in
our own backyards, and we're doing projects that people find merit in.
(07:56):
Habitat projects is always a good one, and research.
We asked that question the other night to the people that came out to the meeting,
and there's a lot of people that still would like to see us do some research
projects. Yeah, talk a little bit about the cheatgrass thing,
because some listeners may be like, what the heck is cheatgrass for one thing?
But explain about cheatgrass, why it's important for us to remove cheatgrass
(08:18):
from the landscape and what you guys do in that project.
Gotcha you want to take that one blake oh yeah you look at how the landscape's
changed over the last hundred years or even 50 years cheatgrass is one of those things that has,
really taken over and it's a negative effect on the landscape just
due to the poor quality of forage for
(08:38):
the animals it likes to choke out any competition as well it's getting rid of
the good forage the native grasses it's a non-native grass that's taken over
and it really doesn't provide provide any benefits to the landscape at all from
wildlife or even livestock producers.
Really any benefit at all.
(08:58):
And up to now, there's not really been a whole lot of solutions as far as how
to get rid of it and how to mitigate it.
So that's some of the things that they started doing aerial spraying and trying
to get a hold on it before it gets even worse, because it is definitely a big problem right now.
And it's for those of you who may be still wondering what it it is.
It's the kind of grass that if you walk through it and you have tennis shoes
(09:20):
on or socks that are exposed, the seeds of it get stuck in your,
the other thing about it is it's an annual grass.
So it grows back by seeding and it does a really good job of that.
And that's why it out-competes other grasses is that it'll sprout sometimes
even in the fall, like the seeds will fall.
You'll see a little green carpet start to appear where it was at.
(09:43):
And then by the time spring rolls around, it just shoots up and it takes over the area.
But I know it's been a concern not only in Sinks Canyon, but around the Whiskey
Mountain area and other places like that, because the Bighorn Sheep Foundation
has been dealing with it too.
And I think everybody across the West is trying to figure out cheatgrass.
Talk about some of the other projects too, because it's always good for people
(10:05):
to know how they can get involved, because I'm sure you're always looking for
volunteers to come and help as well.
We are. We're always looking for volunteers. And we do a pretty good job of
making sure everybody knows what our meetings are.
We've been hosting our meetings on is it second Thursday night of the month,
second Wednesday night of the month.
We changed that around a little bit, but if you watch our Facebook page and
(10:27):
our social media outlets like say we keep a good, we do a good job of informing
people on when we're going to be having meetings, what's going to be going on
at the meetings, what it's about.
Yeah. And like back to the project and we're always looking for good projects.
Projects sometimes we get a lot of project proposals and
maybe they're not what the maybe they don't fit
(10:49):
what we're looking for at that time but yeah projects
so guys what does mule deer
mean to you that's a question truly i love conservation i love these organizations
and i think everybody needs to get involved in their communities with their
grassroots grassroots local organization right and this one's right in our backyard
(11:10):
i've been supporting you guys i've been coming for for years,
but I want to know, what do mule deer mean to both Blake and Rowdy?
Mule deer to me, I've been a mule deer enthusiast since I was a small child.
And let's be honest, for me, it started with big bucks. What's cooler than a big buck mule deer?
And 45 years later, I still love it. It has shaped the person I am.
(11:32):
It dictates what I do throughout the entire year.
I can already tell you that I have my calendars already full from September
through November with things based solely around mule deer.
And for me, like you talked about conservation, I have been a taker of the resource
for a long time and have been able to enjoy that resource for a long time.
(11:57):
For me, it's a no-brainer becoming
part of this organization because I wanted to give something back.
I have three kids. I want them to enjoy the same type of opportunities that I had growing up.
So, yeah, mule deer, it's made me who I am today. day. And I think that's a
pretty honest statement on my behalf.
Yeah, not to beat a dead horse, but mule deer in their own way are very unique
(12:21):
and they're not like any other deer species.
And they're not like hunting elk at all. I think mule deer is by far my favorite thing to hunt.
And as Rowdy said, it's probably best as far as mule deer hunters.
We spend a lot of time and thought and effort into harvesting
a mule deer and this gives us a
great resource in a way to try to make sure that
(12:43):
they're still on the landscape in 50 hundred years
we've already seen a huge decline in just you can say five years not only hunting
but just total overall numbers period that things don't look like they used
to so the best time to start is now so on the numbers how How are things looking
2024? What's the outlook?
(13:06):
I guess speaking from a non-scientific non-biologist standpoint
you guys you do the same thing we do we have these
conversations every day and when you talked just
about every everybody i don't think anybody has a really good outlook on mule
deer especially after what happened last winter our deer numbers are in the
they're in the tank just looking around here in our backyard look like area
(13:27):
157 with the not only did we have a bad winter last year but the cwd a D. This thing's real.
And where does it end? I don't think any of us know. It's scary.
We have these conversations all the time. And I'm almost scared to think that
maybe someday that being able to hunt a mule deer is going to be like hunting
a sheep or a moose. And now it's going to be extremely hard to get tags.
(13:49):
And you're not going to get to go yourself with your own tag very much.
And we talk a lot about hunting, but it's just sad not seeing the deer on the landscape.
I think we all enjoy seeing deer period whether we're hunting them
or not but no it's scary i haven't talked
to one person that has said anything different anywhere in the state how about
(14:09):
you blake what's your outlook yeah right here locally speaking on the cwd fact
numbers were extremely down as far as harvest rates go we had a good conversation
with lisa robinet at y code of meat meat processing.
She told us that she butchered less than 10 mule deer all year last year,
and zero came out of 157 right here in our backyard.
(14:33):
That's obviously very concerning. And then looking at CWD test rates,
upwards to 90% of deer tested in 157 were positive.
That alone is extremely alarming, and it's something that.
Hopefully we can get a handle on, but it doesn't look pretty at the moment.
A lot of people I've talked to say that 2023 was the perfect storm because you
(14:57):
have CWD and then you have the worst winter we've ever had.
And mule deer just didn't fare too well. And so it's a huge concern.
