Podcast appearances and mentions of Forest service

We Like Shooting - Ep 667 This episode of We Like Shooting is brought to you by: Foxtrot Mike (Code: WLSISLIFE) C&G Holsters (Code: WLSISLIFE) Midwest Industries (Code: WLSISLIFE) Gideon Optics (Code: WLSISLIFE) Blue Alpha Second Call Defense Otis Technology (Code: WELIKESHOOTING15) Guests: Paul Noonan, Foxtrot Mike Products – https://fm-products.com – @foxtrotmikeproducts Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171 Public   Show Titles   GOA GOALS Aug 1-2 in Iowa. https://goals.goa.org/ JUNE 20th, 2026 GunCon.net Tickets on sale now. Use code AGENCY171 GEAR CHAT Foxtrot Mike Products Foxtrot Mike THEOUTDOORWIRE Hi-Point Hush-Point Cigar 22 Suppressor The Hush-Point Cigar 22 is a limited-run monocore .22 suppressor developed through a collaboration between Hi-Point Firearms, Taylor Customs, and Orion Wholesale. Released June 10, 2026, it is styled to visually resemble a premium cigar with a hard-anodized dark brown finish and gold accents. It is offered exclusively through Orion Wholesale for FFL dealers. CIVMEDICAL Civilian Medical CM1 Civilian Medical Training Civilian Medical provides online CM1 training designed for civilians with no medical background. The course uses scenario-based interactive learning with quizzes, decision-based scenarios, and over 30 lessons built on battle-adapted protocols. It offers a certificate of completion, self-paced lifetime access with saved progress, targeting professionals, parents, families, community volunteers, and concerned citizens. THIRD ECHELON DEVELOPMENT(Nick) Third Echelon Development Gas Cap Gen 3 4 5 Gas Cap™ significantly reduces the amount of debris and gas ejected into your eyes & face when shooting with the added backpressure of a suppressor, making for a much more pleasant experience. The Gas Cap is a direct-fit replacement slide plate for Glock Gen 3, 4, and 5 pistols (select models with 1-in/25.5mm wide slide). It is precision CNC machined steel with black nitride finish and functions as a two-position sliding assembly. The contoured shroud diverts excess gas and debris downward when using a suppressor. Note Best can for my ps-90? (Nick) Note Roadhunter update 6.5MM CREEDMOOR +PEAK(Nick) Federal Premium 6.5 Creedmoor +Peak The 6.5 Creedmoor has become one of the most popular modern cartridges for hunting and long-range target shooting. But Federal just unlocked its true potential with new 6.5 Creedmoor +Peak. Federal Premium 6.5 Creedmoor +Peak is a high-pressure cartridge utilizing patented Peak Alloy case technology. It delivers up to 300 fps higher velocity than standard 6.5 Creedmoor and 100 fps over 6.5 PRC while functioning in existing 6.5 Creedmoor rifles. Offered with multiple bullet options including 130 gr Terminal Ascent, 155 gr Fusion Tipped, and others; reloadable with unprimed cases coming soon. BULLET POINTS FOREST SERVICE DEBUTS NEW RECREATION MOBILE APP USDA Forest Service National Forests and Grasslands Mobile App The Forest Service launched the National Forests and Grasslands mobile app for iOS and Android during Great Outdoors Month. The app provides the most complete collection of Forest Service recreation sites, safety alerts, closures, and offline maps for the 164 million annual visitors to national forests and grasslands. The USDA Forest Service launched the National Forests and Grasslands mobile app on June 4, 2026 to provide a single comprehensive visitor information platform. It consolidates data from nearly 30 legacy apps, offering complete recreation site details, safety alerts, closures, amenity information, activity search, offline maps, and optional map layers for fire and weather data. The free app is available on iOS and Android for the 164 million annual visitors to national forests and grasslands. ATHLON OUTDOORS EXCLUSIVE FIREARM UPDATES, REVIEWS & NEWS NRA 2026 New Guns & Gear That Stole the Show Uncover the exciting NRA 2026 new products unveiled at the Annual Meetings & Exhibits, perfect for shooters and collectors. The article by P.E. Fitch highlights standout new firearms and accessories debuted or featured at the 2026 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Houston, positioning the event as the industry's encore to SHOT Show. Coverage includes innovative designs from multiple manufacturers, with particular attention to eye-catching or controversial products that drew significant attendee interest. Specific product details, dimensions, weights, and pricing are not extractable from available page metadata and previews. INSIDE SAFARILAND Do Handgun Silencers Have a Place in the Self Defense World Do silencers have a place in the self defense world? They may not have completely made it there yet, but I think they will be. Safariland blog article examines whether handgun silencers (suppressors) belong in self-defense applications. The author gives a cautious but optimistic ‘yes,' particularly highlighting advantages for home defense scenarios while acknowledging practical limitations. The piece discusses benefits like hearing protection for the shooter and reduced disturbance to bystanders or family members, alongside typical drawbacks such as added size, weight, and legal/regulatory requirements. SOLDIERSYSTEMS Roni Nano Roni Pistol-to-Carbine Conversion Kit Houston, TX – Roni Corporaton, the leading designer and manufacturer of the renown Micro-Roni, PDW-style pistol-to-carbine conversion kits and other fi … The Nano Roni is Roni's most compact pistol-to-carbine conversion kit that installs a handgun into a chassis in seconds without tools, transforming it into a pistol-braced PDW. It includes a complete system with chassis plus accessories such as magazine holders, light mounts, Picatinny rails, charging handles, optics mounts, slings, and a belt holster. Initial compatibility covers multiple Glock models with additional Glock, SIG Sauer, Taurus, and Canik models planned; available in black, OD Green, and Flat Dark Earth. THE TRUTH ABOUT GUNS Can You Shoot 5.56 Through a .22 Suppressor? – The Truth About Guns Can you shoot 5.56 through a .22 suppressor? Usually no. Here's why pressure, heat, and gas volume matter so much. The article addresses whether .556/.223 ammunition can be safely fired through a standard .22LR (rimfire) suppressor. In the general case, it is not safe or recommended. Most dedicated rimfire suppressors are engineered only for the much lower pressures, smaller gas volumes, and reduced heat produced by .22LR, .22WMR, or similar rimfire cartridges. NSSF NSSF Releases Most Recent Firearm Production Figures (ATF AFMER 2023) Over 32 million Modern Sporting Rifles in Circulation WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, released the Firearm Production in the United States including the Firearm Import and Export Data 2025 Edition (reporting 2023 data) to its members. The report compiles the most up-to-date information based on data sourced from the Bureau of Alcohol, […] According to the NSSF article dated January 15, 2026, ATF AFMER data shows 2023 U.S. domestic firearm production at 8,466,729 units, a 15.4% decrease from 2022. Total firearms made available for the U.S. market in 2023 were 13,574,653 (handguns 8,176,535; rifles 3,899,907; shotguns 1,498,211). Cumulative civilian firearms in possession 1990–2023 reached 506.1 million, with modern sporting rifles (MSRs) in circulation estimated at over 32 million. GUN FIGHTS Play the best Price Is Right-style GunBroker game on the internet. BANGRANK A live cast ranking segment for anything and everything in the gun world, powered by questionable certainty, strong opinions, and audience voting. THE AGENCY BRIEF Agency Update 1. AGENCY BRIEF: STREET SWEEPER / USAS-12 DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE RECLASSIFICATIONWhat this really was: In 1994, ATF took lawfully owned shotguns and shoved them into the NFA “destructive device” category. No vote in Congress. No new statute. Just an agency ruling that turned specific 12-gauge shotguns into the same legal category as grenades. The targets were the Striker-12, the Street Sweeper, and the USAS-12. The Striker and Street Sweeper used revolving cylinders. The USAS-12 was a semi-auto, magazine-fed shotgun. They all fired ordinary 12-gauge shells, the same kind of ammunition people put through hunting pumps all over the country. The legal hook was buried in the National Firearms Act, specifically 26 U.S.C. § 5845(f). That section says a weapon with a bore over one-half inch can be treated as a destructive device unless the government decides it is “generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes.” A 12-gauge shotgun has a bore of about .73 inches. So every 12-gauge in America avoids the NFA only because ATF treats it as sporting enough. That is the trapdoor. In 1994, during the Clinton administration, ATF issued Rulings 94-1 and 94-2. The agency said these shotguns had no recognized sporting purpose, pointing to their weight, capacity, and military-style features. Once ATF withdrew that exemption, the guns became destructive devices. The pattern was simple: Start with a broad statute and an elastic test like “sporting purposes.” Use subjective factors, including appearance, to pull back prior approval. Reclassify the guns by agency ruling. Open a short amnesty period for tax-free registration. Turn missed paperwork into felony exposure. Confirmed fact: ATF used the sporting purposes clause to reclassify these firearms and require NFA registration without Congress passing a new law. What is less clear is how many legacy owners actually got notice before the amnesty window closed. But the legal threat was real, and the policy result stuck....

