EPISODE 24 - Schnee’s - Boots, Firearms, Gear, Sheep Hunting & our Outdoor Heritage

On this episode of Sheep Fever, co-host Gray Thornton visits with Schnee’s president & owner, Jon Edwards, and Marketing Director, Matt Miller, to talk sheep hunting, their Montana roots, footwear, firearms, gear, our freedoms, outdoor heritage, and why this iconic downtown Bozeman brand has been a stalwart supporter of Wild Sheep Foundation for more than 30 years.

We discuss Schnee’s rich history, its future, and why showcasing a “gun shop” on Main Street in downtown Bozeman is important to our Western heritage and ethos. We also visit on our upcoming partnership -Schnee’s & WSF’s Ram Rendezvous II July 6-7, 2023, where we again turn downtown Bozeman into a street fair with BBQ, beer, live music, Schnee’s & WSF partner vendors, and a celebration of wild sheep, hunting & conservation.

Episode 23 - Feral Horse & Burrows with Tony Wasley, Charlie Booher & Kevin Hurley

Congress passed the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses & Burros Act in 1971 when populations of these animals were declining. Back then, no one could have foreseen the problems we currently face 55 years later, as unchecked populations overrun the carrying capacity of the land and out-compete native wildlife (including wild bighorns) for forage and water. The law requires the BLM to protect and manage populations of horses and burros for the health of the landscape and these animals themselves, but it forbids multiple-use agencies from destroying healthy animals. That leaves us – the taxpayers and owners of the public land where most of these critters live – with conflicting rules and a whole lot of mouths to feed.

The President’s FY24 budget requested nearly $155 million of taxpayer dollars to employ and resource 239 full-time employees for horse and burro management. Most of that taxpayer money will be spent feeding the more than 60,000 animals still in long-term holding facilities.

Current horse and burro policies are failing our public lands, our public wildlife, and the equids themselves. The time for change has come and passed.

Sheep Fever asked those close to the situation to help explain why the law is being carried out as written, how bad things have gotten, and what can and should be done.

Episode 22 - Women Hunt®, Women Shaping Conservation, and Women In Hunting™

For a variety of reasons women are one of the fasting growing segments of the hunting and shooting communities. WSF’s Women Hunt® program was conceived to help more women cross barriers into the hunting and conservation space. Women Shaping Conservation is a new program within Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia with a shared vision and mission of WSF’s Women Hunt® program. Gray sits down with Women Hunt® founder and Chair Renée Thornton, Women Shaping Conservation Chair Rebecca Peters, (a 2021 Women Hunt® sponsored New Hunter Course alumni), and Amy Patrick, Policy Director of Oregon Hunters Association (a 2022 Women Hunt® sponsored New Hunter Course alumni) to discuss their journeys as new hunters, challenges they faced, opportunities they enjoyed and the future of Women In Hunting™.

Episode 21 - Hunting Icons of British Columbia - Ron Fleming and Darwin Cary

One of the most cherished aspects of any hunt is the stories shared around a campfire. Whether enjoying Stone’s sheep ribs slow grilled on willow sticks, Dall’s tenderloins sauteed on a hot rock, or bighorn backstraps sizzling in a well-worn cast iron pan, the stories told while enjoying the fruits of the hunt in many ways epitomize the allure of sheep camp and the essence of the hunting experience. Guides, outfitters, and professional hunters around the world are renowned as some of the finest storytellers. Weaving a yarn, telling the truth, or a mixture of the two, hunting and outdoor stories shared by hunting icons, are often our most cherished memories of time spent in the mountains and afield.

Gray sits down at the recent Guide Outfitters Association of British Columbia convention in Kelowna, BC, with two such icons, both WSF Frank Golata Outstanding Outfitter winners, Ron Fleming of Love Brothers & Lee, LTD and Darwin Cary of Scoop Lake Outfitters. Ron and Darwin share their journeys getting into the Guide/Outfitting business, hilarious stories, and exciting and harrowing adventures experienced over six decades in the mountains as well as their views on the past, present, and future of guide outfitting in BC.

These two can tell a tale and feed off each other like a few others. Enjoy nearly ninety minutes of two icons of British Columbia. We’re confident you’ll want even more!

Episode 20 - Conservation Permits with Andrew McKean

Auction Tags, Governor’s Tags, Minister’s Permits – celebrated conservation funding, special privilege, love them or hate them, amazing record amounts of money are being spent each year for the chance to skip to the head of the line and hunt one special animal. The question is, what do these funds mean to big game species, the agencies that receive these funds, the organizations that sell them, and is this system of conservation funding durable?

On the heels of the 2023 AZ Mule Deer Tag selling for $725,000, Gray and Keith sit down with Hunting and Conservation Editor for Outdoor Life and Mule Deer Foundation board member Andrew McKean to do a deep dive into the crazy amounts of money being generated from these tags, why, who and what benefits and while some people cheer, others complain.