And there's a lot of us that grew up mule deer hunting here in Wyoming,
including myself. And I'm really sad to see that everything's plummeted,
especially now that my kids are getting to that hunting age.
(15:20):
And I was lucky enough to see my daughter harvest an elk this year,
but like mule deer, it's just, it's pretty bleak.
But that's why the work that you guys are doing is so important.
And that's why it's so important as sportsmen. And if we really care about that
resource to get involved and attend these banquets and do these fundraisers,
because the money doesn't just come out of thin air.
(15:41):
And that's why it's so critical for people to show up and step up and help out with this.
And as far as like deadlines and things like that, like when do people need
to be signed up? Ideally, what are you guys as organizers?
How can we help you as far as getting signed up in a timely manner and having everything ready to go?
Last year, we were sold out the first week of March, which that helps us out a bunch.
(16:04):
We can let our caterer know what we're looking at. We know exactly what we need
to have set up in the building that night to give everybody the best experience possible.
But I would say hesitate to get your tickets. Tickets are selling.
We just looked at ticket sales this morning and things are going well.
I would venture to say that by mid-February, end of February,
(16:25):
we'll be sold nothing. And back to where we were last year with just people
calling every day, wanting tickets to the banquet.
They're there in the month of March and we just we don't have them available.
So if you plan on going or you want to go, I would get my tickets sooner than later.
Good deal. I will be in Florida, so I won't be there, but I'm sure David's probably
(16:46):
trying to figure out how to attend. David, are you going to be able to go this year?
I've got to sit down with the scheduling boss and make sure,
but as long as my schedule's open, I plan to come every year.
And it's a great event. It's been a good time. I've been coming for,
I think my first one was 15, 14.
It's just a, it's a good night. It's a good time to get together and talk about
(17:07):
conservation and put some boots on the ground work and help support some guys
that are actually out there, whether it's deer crossing, whether it's fence projects,
whether it's youth on site and collecting this data.
One of the data points I want to talk on though, is I did go over to one of
Wyoming's premier units last year and hunted 12 days straight trying to break that 200 inch.
(17:30):
Blake and I have talked about this a little bit, right? right?
There was no deer there guys. There was zero deer there.
And by zero, I typically in a five day hunt, see 110, 120 bucks.
And we're, we're spending a lot of time class and judging.
We saw 12 bucks in 12 days. So I'm not going back.
(17:50):
I'm just not going to go back that premium year for a couple of years till I hear that.
Oh yeah, they're bouncing back. And is now the right right time to start looking
at suspending some doe hunts, maybe going to, you know, a different.
Style tag allocation, but I don't think it's pure hunter pressure.
The winter wasn't hunter pressure.
CWD isn't hunter pressure, but how can we give these mule deer a boost?
(18:14):
Can we reduce some predators?
Can we think outside of the box, habitat, feed predators?
It's all plays a key key vehicle mentalities. It used to be,
you guys know, driving from our warehouse into Riverton,
there was always a vehicle mentality on the side of the road around Kinnear,
around Pavilion, around Crow Heart, always want a fresh one on the side of the road.
(18:37):
And it's not that way anymore because we don't have the deer anymore.
So it's time to start having some of these conversations deeper about how do
we protect, honestly, one of my favorite species by far.
Yeah. And I think that's the beauty of the meeting that we held the other night.
A lot of these conversations came up.
People got to be more involved. We've been in the mindset forever that nothing's going to change.
(19:00):
They've already got their minds made up, but I don't believe that.
I know Blake don't believe that.
I just think it's time that people band together. We band together as a group.
I know we have all these subgroups and we often find ourselves fighting amongst
one another, but as hunters, as mule deer enthusiasts, we all have to come together
(19:20):
with, well, I have the same goal.
We want to see more deer on the landscape. And what is that going to take?
What's your thoughts, Blake? Yeah, you brought up some interesting topics.
And we all, Rowdy's mentioned this public meeting that we've had.
And all of those topics that you brought up has come as far as,
is general tax a good thing?
Do we need to move to limited quota? Do we need more research?
(19:42):
Is it predators? Is it highway fatality? We had probably a list of 10 to 15
problems and maybe four to five solutions to these problems come up.
And that we're very adamant at these meetings after we broke into kind of subcommittees
and we had more private in-depth conversations.
(20:02):
And it's difficult to say what's the clear-cut solution, obviously,
but the things that we control, highway fatalities, the Kemmerer project,
highway crossing project got funded.
So that's a great win for Mule there in that part of the the world.
And like Rowdy said, the Highway 20, 789, that is next on the radar for being
(20:23):
most important to get funded.
So those two things right there are going to save a lot of deer.
I just wish we would have started funding these 50 years ago rather than 10 years ago.
We'd be so much farther ahead just because they're $19, $20 million projects.
That's not money you come up with overnight or even in two years.
And then winter mortality obviously took a huge hit. And I respect Game and
(20:47):
Fish for doing a lot of research as far as is feeding deer the right thing to
do or not the right thing to do, different things like that.
Because everybody has an opinion and a solution, but have they done the scientific
research to see if it's actually something plausible that will actually make a difference?
And I think Game and Fish is doing a good job at actually coming up with a lot of those solutions.
(21:09):
And we like to fund research projects that's not just with Game and Fish and go outside of that.
And work with some other people as well. So I think that's the best thing we
can do in what seems to be pretty bleak as far as what can we do.
Yeah, we just can't throw our hands in the air. I think that would be pretty
simple at this point to just throw your hands in the air and say a mule deer,
(21:33):
for all lack of better terms, are just in the tank.
But we can make this work. It's been done hundreds of years ago without all
the technology that we have at our fingertips today.
Man-made animals come back and flourish, and we can look at many different cases.
And not only do we have that history, but we have technology.
(21:55):
We can make this work. It's just going to teach people banding together with
one common goal and leaving behind their own personal goals at the end.
I think it's great that you guys are on the forefront. You're the tip of the
spear getting the work done, right?
