00:00:09 Speaker 1: From me Theaters World News Headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is Col's We Can Review with Ryan cal Callahan. Now here's Cal. 00:00:20 Speaker 2: All right, everybody. This week Cal's We Can Review our special drop. We have Patrick Barry, CEO of b h A, and Jordan Sillers. Jordan Sillers has been working on a bunch of interesting things, but he's taking time out of his busy schedule to join us here on this podcast because you know, he orchestrates this entire shooting match most of the time, so. 00:00:48 Speaker 1: Happy to do it. 00:00:49 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the right answer. But you know, we cover a lot of important stuff, so it's it's fulfilling work, right. 00:00:59 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, absolutely, very fulfilling. Love my coworkers. 00:01:03 Speaker 1: It's great to say that I do. Literally that's great. 00:01:11 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it is. If you are listening to this. The day it drops, it is Thursday, and it's a very special Thursday because the night of the Field to Table dinner in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the leading big event as close as the BHA family gets to a big formal dinner at Rendezvous, our national meeting. So if you're listening to this, come on down and I'll see you at rendezvous Friday night where we have live podcast with Hal Herring. We have a meat Eater trivia event hosted by Randall Williams. I'll be there, Ronnie Bame will be there, Mark Kenyon will be there and you can put your your nogging up against ours and we can see who wins the most stuff. I know, the hard work in Josh Mills is a ton of awesome prizes and giveaways lined up for folks who attend that event Friday night and then Saturday we have all sorts of seminars and ways for folks to understand what is happening with BHA, how you can get evolved, how you can support all these initiatives that we have going on. But to not delay this any further because it is literally his ship. Patrick Barry the new CEO, and I'd say new you got to take that with a grain of salt. In the history of the organization. Patrick is the new CEO, but he's been at the Helm since this winter and we're all dying to learn what he has going on with this national organization that is as Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. So, without further ado, Patrick Berry tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you How did you get a b here? 00:03:08 Speaker 1: Well, I've had a pretty interesting career so far, and I thought it would make it even more interesting. You know, got a lot of experience in conservation field. Uh, was a legislative and policy director for a statewide organization. A lot of fundraising experience, nonprofit management and all that good stuff. Uh. I know one one job I've had that the b h A faple seemed to be pretty excited about, as I was formerly the director of Vermont's Fish and Wildlife Agency. So uh, you know, all the biologists hunter ed fish culture stations. We had fish and wildlife law enforcement within within an apartment too. So uh, you know, a lot of a lot of hopefully relevant, good experience to take over for this next leg of the journey at b h A. 00:04:00 Speaker 2: Heck yeah, And what what have you been doing with BHA? Did you jump in and change everything around? Are we a different organization now? What what can people expect? 00:04:14 Speaker 1: That's a really good question. I'll start by saying, you know, while it may seem like fairly quiet on the outside, it's been like a beehive of activity on the inside of BHA. So been really really focused on getting the organization's house in order. You know, Lantani did an amazing job of getting the organization from a small, little, you know, organization to meteoric growth and you know, kind of grew faster than it could mature in a lot of ways. So just getting the organization in a place where we're planning for uh, you know, where we want to be at five years from now and ten years from now. So it's been in incredibly busy, but I like where we're at. I like the foundation that we've got laid right now and to support all the things that come next. As far as the BHA that people know and love, it's important, I know, for a lot of people to hear that we are very committed and I am very committed to the same core mission, the same focus, the same constituents of folks that love to hunt and fish, care deeply about conservation, and recognize the importance of public lands, waters and wildlife. I mean, not everybody has the opportunity to necessarily travel someplace or have access to private land, and they're certainly not making any more real estate the last I checked. So it's an incredibly valuable asset and valuable resource. That is worth fighting for and worth protecting for future generations of folks that love to hunt, fish and get outside in pretty wild places. 00:06:00 Speaker 2: And what is there there anything particular that's that's in the crosshairs of b h A right now? What what would be the elevator pitch if somebody said, I don't know anything about b ah A, why would I be a member? 