Photo: Bear Butte State Park in Meade County, S.D. (Courtesy S.D. Department of Tourism) All nine tribes located in South Dakota are unifying in their call to return the public, federal lands in the Black Hills to tribal entities. Each tribe passed a resolution calling on Congress to act. SDPB's C.J. Keene reports. Treaty rights mandate the Black Hills belong to tribes, although that treaty was broken long ago. The most important detail in this new legislative push is the focus on public, federal lands. Put simply, places where people do not live. Valeriah Big Eagle is the director of He Sapa initiatives for Rapid City, S.D.-based nonprofit NDN Collective. She says this is not about private homes in the Black Hills. “That's the myth, that's the misunderstanding. When they're talking about landback in the Black Hills and we're talking about the federal public land, essentially that is the lands that nobody is living on. It's the federal, public lands so we can protect it from extractive activities.” Regardless of outcome, advocates say the inclusion of all South Dakota's tribes is a historic statement of tribal unity. Joseph Brings Plenty is a tribal council representative from Eagle Butte. He says tribes have government-signed and guaranteed rights. “That's something that needs to be remembered – the treaties still exist. That's why we stand on this. For the United States to uphold their end of the bargain.” Brings Plenty says it is a chance for Native peoples to have a meaningful say in the management of the Black Hills. With that, Brings Plenty says healing can happen. “That's a step forward, a positive step forward. The Black Hills are not for sale. I mean, it's not just in a Lakota or Indian sense. We all want clean water, we all want the air to be clear, we all want housing and grandchildren. We all want a life. The more and more, as is inevitable, the cultures mesh, I think this is all important. Why lose it?” This comes on the heels of a mining effort near the Black Hills sacred site of Pe'Sla, that was ultimately defeated in court following widespread opposition from the Indigenous community. Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs line a soon-to-be park near Metlakatla's boat harbor. The plants are part of the village's Community Food Forest Project. (Photo: Hunter Morrison / KRBD) For many communities in rural Alaska, accessing fresh fruit can be challenging. Most of it is shipped in from out of state, and often loses flavor and more along the way. But a program in Metlakatla, on Alaska's only Native reservation, is looking to change that. As KRBD's Hunter Morrison reports, it's one way the small village is trying to combat food insecurity. Near Metlakatla's boat harbor, Gatgyeda Haayk, the village’s Community Garden Champion, strolls past a row of shrubs and small trees, which rustle with the wind. “And then those two down on the end, I believe, are cherry.” The soon-to-be budding cherry trees, planted last year, were brought to the village as part of its Community Food Forest Project. The initiative incorporates fruit-bearing trees and bushes into the village's public landscapes. So far, Haayk says about 50 plants have taken root around town. “In like the next three years, we hope to be able to give fruit back to the community.” The program comes after Metlakatla's tribal council passed a resolution a few years back that required all beautification efforts in the community to be edible. Not long after, the village received a three-year grant from the U.S. Forest Service to fund the project. She says the project has primarily worked with apple trees, but they have also planted plum and nectarine trees. The initiative also deals with plants native to the region, like raspberries, gooseberries, and saskatoon berries. And increasing access to fresh fruit is important, because it is so limited in the village. There is just one grocery store on the island, and the vast majority of the produce comes from out of state. “I am hoping that the community utilizes this, and then it also inspires other communities to kind of do the same thing, so that we don’t have to rely on the Lower 48 so heavily on our food.” While most of the program’s trees and bushes are still young, Haayk is focused on educating the village about the project. She noted that once the plants begin to bloom, community members can harvest the fruit free of charge — with the exception of the village’s main community garden. “It’s astounding how much food gets wasted, and it’s really a shame, because that’s a lot of energy that goes into that little piece of food. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, June 11, 2026 — In the parched West, tribes restore waterways to improve quality and quantity

On Today's Show: 100% listener and reader supported. To Subscribe: https://thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/Full operational update. New fires in Colorado, Utah, California, and the Southwest.The Forest Service has reinstated early retirement incentives as part of the reorganization plan. Both VERA and VSIP options are being offered.High level operators from the Forest Service have started to accept positions in the United States Wildland Fire Service leadership. What are the long term effects if unification doesn't happen?Two civilian casualties after an engine responding to a wildfire collides with a civilian vehicle.Firefighters responding to an escaped slash pile burn in the Pacific Northwest were injured after the pile exploded.Plus more.THE HOTSHOT WAKE UP — Thank you to all of our paid subscribers. Your support allows us to donate generously to firefighter charities and supports all of our content. You also receive all of our article archives, more podcast episodes, Monday morning workouts, and also entered into our giveaways, plus more.