And you're actively out there taking your personal time and investing it in
Mule Deer and this organization that helps Mule Deer.
(22:16):
So again, I think it's great what you guys are doing. And hopefully we can get
a bunch of people to show up and help.
But one of the things I wanted to ask you about is we had the fundraiser last
year and I think it was a big success.
But can you talk about, you know, how that went and then the things that happened since then?
Because I saw you had some youth hunts and different stories with that.
(22:40):
But can you recap some of the things that came out of the event last year,
the fundraiser last year and Jim Shockey coming? Yeah.
Yeah. Why don't you take that one, Blake? Oh, boy. Money-wise,
I think we did extremely well just in our live auction alone.
I think we grossed $90,000.
A big portion of that was for the Wyoming Predator Board.
(23:01):
Over $30,000 went to that. They sold a commissioner tag at our banquet.
And that money obviously goes to the Predator Board, which in turn helps eliminate
the predator issues, not only for the livestock people, but for mule deer,
which I think is a big problem that we're facing right now as far as mountain
lions and black bears in certain parts of the world that are really taking a
(23:24):
huge hit on mule deer and other wildlife as well.
The biggest things we did this year was we sat down as a big committee and we
looked at our bank account and said, what is the best bank for our buck?
And we got a lot of projects that were allocated to us that we did not fund
just for the point of, we looked at them and said,
I don't think this is worth our money as far as it's not going to have the biggest,
(23:47):
greatest impact for mule deer right now, or maybe not even in the long term.
So that probably sounds bad that we didn't fund projects, but the point was,
we wanted to treat this money like it was our own and we wanted to use it the
best way possible that we could.
So a lot of the money we still have in the bank right right now.
And we hope to expand on that and make a bigger impact with it.
(24:09):
Like Rowdy said earlier, though, we did fund some projects like the cheatgrass project.
We did do some good things with that money, but I think the most important thing
we did with it was we didn't waste it.
We're not, and I've said this a hundred times, we're not the government.
We're not just going to spend money or put timelines on when we need to spend the money.
Blake said, if it isn't the right fit or the right project, we'll hold onto
(24:31):
the money until that comes comes along.
I mean, other good things that we've done over the course of the year,
this committee has grown from literally five, six people to now 30 plus people.
We have a very active chapter.
Everybody takes it very serious. Everybody's very in tune with the goals.
(24:53):
It's just, it's been an amazing past year and a half.
You hit on it. We've been able to fund three, putting the U in hunt for kids
with life-threatening illnesses. Those are amazing.
Not only is that an amazing experience for the kids that get to come out and
partake in them, but it's an amazing experience for us that get to go along.
(25:14):
And we're getting a lot of youth initiatives started with this chapter.
I think that's, you hit on it, I think earlier, maybe in a question that you
guys asked on your questionnaire.
But yeah if we don't recruit kids into
this sport it will die and i
think we're trying to take a very active role in recruiting youth
to not only hunting but just enjoying wild things
(25:37):
on the outdoors yeah i think each generation has that kind of task of getting
the next generation involved so we're at that point all all four of us it's
like what are we doing to help get the next round of kids involved and actively involved,
in not only just the hunting aspect, but the conservation aspect and the stewardship.
(26:00):
And so I think that's what's really great about your organization is it offers
opportunities for people to get involved.
And be active stewards of that resource. Because a lot of times people are just
like, hey, I can just put money in the hat to help support this.
But what you guys have that's a little bit different, it's yeah, do that.
(26:21):
But also, hey, why don't you come help us with this project?
We need boots on the ground.
We need people out there helping get these things done. Otherwise, they don't happen.
Just like stuff that I'm interested in, it's like fish habitat projects,
pond cleanups, river cleanups, those kinds of things.
Things they don't happen by themselves there's got to be somebody down there
doing it and that's what's really awesome about what you guys are doing and
(26:44):
so i'm pretty stoked about it i think you know yeah it is a bleak outlook but
we have people that care and to your point rowdy.
Hundreds of years ago what did people do they said we don't have enough forage
in these areas for the animals so let's you know get rid of some of this forest
and burn it down and the grass grows and guess what? The animals come back.
(27:05):
There's just, there's things that to your point we can do.
We have a lot more technology. Now we have a lot more research.
We have people that are actively paid to do this full time with the game and fish and wildlife.
A university of Wyoming has researchers that are working on it actively now.
And so how do we pull all those people together to get something done to save these animals?
(27:28):
And you guys, again, like I said, I congratulate you because you are the tip
of the spear because you're the people that are on the ground doing this, living this every day.
I think hunters don't get enough credit for the stewardship and the conservation
that we do because really without us, it doesn't happen at all because nobody's
(27:49):
funded. And nobody cares.
Yeah. The hunters are a very compassionate group of people, no matter what anybody says or thinks.
Yeah, I love what we do. The funding aspect of this deal is,
like Blake said, you come to our banquet, and guess what?
Them dollars that you spend at that banquet, they're going to get spent right here.
And if they're not spent right here in Fremont County, they're going to get
(28:11):
spent somewhere in Wyoming. So it's an amazing funding model.
We're super proud of how that works. folks, the people that do all the hard
work and put all the effort into making this happen, have a say in how that's
money spent or say how that money is spent.
And like Blake said, at that point, it almost becomes like it's your own money
(28:33):
and you don't want to waste it away on just frivolous things.
So I think we've done a very good job of taking care of the bank account.
We don't fund anything that we don't fully all agree on.
And at the end of the day, we're going to do great things here.
I agree. Is there anything else you guys want to cover or tell folks about what
(28:54):
you're doing or how they can be involved?
Like I say, keep an eye on all our social media outlets. We're very good at
letting people know when we're going to be having meetings and when we're going
to be hosting things like the Mule Deer Summit.
Like you said, if we need boots on the ground for projects, we'll let people know.
But yeah, if you're interested in making a difference here in and around Fremont
(29:15):
County with mule deer and lakes for all intents and purposes,
other wildlife, come and join our our team. It's a great team.
And at the end of the day, you'll be proud to be part of it.