00:06:20 Speaker 1: First of all, it's it's the only organization that is truly focused on these public assets and these public resources we have. And listen, there are a lot of fantastic part in organizations that we have that definitely touch on that they work hand in hand with us and us and them. But I think what makes bh A distinctive is the attraction of of in the idea of spending your time hunting and fishing, you know, in wild places. And you know, I know, as my predecessor said, you know, back country is a state of mind. And well, I think we often view that back country, that wild experience is being distinctive to the inner Mountain West in Alaska, in those big landscapes, it's it's where you find it. And you know, I think when you think outside of that that rocky mountain region in Alaska. You know, what might come to mind could be, you know, the Boundary Waters, or you know, from the waters perspective, the Everglades, you know, but it can also be the salt marshes off of Cape Cod, or the pine barons of New Jersey, or a lot of different places that where people love to go and enjoy themselves in the outdoors. In addition to that, I think as an attractive part of the organization is the fact that whatever tritter you like to go after, you're in the family. So if you only squirrel hunt and there's another guy in your chapter who only likes to stealheadfish, you're all in b h A and you're all part of this community that we have. So you know, I think that those are those are factors. Ideologically, it is a political right down the center. We don't get involved in politics at all. That's definitely attractive in a much more divisive society of these days. And our members still a lot younger, you know, they're you know, seventy percent of the members are under the age of forty five, and so you know, we've got a lot of really you know, good young folks that add at energy to the efforts that we take up across the country and parts of North America. You got a puppy over there, Well, we got five dogs, and so the one puppy is creating chaos barking at the other, Well, three of them are out of here right now, so I just try to get get him distracted. But I figured that out a little bit of flavor, Yeah, to the podcast. 00:08:45 Speaker 2: It's hard to match that puppy energy when even you're a two year old dog, you know. 00:08:50 Speaker 1: Yeah, and he's six months old and he's pretty saucy, so he's not afraid to cause complete chaos when whenever the urge strikes him. 00:08:59 Speaker 2: And I'm on the kind of on that topic. Patrick, your background as it relates to hunting, you're one of these folks that has really gotten in deep on the bird hunting bird dog side of things. 00:09:15 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, after I left the you know, my my job running fish and otlect department. You know, I just I love upland bird hunting and uh not, you know. Coincidentally, I mean there are some there's some really great uh places that are up in the mountains around where I live, for for grouse and woodcock and just magical way to get away, and I thought, you know, I'd love to try to train these dogs to a much higher level. And so that's that's what I did, and uh and certainly have gotten into that a lot. And I would tell you that a well trained field trial dog makes a hunting dog, and a and a dog that hunts makes a better field trial dog. So they they go hand in hand big time in my opinion. But you know, there's other things you got to do during different times a year. So you know, I love the waterfowl hunt. I spend as much as my time as I can during Turkey season out there. You know, I was a fishing guide for a heck of a long time too, So Jordan and I were just talking about that. I mean, there are generalists and then there are folks that love to do something specific. And I would say I definitely I'm drawn more to the upland bird hunting, whether it's the grouse and woodcock tangles of the Northeast, or spent a fair amount of time in the Midwest, you know, hunting for wild pheasants and quail, and you know, even a few other places beyond that. So yeah, that's that's that's my thing. 00:10:42 Speaker 2: Cal Well, anybody who gets that bird dog, that very first bird dog, and watches those lights turn on as all of a sudden they're on their first bird and they hear their first shotgun go off, and it it's incredibly addicting. I'll tell you that it is. 00:10:59 Speaker 1: And I honestly think too that folks, that hunting is not easy a lot of times. I think you guys know that, your listeners certainly know that. And you have to work a little bit harder for something or something that takes you a longer time to pull together. There's a lot greater reward. And when you spend time, you know, grinding away training your own dog, screwing up, backing up, trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube. At the same time, you're trying to find really good spots to get out there, and I mean, my goodness, like trying to shoot a rough grouse in early season with leaves on the trees is it's a you can go through a case of shells pretty quickly in short order. But you know, when you when you finally put all that work in and man, you you you put a bird on the ground and the dog brings it to hands so beautifully. The reward it never gets old. Cow, I just love it. 00:11:57 Speaker 2: I hear you, I hear you. So to maximize