Keeping Democrats from screwing this up; today’s war updates; Jeff Stein; McLeoud County sheriff’s deputy charged in bar fight; previewing the Gaily Show’s conversation with Sec. Steve Simon; Forest Service cuts; Republicans doing an about face on fraud; Republicans target roadless rule. The post The Matt McNeil Show – June 10, 2026 first appeared on AM 950.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on several bills Date: June 3, 2026 Time: 2:00 PM Location: Dirksen Room: 628 Agenda: S. 630, Quapaw Tribal Settlement Act of 2025 (Mullin) S. 1514/H.R.2389 Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act (Cantwell/Randall) S. 2796, Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Land Exchange Act (Padilla) S. 2871/H.R. 2400, Pit River Land Transfer Act of 2025 (Padilla/LaMalfa) S. 3219, Albuquerque Indian School Act of 2025 (Heinrich) S. 3475/H.R. 2916, a bill to authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise to Resolve the Akwesasne Mohawk Land Claim in the State of New York, and for other purposes (Gillibrand/Stefanik) Witnesses Panel 1 Mr. Bryan Mercier Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. Mr. John Crockett Deputy Chief, Forest Service Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. Committee Notice: https://www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/legislative-hearing-to-receive-testimony-on-several-bills/

In this newscast: A Juneau family reported a 29-year old man missing on Friday. He was last seen on May 26 near Safeway; The Juneau School Board will decide on whether to adopt the school district's new strategic plan Tuesday night at its last regular meeting of the fiscal year; Tickets at Eaglecrest Ski Area are about to get more expensive; The U.S. Forest Service is now saying mining interests played an important role in its decision to cancel a recreational cabin project near Juneau's Herbert Glacier, after denying it months ago; The Tlingit Culture, Language and Literacy program unveiled a Lingit comic book during Celebration last week; A sale on oil and gas drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge garnered more than $3.7 million in winning bids

A major RV industry CEO is stepping down in a surprising shakeup. Battle Born Batteries is taking one of YouTube's biggest solar influencers to court. Ram has a new package on its ProMaster chassis aimed at van lifers, and there may be a new rugged battery-powered Starlink dish on the way. Plus, the Forest Service has killed 30 different mobile apps, launching one new all-encompassing platform to replace them, though it's missing one big feature. The Liquified giveaway: https://liquifiedrv.com/ *Support RV Miles and independent RV journalism

Today we're talking about housing, affordable housing, development in mountain towns, public lands, and more with Gunnison County commissioner, Jonathan Houck, an avid mountain biker, skier, and former sponsored climber.Note: We Want to Hear From You!We'd love for you to share with us the stories or topics you'd like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. Email us at: info@blisterreview.com RELATED LINKS:Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+See our Updated Mtn Bike Buyer's GuideEnter Our Free Weekly Gear GiveawaysOur Other Mtn Town Economics Conversations:Ep. 390: Mountain Town Economics 2.0: Telluride Update w/ Jason BlevinsEp. 389: Telluride Closes, Ski Patrol Strikes, & the Future of Ski Resorts w/ Jason BlevinsCRAFTED Ep 47: How to Design a Well-Crafted, Affordable Home w/ Zack GiffinEp. 275: Mtn Town Economics: Zack Giffin on Skiing, Tiny Homes, & Big SolutionsEp. 270: Mtn Town Economics & Outdoor RecreationEp. 180: Mtn Town Economics, Pt 3: Developing Housing, Addressing Climate Change, & Mitigating Megafires w/ Scott Ehlert Ep. 179: Mtn Town Economics, Pt 2: Housing, Community, & Core Values w/ Troy RussEp. 177: Mtn Town Economics, Pt 1: Affordable Housing, Short-Term Rentals, & More w/ Jenny StuberTOPICS & TIMES:New BLISTER+ Members (1:21)Houck: Climber, Skier, Mtn Biker (2:42)How Did You Get into Politics? (5:59)Duties of a County Commissioner? (9:25)Affordable Housing Updates (12:10)Pushback (22:39)Quality of Space & Numerous Stakeholders (28:30)Managing Federal Lands (48:05)Houck's 10-Year Prediction (59:17)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It can feel impossible to find joy when the headlines never seem to let up.From attacks on public lands and environmental protections to growing uncertainty for the people who steward these places, many of us are carrying a constant sense of urgency, grief, and overwhelm.But what if joy isn't a distraction from the work?What if joy is what sustains us through it?In episode 224 of Outdoor Minimalist, I sit down with podcaster, former U.S. Forest Service employee, and public lands advocate Liz Crandall to talk about resilience and the role joy plays in challenging times.Together, we explore how to stay informed without becoming consumed by the news cycle, the importance of caring for ourselves as we advocate for the places we love, and why local action and community connection matter now more than ever.Liz is the creator and host of Rangers of the Lost Park, a podcast that helps listeners better understand public lands through the stories of the people who work in and care for them.As a former federal employee who was directly impacted by recent workforce cuts, Liz brings both personal experience and professional insight to conversations about public lands. Throughout our conversation, she reminds us that joy is not separate from the work of protecting public lands and that it's often what makes that work possible.Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/outdoor.minimalist.book/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theoutdoorminimalistBuy Me a Coffee: ⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/outdoorminimalist⁠⁠⁠Listener Survey: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/jd8UCN2LL3AQst976⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------------------Rangers of the Lost ParkWebsite: https://rangersofthelostpark.transistor.fm/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RangersoftheLostParkPodcastApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rangers-of-the-lost-park/id1822915251Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rangersofthelostpark

Holly Fretwell introduces the wildfire crisis, noting that 80 million federal acres require urgent restoration. She argues that historical policies like the 10 a.m. suppression rule and reduced timber harvesting have created dense, flammable forests. Consequently, the Forest Service has transitioned into a "fire company," prioritizing firefighting over active silviculture. (1)1915 WILDFIRE AUSTRALIA