So my two cents for anybody listening out there who's new to the conservation
model, new to organizations like this is what's really cool is the lion's share
(29:35):
of the money you guys raise goes right back into conservation.
You guys aren't employed making a living doing this. This is all holistically
for the benefit of mule deer.
And if you're out there thinking about an organization to donate to,
certainly this is a great one by far.
Your dollars are going to go the farthest.
Picking an organization who does these, all the things you guys,
(29:59):
all your outreach programs.
And as I think about it, Wyoming has mineral natural gas, we have farming,
ranching, and then we have tourism as our economies.
And, you know, people are coming to Wyoming to AC our our natural resources
and the beauty, but also the wildlife.
And so without the wildlife, we don't have the tourism that we have, and we need to keep it.
(30:25):
We need to do everything we can, whether that's have these discussions about
where to put high fence areas,
you know, road crossing, have the discussion about where to remove predators,
have the discussion about noxious weed removal.
I think having the debate and the discussion, being open-minded and doing that is beneficial.
But if you're wondering why you should or shouldn't donate to any organization,
(30:49):
look at the financial structure.
And a lot of these that out there are claiming to be holistic and for the benefit
of wildlife, the majority of their money is going want to line somebody's pocket.
If instead of donating to one of those, pick these guys.
Yep. Because donating to a local organization is also a lot better because I
(31:10):
can go and see Rowdy or Blake and actively talk to them face to face about where
the money is going and have that conversation. So that's a big deal.
Yeah, we're very transparent. Yeah. And not only are we right here,
but, and we do this strictly volunteer, but we also have a great friendship
and relationship with the guys at headquarters.
We can text them seven days a week if we have any questions or concerns.
(31:34):
And there's not many organizations that are like that as far as people within
chapters of a main organization can talk to the CEO or the CFO really anytime,
let alone seven days a week.
So we're pretty privileged at that aspect to have a great relationship with
headquarters and the right here in Wyoming.
And if we need anything, think they're, they're more than willing to help and
(31:56):
they're great people. Very cool guys.
It's always a privilege to have you guys on. I admire both of you.
You're doing great work. Thank you for taking the time to be on here.
We'll get this out in the next few weeks and get, hopefully get you a full banquet
and get a bunch of money raised.
Yeah. Thanks again for coming on the Radcast Outdoors podcast.
We always love having you.
All right. Thanks a bunch guys. Yep. Appreciate it. You guys have a good one.
(32:19):
Stay warm out there. All right. We'll talk to you later. All right. See you guys.
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(32:44):
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(33:04):
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Music.
Fish on hey radcast is on
and welcome to the show mr jim zumbo gentlemen i
am pleased to be here and i use that term loosely when i say
gentlemen al winder i just want to welcome you to the show thanks for uh taking
time out of your busy schedule to hang out with us on a podcast for a little
bit i am looking forward to it there's nothing makes me happier than a cold
(00:25):
in minnesota If I can't be out fishing, I should be talking about fishing.
Hailing from Wisconsin, Jana Waller. Thank you so much for having me. It's Radcast.
Hunting, fishing, and everything in between. Powered by Bow Spider.
Brought to you by PK Lures and High Mountain Seasonings. And now,
here's your hosts, Patrick Edwards and David Merrill.
(00:52):
All right, welcome to another episode of Radcast Outdoors. I'm one of your hosts,
Patrick Edwards, and I think we have David here with us. David, are you there?
I'm here. All right. So today, we're going to have some guests on that we've had on before.
The last time we all hung out together, we had Mr. Jim Schake on with us, which was fun.
But I have Blake Fegler and Rowdy Anderson with me from the Muley Fanatic 10
(01:16):
chapter here in Fremont County. So welcome, fellas.
Thanks, guys. It's another year, and you got another banquet that you're planning,
and I know it's a lot of stress and it's a lot of work, but why don't you guys
tell us what we can expect out
of this year's County 10 Muley Fanatic Foundation dinner and fundraiser?
(01:36):
All right. So we got a heck of a night planned. It's going to be March 16th.
It's going to be at the Lander Community Center. We've had it there for the
past several years. Good place to have an event, super nice facility.
And it's going to be good. We've got a special guest coming this year,
Cody Robbins from on the hit TV show, Live to Hunt.
He's going to come down and along with that, he's going to bring some of his
(01:58):
fine Canadian trophies, world record type stuff for people to look at and put their hands on.
He'll be there just like Jim was last year. People have the opportunity to get
to visit with him, ask him questions throughout the night.
We've got a heck of a selection of firearms. We've got bows.
We've got lots of one-of-a-kind items for people to have an opportunity to purchase
(02:20):
there that night. And yeah, it's going to be an exquisite evening.
Like we always say, we're trying to offer up for the evening and evening.
People won't forget more of an experience than just a banquet.
So that's what I've got for that. Whatever you think you should add to that, Blake.
Yeah, I think everybody that came last year, I think really enjoyed it.
(02:40):
And I think good as it was, I think we had some things that we can definitely improve on.
So any little hiccups we might've had last year, we've got all cleaned up.
So it should be even better.
Yeah. And with them hiccups, I know last year there was a little bit of complaints
about the line getting in the door. We've fixed that now. When you buy your
ticket, you'll be issued a QR code.
And as long as all your information is filled out there, when you get to the
(03:02):
door, we'll have some people out there scanning your QR code.
They'll scan it and boom, you're right in the door.
So we should cut the time standing outside immensely. For people to sign up
for the event, where do they go to get that information and just see what all is available?
Available so we should have this ready if you go to the website you're going to want to go to is.
(03:25):
2024 10 the letter c n
t r y b a n q dot give smart.com and if you go to there it will take you to
a portal where you can go buy all your tickets and everything that we have available
at this time you can purchase right there perfect so what's the food going to
be like because Cause everybody always wants to know,
(03:45):
Hey, if I'm coming to this thing, what kind of food am I going to get?
That's Blake's department there.
Once again, we went with our buddy, James Bunker.