our time here, we should probably talk about some of the tough stuff. What you know we have. We're in these election cycles that are coming up. We're going to see either at the state or the federal level, some changing in the guard one way or another. Where are we at and from a BHA perspective, what are we looking forward to? What should we be preparing ourselves for? Like the good and the bad? 00:12:34 Speaker 1: You know, I think there's one topic that covers both the good and the bad at the same time. Cal And that's something I know you and I have talked about. And you know, there's these increasing challenges to science based wildlife management. And you know, when you talk about why the science matter as well, you know, hunters are often really important partners and conservation and helping to UH manage certain wildlife populations to maintain an ecological balance UH and that supports the natural systems where a diverse assembled to wildlife species can can thrive. UH. And there boy, just you know a lot of states now we're seeing efforts where that that focus on sound scientific management that's been successful for over the century is getting threatened in a lot of different ways. And you know, in some cases it's animal rights activists and anti hunters trying to change things and and manage things, I suppose from a more emotional level. In other places it's privatization or its commoditization, you know, moving I think you know, in Kentucky the legislature tried to move fish and wildlife into the agg Department. Not not terribly a good idea. So you know that's kind of the bad news. And you know, we we don't really know how the election cycle I change how that's going. But I I think the good news side of that is, you know that all the while that BHA has been in a transition, certainly, you know, as I've been coming on board, man, our chapters and our members have been doing more than keeping the lights on. They have been focused on this issue, of course, with a lot of the other you know, really important public land and water issues as well. And because BHA appeals to such a broad cross section of outdoor enthusiasts, we've got an opportunity to really engage communities of non hunters, right, I mean, you know, and sometimes it's it's not just the fact that you know, like with media, right, there's this real focus on the self reliance of hunting and the fact that you know, hunting is the most socially ethically and environmentally responsible way to to put meat on your table. I mean those are you know, there's a different demographic where that certainly appeals to. But you know, even the b h A pint Knights are attractive too. I mean we don't have the banquet model like a like a lot of our you know, pure organizations, and I you know, I support them and they do fantastic work. But the uh, the cost of entry, uh if you're just interested can be pretty high. Where you know, if you've got five bucks for a beer and you're really kind of curious what back hundred hunters anglers is all about, or what hunting is all about, it's it's pretty low cost to get in. So, you know, our ability to pull in these constituencies that are you know, curious and uh and listening and they like a lot of what we do because they certainly support you know, wild places and public lands, waters and wildlife. Frankly to help inform, uh, engage and galvanized communities around why science is so darn important in managing wildlife and why ballot box biology and in other ways that people try to undermine all of this successful wildlife rehabilitation and and restoration and management. It's just not a good idea. And what. 00:16:15 Speaker 2: I get like, how would folks get engaged on this issue? 00:16:22 Speaker 1: I guess, well, first of all, we need folks engage on this issue because it is growing in magnitude. Uh. And you know, bha folks, man, they they they show up right, They're there. They're engaged too. And if this is something that you know is of interest to uh the folks out there, We've got great resources on our website backhuntry hunters dot org where you can you can find information on your state chapter uh and how to how to contact them and how to get involved and uh, you know, from that launching point cal uh, you can learn about what's going on. So you know, it could be you know, on this like take this particular issue. Right. So I think a lot of folks and probably a lot of your listeners are aware of the battles being waved in Colorado right now. But uh, you know, in in Kentucky, it's uh, you know, that commoditization issue, and you know Kansas and and Montana and other places, it's more of this move towards monetizing and privatizing wildlife. Uh. So you know, folks can call uh you know the chapters, get in touch with those uh those leaders, learn about which state issues around this, uh, you know, public wildlife threats are are most relevant, and and get engaged pretty quickly. I mean, it's a very open, very welcoming community that's looking for folks. Whether you know, maybe you go fishing twice a year, man, you're in right. Uh. And maybe you could also try to see how many days of waterfowl season or how many you know days you're out there, you know, chasing deer. I mean, it doesn't really matter. Everybody's a part of the process. 