A forest lookout sits alone in a glass tower at 2AM and spots flames crowning two distant pines — a fire only he can see. By dawn there's no smoke, no ash, no scorched earth... and no fire at all. From phantom flames that burn and vanish to the burned Bigfoot pulled from a Nevada blaze and the UFOs caught streaking through wildfire smoke, tonight we wander into the strange and unsettling things that appear when the forests burn.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/ghostflamesREAD or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yjwtx7awFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: The author of Frankenstein always saw love and death as connected. She visited the cemetery to commune with her dead mother. And with her lover. (Mary Shelley's Obsession With The Cemetery) *** A girl moves into a new apartment and discovers that a haunting doesn't necessarily have to be frightening. (Ghostly Happenings In My Old Apartment) *** The July 1886 murder at the Shawmut Avenue laundry was so shrouded in mystery that even the victim's name was uncertain. (The Wash-House Murder) *** Ghosts, high strangeness, and even Bigfoot – it appears they may all have something in common, and that would be forest fires. (Forest Fires and the Paranormal) *** How do you explain an experienced lookout reporting a blazing forest fire, only for it to disappear less than an hour later – leaving no trace? (Phantom Flames)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:03:57.045 = Show Open00:05:40.844 = Phantom Flames00:21:25.265 = Forest Fires and the Paranormal00:35:10.279 = Mary Shelley's Obsession With The Cemetery ***0048:57.368 = Ghostly Happenings In My Old Apartment00:52:28.197 = The Wash-House Murder ***01:01:09.811 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“Phantom Flames” by F.A.Loomis from Idaho Magazine: http://ow.ly/beq730nL94u“Forest Fires and the Paranormal” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: http://ow.ly/ROYC30nL8n1“Mary Shelley's Obsession With The Cemetery” by Bess Lovejoy for the JSTOR Daily: https://tinyurl.com/y9cgd29w“Ghostly Happenings In My Old Apartment” by Cassie D, posted at MyHauntedLifeToo,com: https://tinyurl.com/ycexszvm
“The Wash-House Murder” by Robert Wilhelm, from the book “Wicked Victorian Boston”: https://amzn.to/2BGJOO0(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: March, 2021Weird Darkness opens a fire-themed descent that runs from a vanished forest blaze in 1976 Idaho through ghosts, Bigfoot, and UFOs born of wildfires, into Mary Shelley's graveyard education, a gentle apartment haunting, and an unsolved 1886 Boston murder.It opens with a U.S. Forest Service lookout stationed atop Pilot Peak in the Payette National Forest near Warren, high above the South Fork of the Salmon River, who woke sleepless at two a.m. in July 1976 and saw a bright orange triangle near a distant crest, then confirmed through binoculars two huge trees crowning out with flame. He calculated an azimuth with his fire-finder, radioed a two- to four-acre fire to the station fifteen air miles away, and watched it recede and vanish completely within forty minutes, leaving no smoke, no flame, and no charred ground at dawn six air miles out. Supervisors dubbed it the Pilot Peak phantom fire and sent smokejumper aircraft and hotshot crews to circle the ridge for nearly a week without finding a trace, until two months later a thousand-acre blaze on Zena Creek burned in roughly the same location he had reported.From there the episode widens into wildfires laced with the paranormal, beginning with the Curve Fire that struck South Mount Hawkins in the San Gabriel Mountains of California's Angeles National Forest on September 1, 2002, traced to a brittle 1935 wooden lookout tower and rumored to follow a cult ritual, after which hikers reported eyeless animals with hardened flesh and tall shadow figures akin to the Dark Watchers. It moves to the Battle Mountain Complex Fire near Battle Mountain, Nevada on August 6, 1999, where a letter forwarded to the Bigfoot Field Research Organization and a later call to investigator Thom Powell described firefighters capturing a burned, roughly seven-and-a-half-foot creature with a strong equine odor and near-human features. It closes with a July 2014 wildfire at West Kelowna near Vancouver, Canada, where a Castanet news video appeared to show an object shooting from a cloud, and a 2017 sighting by Arthur Frenette in New Hampshire's White Mountains, who watched a ball of fire plunge into Kinsman Ridge ahead of an out-of-control blaze.Next the episode turns to Mary Shelley, who in her 1831 introduction to Frankenstein traced her writing to her literary parents, though her mother, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman author Mary Wollstonecraft, died of puerperal fever days after her birth when Dr. Poignand removed the placenta with unwashed hands. Raised partly at her mother's grave in the St. Pancras churchyard, where she read her mother's work and escaped a strained home after father William Godwin remarried, the teenage Mary met Percy Shelley through the household and, at sixteen, declared love and reportedly first had sex among the tombstones. That fusion of reading, death, and forbidden knowledge surfaces in Victor Frankenstein's graveyard study of decay and in Godwin's 1809 Essay on Sepulchres, which framed visiting the illustrious dead as a form of communion the daughter carried into her novel of a creature assembled from corpses.From there the tone softens with a benign haunting recounted by a woman named Cassie, who moved into a larger, better-kept apartment over Christmas 2018 and lived there three months before moving in with her boyfriend. The internet blinked off repeatedly, cell reception failed in parts of the unit, electrical sockets quit working, bulbs burned out fast, and the shower switched itself on while she was away at classes. One night around one a.m. she and her boyfriend both heard the pitter-patter of bare feet in the kitchen, yet she never felt threatened, and when she left she said goodbye to whatever shared the space with her.The episode closes with the Wash-House Murder, the July 1886 killing of a Chinese laundryman found stabbed fourteen times in his Shawmut Avenue laundry in Boston's South End, his braided queue cut off and the five hundred dollars he had saved for a return to China gone. The victim's name was never certain, printed variously as Bin Chong, Ding Chong, and Wong Kong, and the case drew the Boston Police into a Chinatown governed by rival companies named Moy, Ching, Lee, and Sing. Detectives questioned the violent Moy company leader Ah Moy Chong and brought in New York interpreter Warry S. Charles, but the murder was never solved, and Charles himself was convicted of first-degree murder in 1908 after importing hatchet-armed assassins as a tong leader, leaving four dead in Chinatown.