Bunk's Barbecue will be there again doing dinner. And I think we changed a little
bit from what we did last year with him.
And I think we'll, same thing, we'll be even better than last year.
(04:05):
That's awesome. Bunk's Barbecue is delicious. So I'm looking forward to that.
And what's the cost per person to attend this event? So if you buy a singles
ticket, we've got the singles tickets right now.
They're $150, and then we have two different table options.
We've got a VIP table option that's seating for eight.
Obviously, the best seat in the house come with some special gifts and swag. Those are $2,000.
(04:28):
And then we have our reserve seating for eight, which also come with some little
special goodies on your table. And those are $1,500.
Good deal. And guys, this is something here on the podcast, Patrick and I always
talk about conservation, North American conservation model, giving back.
And I know this is your guys' one fundraiser for the year, but explain a little
(04:51):
bit of what you guys do the rest of the year besides working your tails off to put this evening on.
Yeah, we meet every month, sometimes multiple times per month.
But yeah, once we host these banquets and the smoke clears and we see what kind
of money to spend, we go to project allocation, which is usually a month or
two where we take in projects from the Fremont County and around the state.
(05:16):
We run them through our committee and then we choose them and we start granting
dollars and cents here and there.
But we're always doing something. It seems every month, every couple of weeks,
we have something going on.
Last year, just to name a few things, we started a scholarship program,
which the eligibility will be for students from Fremont County.
(05:38):
We'll award two of those. That started already.
We did a Sinks Canyon sheetgrass project. We funded that. That project actually
won't take place until summer of 2024.
We went ahead and funded that. that. We've put up some outdoor boards in our
local middle schools where kids can go in and hang up like a bragging board
at the hunting store. It's really cool.
(06:00):
We thought that maybe give kids a chance to have something to talk about other
than playing video games. And that's been a big success.
But we still do the putting the ewe and hunt. Last year, we facilitated three of those.
We did a hunt in the Saratoga and Campman area and the Dubois area and then
Red Desert elk hunt. We're doing funding to the U.S. 26th crossing still.
It sounds like that's taken top priority now, so hopefully we can get that done soon.
(06:24):
We're working on a potential partnership on a large-scale CWD research project,
which would be done here locally in Fremont County.
We just recently finished up our mule deer summit, which we were taking public
input, trying to put some proposals together to go to the Game and Fish Commission
with, to let them know what the wants and needs of people here in Fremont County are on the mule deer.
And then I guess one last thing we did last year was we funded the grand prize
(06:49):
for the big bowl contest here in Riverfin for the youth category.
So I think we've been pretty busy. What do you think, Blake?
Yeah, absolutely. I don't think you really missed anything. And the biggest
thing is that we're actually turning around and spending people's money in Fremont
County back here in Fremont County.
I think that's the biggest thing to reiterate on is that your dollars are being spent in your vacuum.
(07:14):
What's the number one priority for you guys going into this next year?
Obviously, the crossing up around Dubois is a big deal, but what are the top
priorities of your organization in the county?
I think that some of the top priorities that we see, especially after we had
our input meeting the other night, people are very concerned about CWD.
(07:36):
I think we need to take a different approach on that.
People want to be way more educated. They want up-to-the-minute details on what's going on.
I think that's going to take over.
But that's the beauty of what we do. Like Blake said, we're spending money in
our own backyards, and we're doing projects that people find merit in.
(07:56):
Habitat projects is always a good one, and research.
We asked that question the other night to the people that came out to the meeting,
and there's a lot of people that still would like to see us do some research
projects. Yeah, talk a little bit about the cheatgrass thing,
because some listeners may be like, what the heck is cheatgrass for one thing?
But explain about cheatgrass, why it's important for us to remove cheatgrass
(08:18):
from the landscape and what you guys do in that project.
Gotcha you want to take that one blake oh yeah you look at how the landscape's
changed over the last hundred years or even 50 years cheatgrass is one of those things that has,
really taken over and it's a negative effect on the landscape just
due to the poor quality of forage for
(08:38):
the animals it likes to choke out any competition as well it's getting rid of
the good forage the native grasses it's a non-native grass that's taken over
and it really doesn't provide provide any benefits to the landscape at all from
wildlife or even livestock producers.
Really any benefit at all.
(08:58):
And up to now, there's not really been a whole lot of solutions as far as how
to get rid of it and how to mitigate it.
So that's some of the things that they started doing aerial spraying and trying
to get a hold on it before it gets even worse, because it is definitely a big problem right now.
And it's for those of you who may be still wondering what it it is.
It's the kind of grass that if you walk through it and you have tennis shoes
(09:20):
on or socks that are exposed, the seeds of it get stuck in your,
the other thing about it is it's an annual grass.
So it grows back by seeding and it does a really good job of that.
And that's why it out-competes other grasses is that it'll sprout sometimes
even in the fall, like the seeds will fall.
You'll see a little green carpet start to appear where it was at.
(09:43):
And then by the time spring rolls around, it just shoots up and it takes over the area.
But I know it's been a concern not only in Sinks Canyon, but around the Whiskey
Mountain area and other places like that, because the Bighorn Sheep Foundation
has been dealing with it too.
And I think everybody across the West is trying to figure out cheatgrass.
Talk about some of the other projects too, because it's always good for people
(10:05):
to know how they can get involved, because I'm sure you're always looking for
volunteers to come and help as well.
We are. We're always looking for volunteers. And we do a pretty good job of
making sure everybody knows what our meetings are.
We've been hosting our meetings on is it second Thursday night of the month,
second Wednesday night of the month.
We changed that around a little bit, but if you watch our Facebook page and
(10:27):
our social media outlets like say we keep a good, we do a good job of informing
people on when we're going to be having meetings, what's going to be going on
at the meetings, what it's about.
Yeah. And like back to the project and we're always looking for good projects.