00:18:03 Speaker 2: It is the you know, the value I see in BHA and a lot of other groups that are active is the fact that as a working individual who likes to go outside and do things, it is so hard to keep up on what the heck is going on at home. Even so, like Montana BHA, they are involved commenting on the elk management plan, They're involved commenting on the crazy Mountain Land Exchange, they're involved commenting on privatization of wildlife or attempts further attempts to do so in this state, a BLM solar plan on public land, all of these issues. And it's very daunting as an individual to know that this stuff affects me us you, uh and and will affect every every person who goes out on public land, but every person who buys a hunting license down the road. You know, every session, every every planning session is going to have that ripple effect impact. And it's uh, I understand why people don't want to be involved with this stuff at all, because it's a lot well I. 00:19:34 Speaker 1: Mean, listen, your your hobbies are often your escape from a lot of the rest of the serious stuff in your life. And you know, I know for me, it's I don't know of any other thing that I do, or I don't think about work or whatever other challenges I've got going on, right, I'm just focused on that. And uh So, you know daunting is is you know, one thought that people might have, but they may just not want to deal with it at all. But man, you know, the world is run by people who show up. You've heard me say that cal and if you care about this stuff, you got to get involved too. And you know what, I what I like about BHA, and and what you pointed out is that strength at the state level. And so I mean one of the things that I've been really focused on during this transition is really leaning into support for those state chapters so that if you've got a person that's interested and wants to get involved, you know, and they get in touch with their state chapter, Uh, they're going to get the information that they need to know what's going on in their state. And because I mean your Montana example is a great one. I mean, think about the diversity of issues affecting public lands, public wildlife, public waters, you know, in one state alone, and you know what, you barely scratch a surface for what's happening in Montana, just Montana alone. 00:20:56 Speaker 3: Uh. 00:20:56 Speaker 1: And and and that's the thing is because organization doesn't focus on one species. If there's a specific one of those issues that you mentioned that is compelling, well heck you can you can dive into that one, and the chapter will be delighted to have more people on board supporting it. 00:21:18 Speaker 2: How is BHA affecting, how are they weighing in effectively, I should say on you know, kind of pick an issue. Yep. 00:21:31 Speaker 1: So I mean, look, there's a lot of ways you can get involved, and you can get engaged. And I think when there's like take a policy or legislative issue that comes up, right, you know, and we could talk about federal issues, but just just talk about state issues for a minute. Right. There are again partner and peer organizations that I love and support and you know, oftentimes will coordinate, you know, writing maybe a letter in opposition or in support of something, or you know, making a making some phone calls or you know something like that. I think BHA is a Swiss army knife. Really, you know, like this, take for example, what happened in UH in Kansas recently with the UH there was a bill basically to move towards privatizing a heck of a lot of the tags for deer hunting and man the Kansas BHA chapter. Guys. UH, they took time off work and they went to the state House and UH they articulated UH their opposition to this bill and talked all about the public trust doctrine and the North American model of wildlife conservation and the impacts this bill would have UH, and that's a that's direct engagement right there. Cal right, So there's a there's a you know, the the UH, I would say, a high level of investment way to get involved. And they were successful, uh and they basically we were instrumental in helping stop that bill. So you know, whether you sign onto a letter or write your own e mail, or make a phone call, or or show up at a hearing or or or something like that, there's a whole bunch of ways you can get involved. And I I do think it's pretty understood that, you know, our our community uh is is more ready and willing to show up uh than than than almost anybody else a lot of times. And uh. You know, again we're fortunate to have really terrific partners that we work with. But there's this consistent theme of action that happens within b h A that that I mean, if you look at it, it makes a huge difference in stopping bad stuff and helping good stuff move forward. 00:23:43 Speaker 2: At the federal level, is it more about like lobbying and pointing to the size of the BHA membership and saying our membership base is this big they and this is what they want or how do how does it work above the state level? 