The Forest Service is offering separation incentives to employees ahead of an agency reorganization that will move hundreds of positions across the country. The Forest Service told employees in a recent email that it will offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) to employees impacted by the agency's upcoming reorganization. The Agriculture Department announced in March that the Forest Service would move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast still has a podcast. Get new episodes the moment they're live by subscribing to the email newsletter:WhoJohn Kelly, CEO of Taos Ski Valley, New MexicoRecorded onNovember 13, 2025About Taos Ski ValleyClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Louis Bacon (since December 2013)Located in: Taos Ski Valley, New MexicoYear founded: 1955Pass affiliations:* Ikon Pass – 7 days, no blackouts* Ikon Base Pass – 5 days, holiday blackouts* Ikon Session Pass – 1-4 days, holiday blackouts* Mountain Collective – 2 days, no blackouts* Ski New Mexico True Pass – 2 days, holiday blackoutsBase elevation: 9,350 feetSummit elevation: 12,450 feet lift-served, 12,481 hike-toVertical drop: 3,100 feet lift-served, 3,131 hike-to.Skiable acres: 1,294 (some hike-to)Average annual snowfall: 300 inches claimed on website; calculated 36-year average using data sourced from Taos' 2010 master development plan, Ski New Mexico tallies, and media reports is 233 inches. The 10-year average falls to 166 inches. Here's the year-by-year breakdown:Trail count: 110 (24% beginner, 25% intermediate, 51% expert)Lift count: 13 (1 pulse gondola, 2 high-speed quads, 2 fixed-grip quads, 4 triples, 1 double, 3 carpets)Why I interviewed himLet's start with a superficially troubling number: Taos' long, steady decline in average annual skier visits:That doesn't look so good, especially when laid alongside the long-term increase in national skier visits:Taos not only declined in the context of national skier visits, but also among its peers. In winter 1983-84, Taos drew more skiers (241,000) than Telluride (132,460), Big Sky (136,000), Jackson Hole (177,000), Whitefish (I'm lacking an estimate for that winter, but the ski area then known as “Big Mountain” logged 209,000 skiers in 1980-81 and 170,581 in 1985-86). Taos (dark blue line below), continued to out-duel this group through about the mid-90s before falling off a cliff:So what happened? 1995 Taos, a freeride mecca before freeride was cool, should have been perfectly suited to flourish in a cultural moment when skiers began demanding more interesting terrain than the groomed superhighways that had become the industry's default setting. Sure, Taos was remote and a bit harder to access than, say, Keystone or Park City, but so were Jackson and Whitefish and Big Sky and Telluride. A partial explanation: Taos stopped modernizing. After replacing the Lift 2 double with a fixed-grip quad in 1994, Taos didn't install another new chairlift for 19 years. The first detachable didn't arrive until 2018. The resort banned snowboards until 2008. Meanwhile, Big Sky laced a tram to the summit of Lone Peak in 1995 and started pushing detachable quads up the mountain; the first high-speed quads arrived at Telluride in 1986 and Whitefish in 1989.It's not a perfect narrative – while Jackson Hole rolled out its short Sublette detach in the mid-90s, the mountain didn't install an upper-mountain high-speed chairlift until Casper in 2012. Skier visits went up and up and up all that time, probably due in large part to aggressive improvements at the Jackson Hole airport.Maybe, though, it's as simple as this: banger snow years descended upon Taos – and New Mexico in general – from the late ‘80s through mid-‘90s. It's little surprise that attendance ups-and-downs largely mirror snowfall patterns:But, as the corresponding trendlines show, Taos' skier visits have not declined at the same rate as the mountain's average annual snowfall. And while Jackson's long-term average snowfall has remained relatively constant, attendance has crept steadily upward. Attendance spiked at both mountains when the 2018-19 season brought both plentiful snow and the introduction of the Ikon Pass:Unfortunately, Taos stopped reporting skier visits after the Covid-shortened 2019-20 season, so we have less concrete insight into whether the mountain's recent investments in a reconfigured beginner area and a second detachable on the backside have insulated it from two historically poor snow years. This is why it's nice to have basic visitation data, and why I'm pushing the ski industry to again publicize annual attendance for ski areas occupying public lands (since going live with a chart of 2,406 years of skier visit data for 97 ski areas with 10 or more years of attendance available, I'm up to 2,822 years across 108 ski areas, and I have a total of 3,802 years of data across 184 active U.S. ski areas for which I could find at least one year of attendance).We do know this: Taos doesn't want to return to the world of 300,000-plus skier visits. Somewhere between 250,000 and 275,000 is the “right number for the experience we want Taos to have,” Kelly tells us on the pod. Meaning: fewer skiers spread via a modern lift network is a better business than 364,000 skiers funneling onto double chairs. This flips the busiest-equals-best narrative that made skier-visit counts a 20th-century bragging point. I've heard the same logic articulated by the leaders of Killington, Waterville Valley, and other ski areas that have created a better business even with fewer skiers on their mountains. Jackson Hole, too, halted its relentless upward surge – that 2020-21 dip was deliberate, as the mountain exited Ikon Base and implemented a reservation system.This approach makes sense to me. With U.S. skier visits surging (until this year) and an Ikon or Epic pass in every pocket, no one wants to brag about being busy anymore. Space is the new volume. Social media can still transform one bad liftline into an eternal meme, but at least most skiers on the ground will have a better day most of the time than they probably would have 30 years ago.What doesn't make sense to me is why, in a less-is-more era, ski area operators have suddenly decided that skier visits should be guarded like Fort Knox. If fewer skiers is a good thing and a stated goal, why hide the numbers? The resorts ought to just say “Hey we've deliberately reduced our annual skier count from 300,000 to 250,000 [or whatever] to create a better mountain for you.” Instead, this secrecy around volume just looks cagey - if national skier visit numbers are up, then why should skiers just believe ski areas when they say “trust us, it's better now,” and offer no data to support it? Perception is reality, and today's skiing zeitgeist, as channeled by social media, tells us that American skiers perceive busier mountains today than they did a decade ago.But I'm getting off track. Since Louis Bacon bought Taos in 2013, he's funded an almost-complete renovation of what had become America's most decrepit destination ski resort. I don't think any mountain operating on U.S. Forest Service lands has more completely remade itself in the past decade (rapidly changing Big Sky, Deer Valley, and Powder Mountain operate on private property). Glimmering new but reset to 1970s volume, Taos is beautifully positioned to tap a skiing public that's burned-out on Colorado and Utah crowds but accustomed to modern lifts and snowmaking.What we talked aboutTaos as a family ski mountain; last winter's Chair 7 upgrade and custom terminals; owner Louis Bacon's mission to “improve everything without changing a thing”; why Taos changed from Skytrac to parent company Leitner-Poma for its newer lifts; Taos' great base-area reorganization; the story behind the Free Tacos run; a green run from the top of every lift other than the fierce Kachina triple; Taos' massive evolution since 2015; whether the mountain is committed to long-term independence; the founding Blake family's legacy and presence at Taos today; executing rapid development on Forest Service land; [VIDEO BONUS: Cat photobombing]; running Taos with the context of having worked at also-independent Telluride; becoming a skier growing up in Nashville, Tennessee; Telluride's evolution from semi-affordable to gigantic housing puzzle; employee housing at Taos; the logic behind the proposed base-to-base gondola and navigating local opposition; thoughts on the evolution of lifts 2 and 8; preserving parts of the hike-to ski experience; Taos' evolution after the Kachina Peak lift; lift 7A; the Minnesotas glades from the masterplan; avalanche mitigation; old-school boot-packing; parking lot evolutions; an ideal annual skier visit number and why that number is below historic highs; and getting to Taos.What I got wrong* When we discuss the wood-paneled terminals on Taos' new Lift 7, I ask if they're thematically related to the “wood RFID gates.” This is a reference to an earlier conversation that I cut, about Taos finally installing RFID for the 2025-26 ski season (the gates carry a wood theme). * I said that the trees skier's left of the Pioneer chair were not a named run, but they in fact are, and “Free Tacos” has a pretty awesome story behind it.* I accidentally asked Kelly to, “lay out the housing landscape for Telluride” but meant to say “Taos.” I didn't catch this in real time, but Kelly – who spent several years at Telluride before moving to Taos in 2015 – caught it and course-corrected.Questions I wished I'd askedTaos' 2010 USFS masterplan proposed a 7,045-foot-long, 2,363-vertical-foot detach quad that would have run parallel to Lift 1 to the top of Lift 2:We did, however, discuss the proposed 545-vertical-foot, 991-foot-long Ridge Lift off of Lift 8, and why Taos nixed that machine from its latest MDP:Why you should (or shouldn't) ski TaosTaos, like Jackson Hole or Snowbird or Palisades Tahoe, has a toughguy reputation. The place ripples with hike-to chutes and glades. To calm visitors shocked by the vertical bump run rocketing skyward beneath Chair 1, Taos to erected this base-area sign decades ago:The sign refers to the infamous Al's Run, which typically ripples with moguls, but was closed on my last visit, in March 2025 (Lift 1 was open):Taos certainly has plenty of nasty. The terrain ripping off the Kachina Peak triple is among the steepest inbounds terrain I'm aware of in America. But what shocked me about the place was how approachable it was for my then-8-year-old son, a solid but very intermediate skier. Every chair other than Kachina offers a top-to-bottom green – and some mostly mellow blues – making Taos one of the better family mountains in America.A lot of the solid-black terrain sits above the lifts, and requires a short, easy hike. If you've ever humped up Catherine's at Alta or Spanky's Ladder on Blackcomb, the ascent off of Lift 2 over to Highline Ridge or West Basin Ridge isn't much longer, and it flattens out considerably after the short incline. Unlike East Wall at A-Basin or Highlands Bowl at Aspen Highlands, this is hike-up terrain that's approachable for people who (like me), live at sea level and only like going up the mountain on machines. The runs are steep, and solo missions are discouraged, but the easy-in and proximity to lifts means a strong skier could reasonably expect to tuck a half-dozen hike-up laps into an afternoon. Here I am huffing and puffing right off Chair 2:Dang those trees are steep even right off the jump. Crunch crunch crunch:Go up a bit higher, and things get Lord of The Rings pretty fast:Taos' only real buyer-beware statistic is its insane base elevation of 9,350 feet, which makes everything, especially sleep, a bit more challenging. That altitude is actually a bit lower than the bases at Copper (9,712) or Breck (9,600). I start to have trouble functioning around 8,000 feet, which is the Vail (8,120), Snowmass (8,110), Snowbird (7,760), and Mammoth (7,953) range. So maybe see how you do at one of those burners before leveling up above 9,000 feet. Or at least arrive knowing that Taos will try punching you in the face. Hydrate and lay off the beer bongs for a day or two. You'll be fine.Podcast NotesOn Stadeli liftsWe've got 16 of these guys left across 10 U.S. ski areas, including Lift 7A at Taos:On the character of old chairliftsI wrote last year that U.S. ski lifts' overall design aesthetic has deteriorated with the decline in number of manufacturers and a tacit emphasis on technology over beauty.And I love old Riblets and Halls and Yans, but sentimentalism that locks skiing in a time capsule ultimately stalls long-term growth and invites disaster-by-disintegration. Rather than fight to live in a museum, I've adopted a quest mentality to ride as many of these dinosaurs as I can before they go extinct:On Taos' base-area fliparoundOn Taos' current masterplanHere's the conceptual overview of Taos' 2021 U.S. Forest Service master development plan:The major unrealized part of this is the base-to-base gondola - here's the most recent plan for that lift:On “class A avalanche mountains” with more than 200 slidepathsKelly mentioned that Taos' more than 200 slidepaths earn it the designation of a Class A avalanche mountain. I of course went looking for a list of U.S. ski areas so classified, and of course did not find one. In a rare exercise in self-restraint, however, I also did not create one. A quick Google search suggests that that such a list would include Alta, Kirkwood, and Stevens Pass alongside Taos. I would also assume that Alpine Meadows, Palisades, Mammoth, Snowbird, Big Sky, Silverton, and Crested Butte are among the most avy prone. That is not a complete list or an attempt at one so please don't write that I “forgot about” some particularly avalanche-prone mountain that I'm not trying very hard to remember.On The Storm's first Taos podcastThe Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Forest Service officials say the Birch Bay wildfire burning a few miles northwest of Ely is now 30 percent contained.The Minnesota Department of Human Services has disenrolled sixty percent of providers from 14 high-risk Medicaid programs.Those stories and more in today's evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

