by Chris Dorsey | Sep 29, 2026
A mallard dropping through flooded timber is a pretty good argument for getting out of bed at four in the morning. So is a Labrador trembling beside you, convinced that you are the only thing standing between her and the greatest day of her life. In those moments, I’m...
by Chris Dorsey | Sep 27, 2026
I didn’t know Cabot Pitts. But when I read the message from Keith Atcheson and Jack Atcheson Jr. announcing his death, I found myself thinking about an awful lot of people I do know—and how much of my life I owe them. Some of the best friends I’ve made have been...
by Chris Dorsey | Sep 22, 2026
Choosing a favorite upland bird hunt is like choosing a favorite dog. You may have an answer, but it is probably best not to say it too loudly within earshot of the others. Besides, upland hunting was never meant to be ranked. Its pleasures are too varied, its birds...
by Chris Dorsey | Sep 14, 2026
America’s most popular hunting breeds—and the people who wouldn’t dream of owning anything else. Tell a hunter his truck is junk and he might agree. Suggest he bought the wrong dog and you’d better arrange another ride home. Breed loyalists run unpaid publicity...
by Chris Dorsey | Sep 9, 2026
Washington is full of people willing to tell a sportsman what he wants to hear. Finding someone who will tell him what he needs to know takes more insight. That is one reason the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation stays near the top of my call list. I’ve served on...
by Chris Dorsey | Sep 9, 2026
The incomparable electricity of driven grouse. Some sporting destinations allow success to be manufactured to some degree. Pheasants and red-legged partridges can be reared and released. Fish can be stocked. Habitat can be improved, predators controlled, and...
by Chris Dorsey | Aug 31, 2026
Kevin Cramer is threatening to gum up the federal government because compensated wetland easements are still being treated like contracts. The ducks, hunters and arithmetic would like a word. North Dakota is one of those rare places where a political movement could be...
by Chris Dorsey | Aug 24, 2026
There may be no more elegant conservation program in America than a cashier asking a customer a ridiculously simple question: Would you like to round up for conservation? It takes only a few seconds. The answer might cost 17 cents, 43 cents, or 86 cents. Yet what...
by Chris Dorsey | Aug 21, 2026
Conservation has a communication problem, and pretending otherwise may be one of the greatest threats to its future. We have extraordinary scientists, experienced land managers, passionate philanthropists, dedicated hunters and anglers, conservation organizations,...
by Chris Dorsey | Aug 17, 2026
America’s wildlife agencies have spent years developing an ambitious program called R3—Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation—designed to persuade more ordinary citizens to hunt and fish. The theory is that agencies should recruit newcomers, retain current sportsmen...