00:24:04 Speaker 1: So well, both of those things are important at the state level and certainly at the federal level. I think at the federal level what seems to matter as much as anything is not just identifying you know, our size of our community. But uh, you know, there there's a really good collaborative community of organizations that focus on conservation. A lot of them, you know in the hunting and fishing space, that collaborate really well together. And uh, you know, fact, I was just talking to a colleague at TRCP, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. They're they're not a membership organization, but man, they do a fantastic job of of focusing on federal policy issues around hunting, fishing, conservation. You know, all of these public resources, and and the value that they provide is is the ability to create big coalitions. So you know, cal of just saying, well, you know, it's this organization with dis many members. You know, you may have fifty groups signed on, right, and then you start to do the math, and then yeah, then that becomes an example of some serious grassroots firepower and and you know certainly represents enough people where a lot of Fed officials, Man, they got to pay attention. And I'll just add one thing if I could back up to the state level too, cal you know, one thing that I it's just fascinates me and probably always will, is how BHA has the ability to be the point of the spear on some of these issues, like really not afraid to take a hard line position and yet has a reputation for being an honest broker and a collaborator and an organization that you can really work with when it matters. And you know, there are some you know, recent examples of that, you know that have come up. And I'll just tell you a quick story too. I was enjoyed a breakfast with the head of the Arkansas Fish and Game Department about a month ago, and you know, shared with me is feeling that, you know, boy, the BHA chapter leaders have just set the standard for how a an organization with an interest in wildlife can so effectively collaborate and partner with the state Fish and Wildlife agency. And and that's including you know, the ability to disagree without being too disagreeable. That that's the kind of stuff that that matters. So I just I value that b H a is not afraid to take a hard position and yet also has the ability to be part of a of a process for providing solutions. It's a it's a I think it's a. It's a it's a very distinctive quality of of our advocacy efforts. 00:26:51 Speaker 2: Yeah, darn, darn Wright. That is something that we see all the time, and it's the stigma of well, if you don't agree on everything, you can't hang out together right right right where. It's like the the best conversations are with those that have opposing viewpoints when you're working to try to put something together. 00:27:19 Speaker 1: Right yep, Yeah, Well to that point too. I mean, we are all on the same team here even if we disagree, and we certainly you know, I'm I don't think my wife and I would be together if we had to agree on absolutely everything, But man, we were on the same team and we agree on enough stuff to make it work. And I'll be honest, I mean that's a growing concern is just you know, with the changes in demographics across this country, and there are you know, not as many people who are even in touch with being you know, outside in cool places. It's more important ever that I think organizations that focus on outdoor recreation broadly hunting and fishing and conservation certainly find a way to work together. And man, I see it all the time. It's like there's a circular firing squad of sportsman's groups and sometimes and you know, all you got to do is to take a look at a social media post by almost any organization. Somewhere along the way, somebody is going to take a shot at whatever organization, either how they function, how they operate, the issue itself, and it's you know, the person making the comment is supposed to be part of the team. Well really, you know, you can just respectfully disagree and choose not to engage on that issue. So I hope that that changes. Although man is divided as things are these days, I know that's going to be a tough one. And again, I really do think that is really another attractive quality to the BHA community is that you know, everybody's welcome. You don't you don't have to agree on stuff. I mean, you know, you hear stories all the time of BHA pint nights where folks from as far opposite ends of the ideological spectrum as possible hanging out having a beer, talking about how much they love being outside, hunting, fishing and enjoying, you know, their time away from work. 00:29:18 Speaker 2: This is going to be your first rendezvous, yes, sir, yeah, yeah, So what are your what are your expectations? 