This special episode lives up to that designation.Yesterday, Ojai lost one of its most accomplished and respected citizens, Al West, who passed away at the age of 94.Today we're revisiting a conversation from our archives so that listeners can hear directly from a man who dedicated his life to caring for forests, watersheds, and communities. This is my conversation with Al West.When Al West arrived in Ojai as a young District Ranger in the 1960s, few could have imagined the impact he would have on our valley — or on America's public lands.Born in England and immigrating to North America in the early 1950s, Al built a distinguished career in forestry and natural resource management that eventually carried him all the way to Washington, D.C., where he served as Deputy Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, the agency's second-highest position. Along the way, he helped shape national policy on forestry, fire management, aviation, watersheds, and conservation.Yet despite his national accomplishments, Al never lost sight of the communities and landscapes he loved. Ojai remained one of those places. After retirement, he devoted countless hours to local service through organizations including the Rotary Club of Ojai, where he served as president, as well as numerous environmental and civic groups dedicated to protecting forests, watersheds, and open spaces.In 2005, Al was recognized as an Ojai Living Treasure, an honor reserved for individuals whose lives have enriched our community in extraordinary ways.Al West passed away yesterday at age 94. In tribute, we're reposting this conversation from our archives — a chance to hear directly from a man whose life embodied stewardship, leadership, humility, and service.Thank you, Al. Ojai is better because you were here.

The U.S. Forest Service holds a hearing on Prince of Wales Island to listen to concerns about a proposed timber project. Plus, the state epidemiologist says Alaska cruise ports don't need to worry about the Hantavirus.

Scientists with the Nature Conservancy and Forest Service have been raising American elms that are bred to be resistant to Dutch elm disease at two sites in Vermont. Now, they're injecting them with the fungus to see what happens.

The Trump Administration is fast-tracking logging on more than 100 million acres of Forest Service land. But some locals are pushing back against one of the projects just north of Yellowstone National Park.