Projects sometimes we get a lot of project proposals and
maybe they're not what the maybe they don't fit
(10:49):
what we're looking for at that time but yeah projects
so guys what does mule deer
mean to you that's a question truly i love conservation i love these organizations
and i think everybody needs to get involved in their communities with their
grassroots grassroots local organization right and this one's right in our backyard
(11:10):
i've been supporting you guys i've been coming for for years,
but I want to know, what do mule deer mean to both Blake and Rowdy?
Mule deer to me, I've been a mule deer enthusiast since I was a small child.
And let's be honest, for me, it started with big bucks. What's cooler than a big buck mule deer?
And 45 years later, I still love it. It has shaped the person I am.
(11:32):
It dictates what I do throughout the entire year.
I can already tell you that I have my calendars already full from September
through November with things based solely around mule deer.
And for me, like you talked about conservation, I have been a taker of the resource
for a long time and have been able to enjoy that resource for a long time.
(11:57):
For me, it's a no-brainer becoming
part of this organization because I wanted to give something back.
I have three kids. I want them to enjoy the same type of opportunities that I had growing up.
So, yeah, mule deer, it's made me who I am today. day. And I think that's a
pretty honest statement on my behalf.
Yeah, not to beat a dead horse, but mule deer in their own way are very unique
(12:21):
and they're not like any other deer species.
And they're not like hunting elk at all. I think mule deer is by far my favorite thing to hunt.
And as Rowdy said, it's probably best as far as mule deer hunters.
We spend a lot of time and thought and effort into harvesting
a mule deer and this gives us a
great resource in a way to try to make sure that
(12:43):
they're still on the landscape in 50 hundred years
we've already seen a huge decline in just you can say five years not only hunting
but just total overall numbers period that things don't look like they used
to so the best time to start is now so on the numbers how How are things looking
2024? What's the outlook?
(13:06):
I guess speaking from a non-scientific non-biologist standpoint
you guys you do the same thing we do we have these
conversations every day and when you talked just
about every everybody i don't think anybody has a really good outlook on mule
deer especially after what happened last winter our deer numbers are in the
they're in the tank just looking around here in our backyard look like area
(13:27):
157 with the not only did we have a bad winter last year but the cwd a D. This thing's real.
And where does it end? I don't think any of us know. It's scary.
We have these conversations all the time. And I'm almost scared to think that
maybe someday that being able to hunt a mule deer is going to be like hunting
a sheep or a moose. And now it's going to be extremely hard to get tags.
(13:49):
And you're not going to get to go yourself with your own tag very much.
And we talk a lot about hunting, but it's just sad not seeing the deer on the landscape.
I think we all enjoy seeing deer period whether we're hunting them
or not but no it's scary i haven't talked
to one person that has said anything different anywhere in the state how about
(14:09):
you blake what's your outlook yeah right here locally speaking on the cwd fact
numbers were extremely down as far as harvest rates go we had a good conversation
with lisa robinet at y code of meat meat processing.
She told us that she butchered less than 10 mule deer all year last year,
and zero came out of 157 right here in our backyard.
(14:33):
That's obviously very concerning. And then looking at CWD test rates,
upwards to 90% of deer tested in 157 were positive.
That alone is extremely alarming, and it's something that.
Hopefully we can get a handle on, but it doesn't look pretty at the moment.
A lot of people I've talked to say that 2023 was the perfect storm because you
(14:57):
have CWD and then you have the worst winter we've ever had.
And mule deer just didn't fare too well. And so it's a huge concern.
And there's a lot of us that grew up mule deer hunting here in Wyoming,
including myself. And I'm really sad to see that everything's plummeted,
especially now that my kids are getting to that hunting age.
(15:20):
And I was lucky enough to see my daughter harvest an elk this year,
but like mule deer, it's just, it's pretty bleak.
But that's why the work that you guys are doing is so important.
And that's why it's so important as sportsmen. And if we really care about that
resource to get involved and attend these banquets and do these fundraisers,
because the money doesn't just come out of thin air.
(15:41):
And that's why it's so critical for people to show up and step up and help out with this.
And as far as like deadlines and things like that, like when do people need
to be signed up? Ideally, what are you guys as organizers?
How can we help you as far as getting signed up in a timely manner and having everything ready to go?
Last year, we were sold out the first week of March, which that helps us out a bunch.
(16:04):
We can let our caterer know what we're looking at. We know exactly what we need
to have set up in the building that night to give everybody the best experience possible.
But I would say hesitate to get your tickets. Tickets are selling.
We just looked at ticket sales this morning and things are going well.
I would venture to say that by mid-February, end of February,
(16:25):
we'll be sold nothing. And back to where we were last year with just people
calling every day, wanting tickets to the banquet.
They're there in the month of March and we just we don't have them available.
So if you plan on going or you want to go, I would get my tickets sooner than later.
Good deal. I will be in Florida, so I won't be there, but I'm sure David's probably
(16:46):
trying to figure out how to attend. David, are you going to be able to go this year?
I've got to sit down with the scheduling boss and make sure,
but as long as my schedule's open, I plan to come every year.
And it's a great event. It's been a good time. I've been coming for,
I think my first one was 15, 14.
It's just a, it's a good night. It's a good time to get together and talk about
(17:07):
conservation and put some boots on the ground work and help support some guys
that are actually out there, whether it's deer crossing, whether it's fence projects,
whether it's youth on site and collecting this data.
One of the data points I want to talk on though, is I did go over to one of
Wyoming's premier units last year and hunted 12 days straight trying to break that 200 inch.
(17:30):
Blake and I have talked about this a little bit, right? right?
There was no deer there guys. There was zero deer there.
And by zero, I typically in a five day hunt, see 110, 120 bucks.
And we're, we're spending a lot of time class and judging.
We saw 12 bucks in 12 days. So I'm not going back.
(17:50):
I'm just not going to go back that premium year for a couple of years till I hear that.
Oh yeah, they're bouncing back. And is now the right right time to start looking
at suspending some doe hunts, maybe going to, you know, a different.
Style tag allocation, but I don't think it's pure hunter pressure.
The winter wasn't hunter pressure.
CWD isn't hunter pressure, but how can we give these mule deer a boost?
(18:14):
Can we reduce some predators?