00:29:27 Speaker 1: Well, first of all, everywhere I go and everybody I talked to in VHA says the same thing. And I don't know if it was before I came on board. This was a line that you had to learn as a part of being a BHA member. But no matter where they live, what they hunt, age, gender, whatever, they all say the same thing. I found my people. They love this community because they're you know, they care about conservation and love hunting and fishing. They can't be stereotyped or not, you know, sort of out on you know what people view as these divided extremes in a lot of ways, and they enjoy hanging out with one another. And uh when people talk about how they found their people, uh man, they can't wait to get the rendezvous to see their people. Uh even if they live on the farthest uh, you know, points of the country or the continent. And uh, I'm just excited to see that in action. The people are just they they just can't wait. And I I mean, I really hope that a lot of folks that you know live in Minnesota, because look, Minnesota is like it's it's one of those states that has an exceptional outdoor culture hunting and fishing and outdoor recreation, and there's incredible resources there. So you know, there's a heck of a lot of sportsmen and women uh in the area. And you know, the reality is like April is not the best time of year uh to enjoy a lot of those things. So you know, I I hope that there are a lot of you know, Minnesotan's that maybe they're not VHA members, but they've heard of the organization, they've heard about rendezvous, they want to see what it's all about, and that they they're excited to show up for the big gathering darn right. 00:31:13 Speaker 2: And yeah, we'll have some great I know we'll be talking about renewable energy on public lands, and I know we'll be talking about boundary waters and corner crossing and a bunch of issues that BHA partakes in great opportunity for folks to learn more about the organization and like you said, be in a room with other folks that are there for the same purpose, right, Uh, taking valuable personal time to learn more, learn how to get involved, and learn how to take action. 00:31:53 Speaker 1: Well, I think that's one of the huge benefits of Rendezvous. Right. So you've got a bunch of fun stuff, right, key calling contest. Uh, you know, you've got the field to table dinner, a lot of kids activities, cal you've got your own seminar how to use the whole animal, which is awesome and people are going to love that stuff. But there's there's also the opportunity to learn about some of these important issues. And you know, we've added two special seminars this year on this these threats to public wildlife issues, and we've got some real leaders on that. We've got Gasbar Para Cone from Colorado who's been involved in these issues for a long time and really well respected guy, to talk about what you can do in your state when you're when you're seeing some of these issues cropping up, or what you could even do you know, absent that. But also we've got John Gassett, who was a former fish wil life director from the state of Kentucky and is now at the Wildlife Management Institute, And uh, you know, is just a hoot. Man. I think folks are really going to enjoy his seminar because he's not only incredibly knowledgeable, but he's a really funny guy. And he's just got this reverence without being unprofessional that I think has put people at ease and makes it a more interesting topic no matter what the heck he's talking about. So yeah, you know, there's all the fun stuff mixed in there, and then uh, you know some really important stuff, including some of the topics that you mentioned. 00:33:23 Speaker 2: Cal Well, uh, I guess we're talking it. It is Thursday. We've We've had an awesome kind of for semi formal night with some amazing chefs and wild food. And yeah we got board meetings on Friday. 00:33:43 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, there you go. 00:33:45 Speaker 2: Yeah, well shape shape the year for b h A tomorrow. 00:33:51 Speaker 1: I'm pretty excited about the about the board meeting, man, there's a lot to catch up on. Like I said, man, we have been so busy as an organization, uh, getting ready for uh for you know b h A two point zero if you will, Uh, And so there's a lot of there's a lot of stuff to catch up on and and it's a really strong board and you know, what I appreciate about our board is everybody is an active, enthusiastic outdoors person who you know, in their own way is a bad asset hunting and fishing. Uh. And that's pretty cool because you know a lot of smart people and have the ability to really connect with the mission and connect with the our constituents and uh, you know our members and you know the b ah A community. So you know, it's uh, it's not it's not your button down board. Uh you know, I mean, Cali, do you even own it? Tie? Probably at least one. 00:34:47 Speaker 2: Oh I have two clip ons which i'm and then one one of the you know the ones that you have to YouTube to figure out how to work. 00:34:57 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, right, so okay, so you have you have at least something that's passable. But it's it's definitely more of the active user board. So you know, it's like, what was that there's a steakhouse in Texas or actually no, it's outside of Denver, Colorado. If you go in with a tie, they'll cut it off with a pair of scissors. You know what, cal We actually might want to start to institute that as a rendezvous policy. If you show up at a tie, Ryan Callahan is gonna cut that thing off with a pair of scissors, and if you put another one on, he may try to cut it off with a chainsaw. So it should be a good to turn. I love it. 00:35:39 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's great. Yeah, it's one of the coolest things about Rendezvous for me is is it is just so so different. It's young, lots of young families. We've been watching a lot of these young families come up and mature over the years and popping kids out and still staying involved. And it's it's cool. It's a it's a neat thing, neat thing to be around, so you can make it a priority. 