In the 1880s, Rowan County, Kentucky, became known as “Bloody Rowan” after politics, old grudges and personal revenge led to one of the state's deadliest feuds. This episode traces the Rowan County War from an Election Day shooting in Morehead to three years of ambushes, militia intervention and a final armed showdown that ended the violence, but not through justice. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries

Just Jimmy and Tyler kicking off June with something that’s been on Jimmy’s mind since the Rubicon trip — and since the Barrett Lake outhouse project started spreading to other forests. The short version: the National Forest Service is being restructured in a way that removes local regional offices. The closest regional office for El Dorado National Forest, Tahoe National Forest, and Stanislaus National Forest is now in Salt Lake City. That means people who have never set foot on our trails are making decisions about them. Jimmy draws the parallel to what happened at Gemini Bridges and Labyrinth Rims — 2,200 miles of trails evaluated and closed by people working off a map. No boots on the ground. And those were local BLM offices. Now imagine Salt Lake City. The call to action is clear: the off-road community needs to show up at the table before the restructuring finishes and the table gets moved somewhere else. Jimmy runs through what that looks like in practice. The Mad Hatters just completed their adopted section of the Rubicon Trail. Friends of Fordyce and Friends of Rubicon had a big work weekend. Spree to Four (or the Granite Bandits — Jimmy goes back and forth) does Corral Hollow every year and opens more roads than the county can staff. There’s a work party at Moon Rocks coming up to install 32 named obstacle signs, with BLM permission. And the Barrett Lake blob bathroom project — the one the off-road community funded and built — is now being copied onto Fordyce at Committee Crossing and Wind Chill 3, and at Observation Point on the Rubicon. Tahoe National Forest, which historically does not collaborate with El Dorado National Forest, asked to copy the project. That’s what showing up looks like. How to get involved: contact your local ranger district, come with questions not demands, keep digging until you find the person who can actually answer them. Search Facebook groups for your specific riding area. If nothing exists, start the conversation. For funding, Onyx has their Trail Revival Program live right now — $5,000 grants, Jimmy applied and got one last year, the main ask is media showing the work was done. Tread Lightly and BFG also have trail grant programs. The window for making a real impact is right now, during the restructure, not after it’s done. Also in this episode: today (June 1) is the last day to use the Devos LightRanger 500 group buy discount code. The Russo May giveaway has closed — winner announcement coming Thursday. The June giveaway is not announced yet but Jimmy teases it’s a company they’ve worked with before and it’s a good one. Apple Podcast reviews are approaching 800 (Onyx Elite giveaway waiting at that mark), and Jimmy drops another hint on the big SnailArmor Black Friday launch — “we’ve already changed how inflation and deflation is done globally, and we’re about to do it again.” We have a massive discount this month with Rusoh Fire Extinguishers. You can get 25% off this month only with the discount code Rusohcrawlers. Go grab yours today! SnailTrail4x4 Discord: https://discord.gg/yFyFFkQbuyCome hang out with us on the SnailTrail4x4 Discord — it’s the easiest way to connect with Tyler and Jimmy directly, chat with fellow offroad enthusiasts, and get first access to Group Buys and Treasure Hunt token drops. MORRFlate Giveaway at 900 Reviews on Apple Podcast. But our next giveaway is when we reach 800 reviews; we are giving away an OnX Elite Membership. We will also give away an OnX Elite membership when we get to 850. However, when we reach 900 Reviews, we are teaming up with MORRFlate for a $1000 MF Product Giveaway. Go over to Apple Podcasts to leave your review now and become eligible to win. Congratulations to A13XMONT, who won a set of tires from Yokohama Tire! Call us and leave us a VOICEMAIL!!! We want to hear from you even more!!! You can call and say whatever you like! Ask a question, leave feedback, correct some information about welding, say how much you hate your Jeep, and wish you had a Toyota! We will air them all, live, on the podcast! +01-916-345-4744. If you have any negative feedback, you can call our negative feedback hotline, 408-800-5169. 4Wheel Underground has all the suspension parts you need to take your off-road rig from leaf springs to a performance suspension system. We just ordered our kits for Kermit and Samantha and are looking forward to getting them. The ordering process was quite simple, and after answering the questionnaire, we ensured we got the correct and best-fitting kits for our vehicles. If you want to level up your suspension game, check out 4Wheel Underground. SnailTrail4x4 Podcast is brought to you by all of our peeps over at irate4x4! Make sure to stop by and see all of the great perks you get for supporting SnailTrail4x4! Discount Codes, Monthly Give-Always, Gift Boxes, the SnailTrail4x4 Community, and the ST4x4 Treasure Hunt! Thank you to all of those who support us! We couldn’t do it without you guys (and gals!)! SnailSquad Monthly Giveaway Massive thanks to this month’s giveaway with Rusoh Fire Extinguishers. We have one of their 2.5-pound extinguishers to give away to a lucky winner. This extinguisher has an 18-year shelf life and is the best fire extinguisher for any off-road vehicle. To learn more, check out Rusoh.com. If you want a chance to win, sign up for the Giveaway Tier on Irate4x4 For the Month of April, we are giving away Gift Boxes. It’s Gift Box month, and two lucky individuals will win one of our gift boxes. These are jam-packed with goodies from tools to whiskey smokers. They are always different and always random. If you want a chance to win, sign up for the Giveaway Tier on Irate4x4 Listener Discount Codes: SnailTrail4x4 –SnailTrail15 for 15% off SnailTrail4x4 MerchMORRFlate – snailtraill4x4 to get 10% off MORRFlate Multi Tire Inflation Deflation™ Kits4WheelUnderground – snailtrail 10% offIronman 4×4 – snailtrail20 to get 20% off all Ironman 4×4 branded equipment!Sidetracked Offroad – snailtrail4x4 (lowercase) to get 15% off lights and recovery gearSpartan Rope – snailtrail4x4 to get 10% off sitewideShock Surplus – SNAILTRAIL4x4 to get $25 off any order!Mob Armor – SNAILTRAIL4X4 for 15% offSummerShine Supply – ST4x4 for 10% offBackpacker’s Pantry – Affiliate LinkLaminx Protective Films – Use the Link to get 20% off all products (Affiliate Link) Show Music: Midroll Music – ComaStudio Outroll Music – Meizong Kumbang

Astronaut Stuart Roosa had a special relationship with the U.S. Forest Service, and when it was his turn to go to the moon, he proposed a science experiment. You can see the results towering over Peavy Hall at Oregon State University today. (Cape Canaveral, Florida; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1405b.moon-trees-of-oregon.html)

The campaign to plant ten million trees across the state of Pennsylvania reached its goal Tuesday, with the ten millionth tree planted near Hershey. But environmental advocates say the benefits of the milestone will continue for years to come.U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has signed a disaster declaration for Pennsylvania farmers. Its goal is to help those who lost crops during freezing weather in April.And now back to the subject of trees for a deeper dive. The Trump administration is planning a drastic reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service, moving its headquarters and research facilities to western states. Here in Pennsylvania, four research stations are on the chopping block. 