Episode 19 - One Health with Peri Wolff and Shane Mahoney

One Health is not a new concept, but it has gained momentum with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and others following the COVID pandemic. One Health promotes the fact that human health is directly tied to the health of the environment, including wildlife, plants, clean air, and clean water. While at the 2023 Sheep Show, Keith visited with wildlife veterinary expert and past Chair of the Wild Sheep Foundation Peregrine Wolff, and Shane Mahoney, president and CEO of Conservation Visions. Their conversation explores how One Health could engage more people in the conservation and management of natural resources, which should lead to a better understanding of the historical role hunters and anglers have played and continue to play in healthy ecosystems.

Episode 18 - La Palmosa - A Family Tradition and Vision for Wildlife

The 100,000-acre Rancho La Palmosa is the result of a vision to restore native wildlife to the Chihuahuan desert of northern Coahuila, including desert bighorn sheep, pronghorn, mule deer, whitetail deer (miquihuanenses subspecies), quail (scaled and Montezuma) and non-game species and to enhance and protect the biodiversity of native flora and fauna. The Rangel family has owned portions of the ranch for more than 50 years. La Palmosa encompasses 156 square miles of spectacular desert, mesa, and mountain topography ranging from 4,200’ to 8,600’ in elevation in the San Marcos y Los Pinõs Mountains.
Gray sits down with La Palmosa owners Emilio Rangel and his son Emilio Espino to discuss the history of the ranch and their repatriation efforts for desert bighorn sheep which from a source population of 133 released in 2005/2006 now numbers more than 700 free-ranging bighorns.

Episode 17 - Hard Truths About Conservation with Dan Cabela and Shane Mahoney

Outdoor programming on television has come a long way since its inception, with more and more shows covering the conservation benefits of hunting and fishing. However, the majority of shows air on outdoor networks favored by sportsmen. The broader public that would benefit from knowing these benefits have been harder to reach. While at the 2023 Sheep Show, Keith sat down with Dan Cabela and Conservation Visions president and CEO Shane Mahoney to talk about Dan’s new television series, Hard Truths, airing on a much more diverse platform, the History Channel.

EPISODE 16 - SITKA GEAR

SITKA Gear has led the technical hunting clothing community with their launch in 2005 with purposeful-designed apparel for the sheep and mountain game hunter and their digitally inspired Open Country pattern. Today, their lines include camouflage patterns, apparel, and gear for all species, from elk, mule deer, and whitetail to waterfowl and turkey. A leader in conservation, SITKA has been funding wild sheep and wildlife conservation in a major way since its start and has been the Official Sponsor of the Sheep Show for nine years and the initial sponsor for WSF’s <1 Club® and Women Hunt® programs. Gray sits down during the 2023 Sheep Show with SITKA’s Lindsey Davis, Trevor Stewart, and Abby Atol to discuss STIKA’s approach to gear and their commitment to WSF, our programs, and our industry.

Episode 15 - Stone Glacier with Jeff Sposito

Stone Glacier is recognized as one of the fastest-growing, innovative, and edgy brands in the outdoor space. Gray sits down with SG President and CEO Jeff Sposito to discuss SG’s austere beginnings to trim gear weight to enable acclaimed Dall’s and Montana Unlimited hunter, SG Founder and Lead Designer Kurt Racicot to hunt solo for weeks in some of the most challenging environments to SG’s future as a gem of Vista Outdoors. Jeff talks about the brand, the products, the culture, and the future of Stone Glacier.

Episode 14 - Custom Rifles and a Raffle Tag Ram w/Paul Donaldson

For this episode, Keith visits with Snowy Mountain Rifle of Montana president, Paul Donaldson to talk about custom rifle making and Paul’s good fortune in pulling the 2021 Idaho Raffle Bighorn Sheep Tag, good for Unit 11 Hells Canyon – a raffle ticket he purchased at the 2021 Sheep Show.

Episode 13 - Conservation Legislation & Policy with Jeff Crane

The business of conservation is complex, with many moving parts. In this episode, Keith visits with Congressional Sportsmen Foundation President Jeff Crane to discuss one aspect critical to successful wildlife and habitat conservation and protecting and advancing our outdoor traditions – legislation and policy at the federal and state levels. If there is one takeaway, sportsmen and the issues we care about are better represented now than at any point in history.

Episode 12 - Boots & Sheep Hunting - Jim Winjum, Kenetrek

With more than 35 years of experience, Jim Winjum is a leading authority on footwear design for mountain hunting. In 2005 Jim's passion for backcountry hunting and the equipment required to participate in these adventures led Jim (and his partners) to found Kenetrek Boots in Bozeman, Montana where he serves as President. Gray sits down with this accomplished sheep and mountain hunter with both rifle and bow to talk boots, hunting, the wild sheep economy, and the future of wild sheep conservation

Episode 11 - Science Doesn’t Care What You Think - Steve Williams

One of the seven principles of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is; wildlife is to be managed by the best science available, not opinion, conjecture, or how some would like it to be.

Keith sits down with Steve Williams, past Chief of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and current president of the Wildlife Management Institute to discuss how this cornerstone of wildlife management came about, its contributions over the past century, and what challenges we face in keeping science at the forefront of wildlife policy and management.