00:36:07 Speaker 1: I remember when I so when I was running Fish and Wildlife Man, my boys were young, and I told the governor when he appointed me, I'm like, just so you know, I'm I'm gonna hang out with these guys. I'm gonna keep coaching their teams, and I'm gonna make sure I'm home for dinner. And and then on the flip side, you know, when I was on the Rubbert Chicken dinner circuit going to banquets and that sort of thing, or or outdoor shows. I took those guys everywhere, so you can do it. And I love the fact that a lot of the young BHA parents are have the same idea in mine and they're excited and willing to take uh you know, the little ones to uh to to rendezvous. 00:36:50 Speaker 2: Darn right, Jordan, Yet you got anything to add here? 00:36:55 Speaker 1: Yeah? 00:36:55 Speaker 3: I We've talked a lot about kind of how BHA and the state chapter are involved in the legislature, involved in policy issues, but can you talk a little bit about the on the ground conservation work that if you join your chapter you're going to get an opportunity to get involved in. 00:37:14 Speaker 1: Man, I'm so glad you brought that up, and that's a real miss on my part because that is something that our chapters love to do. Now. We we do have some really important projects with some federal grant money, uh in parts of the Inner Mountain West to focus on public land habitat restoration and sometimes just pulling fences. And so you know, we'll get big groups of BHA volunteers that will you know, go out there work together, you know, pull pull a mile or two or five of old, outdated, antiquated barbed wire fence. Uh. You know, have a few beers, maybe listen to some music hangout. I mean it's a it's a really good time and and they're doing great work and you know, probably a longer conversation for another time, but you know, the negative impacts of what happened with some of those outdated fences is pretty significant. Especially you know, you get deep snow on the ground and they got no purchase to jump over the fences. They get stuck on the barbed wire and you can see, you know, carcasses of deer and pronghorn and all kinds of critters, you know, line up along the fence in the spring when the snow melts and man our community of people, they just love being part of that effort. But even beyond that, it's not even just the official I'll put that in air quotes stewardship projects we have. Most of our chapters do on the ground work and get involved. I mean, look, I was down you know at the Arkansas chapters Black Bear Bonanza, which was a fantastic event and you know it's great Klay Knukom did a live bear Grease episode. There was about fifteen hundred people, you know at this event, and at the end of the night, everybody and the leadership of the chapter was, you know, having a nice glass of whiskey and celebrating what a successful event it was. But before they left, they said, oh, hang on, guys, all right, we got to coordinate. We got to clean up this wildlife management area in this location. So okay, hey, man, let's all pat ourselves on the back for this kick ass event, but let's plan for getting together and making a difference, you know, on this piece of public land that's right near where they a lot of them live, And that happens all the time across the BHA community. And the reason I'm glad you brought that up, Jordan, is because, man, some people are allergic to legislatures and politics and stuff like that, and they want to know that they can make a difference and do something that's more than just digging in on a policy issue, but you know, getting together and making a difference on the ground too. So you know, I guarantee if you were to and a lot, by the way, a lot of that infos on the website too, on the chapters will have that information of where they're going to meet up to have you focus on some kind of specific conservation project, planning, clean up, you know, whatever too, So you know, folks that are interested and get involved in joining BHA will have the opportunity to take a look at that too. 00:40:15 Speaker 2: Heck yeah, well, just in the the full disclosure. I am a national board member for Backhuntry Hunters and Anglers, and I'm as critical of the organization as ever. Yeah, because I think that's part of the gig when you're a board member. So I have all my interest in keeping us on the straight and narrow and focused on the things that I have near and dear to my heart, which is if you're listening to this show, it's probably no guess that I like my public lands my access to them, amongst my long list of critters as well. So thanks everybody so much for listening. Thank you so much Patrick being on here. Uh and uh, if you have any questions, please write into a s k C A L that's ask Cal at themeeater dot com and uh ask them. We'll get back to you. We'll get Patrick back on here. And if you're in that greater MSP twin Cities area, uh, come on down to Ronnie and we'll see you Friday Saturday. 00:41:23 Speaker 1: Hey, thanks so much for having me on Cal and enjoyed hanging with you and Jordan. 00:41:28 Speaker 2: Thank you,