Can we think outside of the box, habitat, feed predators?
It's all plays a key key vehicle mentalities. It used to be,
you guys know, driving from our warehouse into Riverton,
there was always a vehicle mentality on the side of the road around Kinnear,
around Pavilion, around Crow Heart, always want a fresh one on the side of the road.
(18:37):
And it's not that way anymore because we don't have the deer anymore.
So it's time to start having some of these conversations deeper about how do
we protect, honestly, one of my favorite species by far.
Yeah. And I think that's the beauty of the meeting that we held the other night.
A lot of these conversations came up.
People got to be more involved. We've been in the mindset forever that nothing's going to change.
(19:00):
They've already got their minds made up, but I don't believe that.
I know Blake don't believe that.
I just think it's time that people band together. We band together as a group.
I know we have all these subgroups and we often find ourselves fighting amongst
one another, but as hunters, as mule deer enthusiasts, we all have to come together
(19:20):
with, well, I have the same goal.
We want to see more deer on the landscape. And what is that going to take?
What's your thoughts, Blake? Yeah, you brought up some interesting topics.
And we all, Rowdy's mentioned this public meeting that we've had.
And all of those topics that you brought up has come as far as,
is general tax a good thing?
Do we need to move to limited quota? Do we need more research?
(19:42):
Is it predators? Is it highway fatality? We had probably a list of 10 to 15
problems and maybe four to five solutions to these problems come up.
And that we're very adamant at these meetings after we broke into kind of subcommittees
and we had more private in-depth conversations.
(20:02):
And it's difficult to say what's the clear-cut solution, obviously,
but the things that we control, highway fatalities, the Kemmerer project,
highway crossing project got funded.
So that's a great win for Mule there in that part of the the world.
And like Rowdy said, the Highway 20, 789, that is next on the radar for being
(20:23):
most important to get funded.
So those two things right there are going to save a lot of deer.
I just wish we would have started funding these 50 years ago rather than 10 years ago.
We'd be so much farther ahead just because they're $19, $20 million projects.
That's not money you come up with overnight or even in two years.
And then winter mortality obviously took a huge hit. And I respect Game and
(20:47):
Fish for doing a lot of research as far as is feeding deer the right thing to
do or not the right thing to do, different things like that.
Because everybody has an opinion and a solution, but have they done the scientific
research to see if it's actually something plausible that will actually make a difference?
And I think Game and Fish is doing a good job at actually coming up with a lot of those solutions.
(21:09):
And we like to fund research projects that's not just with Game and Fish and go outside of that.
And work with some other people as well. So I think that's the best thing we
can do in what seems to be pretty bleak as far as what can we do.
Yeah, we just can't throw our hands in the air. I think that would be pretty
simple at this point to just throw your hands in the air and say a mule deer,
(21:33):
for all lack of better terms, are just in the tank.
But we can make this work. It's been done hundreds of years ago without all
the technology that we have at our fingertips today.
Man-made animals come back and flourish, and we can look at many different cases.
And not only do we have that history, but we have technology.
(21:55):
We can make this work. It's just going to teach people banding together with
one common goal and leaving behind their own personal goals at the end.
I think it's great that you guys are on the forefront. You're the tip of the
spear getting the work done, right?
And you're actively out there taking your personal time and investing it in
Mule Deer and this organization that helps Mule Deer.
(22:16):
So again, I think it's great what you guys are doing. And hopefully we can get
a bunch of people to show up and help.
But one of the things I wanted to ask you about is we had the fundraiser last
year and I think it was a big success.
But can you talk about, you know, how that went and then the things that happened since then?
Because I saw you had some youth hunts and different stories with that.
(22:40):
But can you recap some of the things that came out of the event last year,
the fundraiser last year and Jim Shockey coming? Yeah.
Yeah. Why don't you take that one, Blake? Oh, boy. Money-wise,
I think we did extremely well just in our live auction alone.
I think we grossed $90,000.
A big portion of that was for the Wyoming Predator Board.
(23:01):
Over $30,000 went to that. They sold a commissioner tag at our banquet.
And that money obviously goes to the Predator Board, which in turn helps eliminate
the predator issues, not only for the livestock people, but for mule deer,
which I think is a big problem that we're facing right now as far as mountain
lions and black bears in certain parts of the world that are really taking a
(23:24):
huge hit on mule deer and other wildlife as well.
The biggest things we did this year was we sat down as a big committee and we
looked at our bank account and said, what is the best bank for our buck?
And we got a lot of projects that were allocated to us that we did not fund
just for the point of, we looked at them and said,
I don't think this is worth our money as far as it's not going to have the biggest,
(23:47):
greatest impact for mule deer right now, or maybe not even in the long term.
So that probably sounds bad that we didn't fund projects, but the point was,
we wanted to treat this money like it was our own and we wanted to use it the
best way possible that we could.
So a lot of the money we still have in the bank right right now.
And we hope to expand on that and make a bigger impact with it.
(24:09):
Like Rowdy said earlier, though, we did fund some projects like the cheatgrass project.
We did do some good things with that money, but I think the most important thing
we did with it was we didn't waste it.
We're not, and I've said this a hundred times, we're not the government.
We're not just going to spend money or put timelines on when we need to spend the money.
Blake said, if it isn't the right fit or the right project, we'll hold onto
(24:31):
the money until that comes comes along.
I mean, other good things that we've done over the course of the year,
this committee has grown from literally five, six people to now 30 plus people.
We have a very active chapter.
Everybody takes it very serious. Everybody's very in tune with the goals.
(24:53):
It's just, it's been an amazing past year and a half.
You hit on it. We've been able to fund three, putting the U in hunt for kids
with life-threatening illnesses. Those are amazing.
Not only is that an amazing experience for the kids that get to come out and
partake in them, but it's an amazing experience for us that get to go along.
(25:14):
And we're getting a lot of youth initiatives started with this chapter.
I think that's, you hit on it, I think earlier, maybe in a question that you
guys asked on your questionnaire.