EP 10 - Test & Remove

One bright spot in keeping wild sheep on the Mountain is a new program called, Test & Remove. In this episode, Gray sits down with the leading experts in the field, Helen Schwantje, DVM formerly (retired) the Wildlife Veterinarian for the Province of British Columbia, and Peregrine Wolff, DVM immediate past WSF Chair, Executive Manager of the Wildlife Disease Association and member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Caprinae Specialist Group.

The loss of any wild sheep to predation or disease is heartfelt. It's even harder when an animal tests positive for the pathogen M.ovi and has to be euthanized. But the results of more lambs surviving to adulthood and progressively fewer sheep testing positive has proven its worth. Today, it is our best tool in the toolbox.

EP9 - Trophies & Trophy Hunting Part 2

Like a tough piece of meat that gets bigger the more you chew it, there’s more to this discussion on trophies and trophy hunting. Gray, Keith and Shane pick up where they left off and frame a path forward that just might make the most sense for steering this issue in a more positive direction.

EP8 - Trophies & Trophy Hunting Part 1

If there's a hot topic aimed at the future of hunting today, it's trophy hunting. Something we doubt Jack O’Conner could have foreseen.

In this episode we visit with our community's sage advisor, Shane Mahoney, CEO of Conservation Visions. Like the word conservation, trophy hunting has been highjacked by those trying to advance an anti-hunting agenda. This time as a bumper sticker campaign to launch into a more personal effort, the anti-hunter.

Is the negative stereotype surrounding the notion of trophy hunting something we should be concerned about? Should we have adjectives that describe different types of hunting, or is hunting just hunting? Better yet, is trophy hunting conservation?

EP7 - Asian Sheep Hunting - Robert Logan

When it comes to Asian sheep hunting and especially hunting wild sheep in China, few have “been there – done that” than Albertan Robert Logan. Gray got with Bob in his stunning trophy room in Calgary to visit about his hunts, his trophies, his hunting friends, impromptu horse races, civil wars and strife including a few close calls Bob would rather not repeat!

EP 6 - A New Look at an Old Problem

For this episode of Sheep Fever, WSF President and CEO Gray Thornton and Vice President of Conservation Kevin Hurley visit with Kate Huyvaert DVM, the new Rocky Crate chair at Washington State University's School of Veterinary Medicine.
We've learned most of what we know about diseases and die-offs in wild sheep and what can be done from this think tank and research facility, which WSF and others have been supporting for years.
While we've gotten pretty good at putting wild sheep on the Mountain, keeping them there has been a struggle in some areas. Dr. Huyvaert gives us insights on new research and emerging technologies she and her team are working on, including a more reliable animal-side test for diseases.

EP 5 - The Original Hunt Adviser - Jack Atcheson, Jr.

So, you want to go sheep hunting? If there is one man who has seen it all in North America and internationally, its Jack Atcheson, Jr. Gray and Jack have a candid conversation about wild sheep hunting through the ages and where we are headed today.

Jack Jr. has followed in his father's footsteps as a booking agent out of Butte, Montana. Between them, they have put more people on their first and last sheep hunts than anyone. This is insider information we're all lucky to have.

EP 4 - Wild Sheep Conservation Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

If you want to know where you're going, check where you've been. In this episode of Sheep Fever, you'll hear from the past two Chairs of the Wild Sheep Foundation, Brett Jefferson and Dr. Peregrine Wolff. They both share a look behind the scenes of WSF over the past four years.
In their tenure at the helm, both have seen tremendous growth in the organization but more importantly significant progress in Putting and Keeping Wild Sheep on the Mountain. Still, challenges and threats remain to be overcome, reminding us that wild sheep conservation is a continuum.

EP 3 - Wild Harvest Initiative - Shane Mahoney

How much wild game meat is humanely and ethically harvested by sportsmen and women in the US and Canada each year? How many meals does this represent, and how many people does this wild protein feed? The answer to these questions is in the millions of pounds and millions of meals. In this episode, you’ll learn the far-reaching effects of this research initiative that drives to the heart of why conservation matters; to everyone.

EP 2 - Great Rams - Bob Anderson - Part 2

Bob and Gray got on a roll and there was just too much good dialog to decide what to edit, so we split their conversation into two episodes.

EP 1 - Great Rams - Bob Anderson - Part 1

Like a living encyclopedia on big rams, sheep hunts, and sheep hunters, author of the Great Rams books I, II, III & IV, Bob Andersen forgets more in a night’s sleep than we’ll ever know. Gray sits down with this legendary wild sheep scribe to extract a fraction of what he knows.

WELCOME TO SHEEP FEVER - Podcast Series Trailer

“All it takes is all you’ve got” is a term of endearment, respect, hardship, and reward that rings true within the wild sheep hunting community. Our promise is to give it our “all” to bring you an enlightening and entertaining podcast series covering every aspect of sheep hunting and conservation.

Podcasts - SHEEP FEVER