The Reluctant Mushroom Hunter

The Reluctant Mushroom Hunter

My experience mushroom hunting for chanterelles in Virginia gave me the confidence, and the desire, to be a mushroom hunter like my parents. I never thought I would take up mushroom hunting. My parents are seasoned foragers who hunted them in their native Lithuania...
An App to Navigate the Digital Wilderness

An App to Navigate the Digital Wilderness

In the age of social media censorship of hunting and shooting sports content, outdoor enthusiasts feel alienated online. As platforms like Facebook and Instagram increasingly rely on automation and algorithms that flag innocuous hunting and firearms content, users...
An Interview with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt

An Interview with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt

When entering Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s office in downtown Washington, D.C., I notice a beautiful trophy antler mount hanging above the fireplace. Bernhardt, beaming with pride, tells me the massive antlers belonged to the moose he harvested in...
Storytelling is in Our Blood

Storytelling is in Our Blood

In The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, author Jonathan Gottschall writes: “Story is the grease and glue of society: by encouraging us to behave well, story reduces social friction while uniting people around common values. Story homogenizes us; it...
The App Aiming to Hook More People on Fishing

The App Aiming to Hook More People on Fishing

While things weren’t looking promising for hunting in the 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, the same report revealed fishing recruitment efforts were enjoying far more success. From 2011 to 2016, fishing participation grew...
Virginia is for Lovers of Fly Fishing and Wine

Virginia is for Lovers of Fly Fishing and Wine

A flurry of snow didn’t stop new and seasoned fly anglers from venturing to the annual Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia. With 19 years of operation under its belt, the festival has grown into “one of the largest...
Eva Shockey’s Outdoor Digital Series is a Major Hit

Eva Shockey’s Outdoor Digital Series is a Major Hit

Eva Shockey should be a familiar name for hunters and non-hunters alike. Originally from Vancouver Island, Canada, Shockey has charted her own hunting course here in the U.S., largely with the help of social media. She’s not simply the daughter of renowned hunter Jim...
Not Your Average Outdoor Influencer

Not Your Average Outdoor Influencer

In the age of social media, few outdoor accounts truly stand out and leave one feeling inspired. In an increasingly crowded space, authenticity is quite rare. The rise of outdoor influencers has equally good and bad consequences—with the latter getting more attention....
Time Magazine on Target with Gun Cover

Time Magazine on Target with Gun Cover

The portrayal of American gun culture by the media is, at best, biased and intentionally misleading. Despite having the Second Amendment clearly enshrined in our Constitution and subsequent affirmation from Supreme Court cases like D.C. vs. Heller, many in the media...
Judicial Review Shouldn’t Trump Wildlife Management

Judicial Review Shouldn’t Trump Wildlife Management

Taking a deeper dive into the Yellowstone Grizzly dispute. A federal judge in Montana recently ruled to reimpose Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections on grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). This motion comes after...