But yeah if we don't recruit kids into
this sport it will die and i
think we're trying to take a very active role in recruiting youth
to not only hunting but just enjoying wild things
(25:37):
on the outdoors yeah i think each generation has that kind of task of getting
the next generation involved so we're at that point all all four of us it's
like what are we doing to help get the next round of kids involved and actively involved,
in not only just the hunting aspect, but the conservation aspect and the stewardship.
(26:00):
And so I think that's what's really great about your organization is it offers
opportunities for people to get involved.
And be active stewards of that resource. Because a lot of times people are just
like, hey, I can just put money in the hat to help support this.
But what you guys have that's a little bit different, it's yeah, do that.
(26:21):
But also, hey, why don't you come help us with this project?
We need boots on the ground.
We need people out there helping get these things done. Otherwise, they don't happen.
Just like stuff that I'm interested in, it's like fish habitat projects,
pond cleanups, river cleanups, those kinds of things.
Things they don't happen by themselves there's got to be somebody down there
doing it and that's what's really awesome about what you guys are doing and
(26:44):
so i'm pretty stoked about it i think you know yeah it is a bleak outlook but
we have people that care and to your point rowdy.
Hundreds of years ago what did people do they said we don't have enough forage
in these areas for the animals so let's you know get rid of some of this forest
and burn it down and the grass grows and guess what? The animals come back.
(27:05):
There's just, there's things that to your point we can do.
We have a lot more technology. Now we have a lot more research.
We have people that are actively paid to do this full time with the game and fish and wildlife.
A university of Wyoming has researchers that are working on it actively now.
And so how do we pull all those people together to get something done to save these animals?
(27:28):
And you guys, again, like I said, I congratulate you because you are the tip
of the spear because you're the people that are on the ground doing this, living this every day.
I think hunters don't get enough credit for the stewardship and the conservation
that we do because really without us, it doesn't happen at all because nobody's
(27:49):
funded. And nobody cares.
Yeah. The hunters are a very compassionate group of people, no matter what anybody says or thinks.
Yeah, I love what we do. The funding aspect of this deal is,
like Blake said, you come to our banquet, and guess what?
Them dollars that you spend at that banquet, they're going to get spent right here.
And if they're not spent right here in Fremont County, they're going to get
(28:11):
spent somewhere in Wyoming. So it's an amazing funding model.
We're super proud of how that works. folks, the people that do all the hard
work and put all the effort into making this happen, have a say in how that's
money spent or say how that money is spent.
And like Blake said, at that point, it almost becomes like it's your own money
(28:33):
and you don't want to waste it away on just frivolous things.
So I think we've done a very good job of taking care of the bank account.
We don't fund anything that we don't fully all agree on.
And at the end of the day, we're going to do great things here.
I agree. Is there anything else you guys want to cover or tell folks about what
(28:54):
you're doing or how they can be involved?
Like I say, keep an eye on all our social media outlets. We're very good at
letting people know when we're going to be having meetings and when we're going
to be hosting things like the Mule Deer Summit.
Like you said, if we need boots on the ground for projects, we'll let people know.
But yeah, if you're interested in making a difference here in and around Fremont
(29:15):
County with mule deer and lakes for all intents and purposes,
other wildlife, come and join our our team. It's a great team.
And at the end of the day, you'll be proud to be part of it.
So my two cents for anybody listening out there who's new to the conservation
model, new to organizations like this is what's really cool is the lion's share
(29:35):
of the money you guys raise goes right back into conservation.
You guys aren't employed making a living doing this. This is all holistically
for the benefit of mule deer.
And if you're out there thinking about an organization to donate to,
certainly this is a great one by far.
Your dollars are going to go the farthest.
Picking an organization who does these, all the things you guys,
(29:59):
all your outreach programs.
And as I think about it, Wyoming has mineral natural gas, we have farming,
ranching, and then we have tourism as our economies.
And, you know, people are coming to Wyoming to AC our our natural resources
and the beauty, but also the wildlife.
And so without the wildlife, we don't have the tourism that we have, and we need to keep it.
(30:25):
We need to do everything we can, whether that's have these discussions about
where to put high fence areas,
you know, road crossing, have the discussion about where to remove predators,
have the discussion about noxious weed removal.
I think having the debate and the discussion, being open-minded and doing that is beneficial.
But if you're wondering why you should or shouldn't donate to any organization,
(30:49):
look at the financial structure.
And a lot of these that out there are claiming to be holistic and for the benefit
of wildlife, the majority of their money is going want to line somebody's pocket.
If instead of donating to one of those, pick these guys.
Yep. Because donating to a local organization is also a lot better because I
(31:10):
can go and see Rowdy or Blake and actively talk to them face to face about where
the money is going and have that conversation. So that's a big deal.
Yeah, we're very transparent. Yeah. And not only are we right here,
but, and we do this strictly volunteer, but we also have a great friendship
and relationship with the guys at headquarters.
We can text them seven days a week if we have any questions or concerns.
(31:34):
And there's not many organizations that are like that as far as people within
chapters of a main organization can talk to the CEO or the CFO really anytime,
let alone seven days a week.
So we're pretty privileged at that aspect to have a great relationship with
headquarters and the right here in Wyoming.
And if we need anything, think they're, they're more than willing to help and
(31:56):
they're great people. Very cool guys.
It's always a privilege to have you guys on. I admire both of you.
You're doing great work. Thank you for taking the time to be on here.
We'll get this out in the next few weeks and get, hopefully get you a full banquet
and get a bunch of money raised.
Yeah. Thanks again for coming on the Radcast Outdoors podcast.
We always love having you.
All right. Thanks a bunch guys. Yep. Appreciate it. You guys have a good one.
(32:19):
Stay warm out there. All right. We'll talk to you later. All right. See you guys.
Thanks again for listening to the radcast outdoors
podcast we hope that you've enjoyed the
show if so please go to apple podcasts spotify
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(32:44):
you can find all of our shows recipes giveaways videos and much more at radcastoutdoors.com,
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(33:04):
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out there and enjoy the outdoors.
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