Government contracting procurement readiness is the difference between being treated like a serious prime and being talked down to by a small business rep who thinks you don't know what you're doing. In this episode of the Federal Help Center Podcast, Randie Ward breaks down exactly how to show up to agency meetings, capabilities briefings, and DOD opportunities with your homework already done. If you've ever wasted a 25-minute meeting because you weren't prepped, this one is for you. Here's what you'll learn: How to control the room in a capabilities briefing so the small business specialist treats you like a peer, not a beginner Why your SAM.gov keywords and capability narrative function as the agency yellow pages and how to structure them so buyers can actually find you The exact project sheet format Randie uses with clients including scope, location, dollar value, and complexity details that move you faster through sources sought responses How to position past experience versus past performance on your capability statement when you're a newer company or bidding as part of a teaming arrangement How to surface real differentiators that survive AI-driven proposal screening and make you stand out among hundreds of capability statements Why PIEE registration is non-negotiable if you plan to do business with DOD and what lives inside the enterprise from RFP response to invoicing EPISODE CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Welcome to the Federal Help Center podcast 0:25 - First impressions set every future agency interaction 1:00 - Forest Service capabilities briefing client story 2:30 - SAM registration and keyword optimization for buyers 3:30 - Building project sheets that move you faster 4:30 - Gathering resumes for proposal team members 5:00 - Capability statements and past experience versus performance 5:45 - Finding real differentiators that beat AI screening 7:00 - PIEE registration requirement for DOD contractors 7:55 - Closing thoughts and community invite Market Intelligence gives you the federal opportunities, agency signals, recompete intel, and pursuit briefs that tell you not just what contracts exist, but which ones to chase and how to win them. Sign up for free Daily Alerts and get opportunities delivered to your inbox before the day starts.

The U.S. Forest Service recently announced plans to close dozens of research stations, including one in Ohio. The move has local researchers worried.

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Liz Crandall, a former US Forest Service field ranger who was fired by DOGE last February and has since transitioned into advocacy, activism, and podcasting, serving as the host of Rangers of the Lost Park.  In this one, Liz walks us through nine years of climbing the federal government's career ladder, from GS3 volunteer to permanent employee, and what it actually felt like to receive the phone call telling her it was over. She breaks down the DOGE firing process, the spam-looking emails that nobody believed were real, the Fork in the Road offer that most people didn't take, and what it looked like inside a Forest Service office where even the people who voted for the administration were crying. She also shares what it took to go from a person who was trained never to talk to the press to someone doing live CNN, the roadless rule and why she thinks rescinding it is a bad idea, her crown jewel podcast guest Ken Burns, and two pants-shitting stories from her hitchhiking days that she's been dreading telling us since she booked this. We wrap the show with hikers who discovered human remains in Vermont, the celebrity names we can never remember, how I butchered the boy who cried wolf, the triple crown of the worst gifts to give your kids, and an ALL TIME listener email and poop story. Topo Athletic: Use code "TREK15TOPO" at topoathletic.com. Gossamer Gear: Use code "BACKPACKERRADIO" for $20 off LT5 Trekking Poles at gossamergear.com.  OnX Backcountry: Through Memorial Day, use code "TREK70" for 70% off at onxmaps.com  [divider] Interview with Liz Crandall Rangers of the Lost Park Podcast Rangers of the Lost Park Instagram Liz's Instagram Time stamps & Questions 00:05:34 - Processing 00:10:30 - Reminders: Join us for Chaunce's live podcast sendoff, subscribe to The Trek's Youtube, check out our new merch, and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon! 00:17:25 - Introducing Liz 00:18:10 - What's the story behind your ranger raccoon tattoo? 00:24:47 - Tell us about working in wildlife rehab between Forest Service seasons 00:30:23 - How did you go from wildlife rehab to becoming a field ranger? 00:33:00 - What do the GS pay grades mean and how does the Forest Service career ladder work? 00:36:39 - What were your biggest accomplishments climbing from GS-3 to GS-6? 00:41:13 - When did things start going wrong under the new administration? 00:43:01 - What were the Fork in the Road emails from DOGE actually saying? 00:47:15 - What happened when the February 14th firing emails went out? 00:52:06 - Is there any optimism that fired feds could get their jobs back? 00:53:32 - How fast did you go from being fired to becoming an advocate? 00:57:41 - What was it like representing all fired feds in the press? 01:00:15 - Discussion about the State of the Union and lobbying in DC 01:02:18 - What do you disagree with about the Forest Service and BLM? 01:09:25 - How did Rangers of the Lost Park get started? 01:10:31 - How did you land Ken Burns as a guest? 01:15:26 - What were the biggest takeaways from your Ken Burns interview? 01:17:46 - What are some of the top remaining battles for public lands? 01:20:48 - How do you respond to people who aren't affected by these issues? 01:26:45 - Where do you get your validation when the wins are invisible? 01:28:45 - Triple Crown of Liz's best podcast guests 01:31:20 - How do you find joy in a world of bad news? 01:34:07 - Pants-shitting stories from Liz's hitchhiking days 01:43:17 - What's your most underrated piece of backpacking gear? 01:45:45 - Tell us about your mountain lion and grizzly bear encounters 01:56:40 - Peak Performance Question: What is your top performance-enhancing or backpacking hack? Segments Trek Propaganda: Hikers Discover Human Remains Near Vermont Appalachian Trail by Kelly Floro QOTD:  What celebrity names can you never remember?  Parenting Thing of the Week Triple Crown of the worst gifts to give young kids Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy @my_boy_pauly/ and his coffee. Sign up for the Trek's newsletter Leave us a voicemail! Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Advertise on Backpacker Radio Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow Backpacker Radio, The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. Follow Backpacker Radio on Tik Tok.  Our theme song is Walking Slow by Animal Years. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex and Misty with NavigatorsCrafting, Alex Kindle, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Bill Jensen, Brad & Blair Thirteen Adventures, Bret Mullins aka Cruizy, Bryan Alsop, Carl Lobstah Houde, Christopher Marshburn, Clint Sitler, Coach from Marion Outdoors, Eric Casper, Erik Hofmann, Ethan Harwell, Gillian Daniels, Greg Knight, Greg Martin, Griffin Haywood, Hailey Buckingham, Jackson Storm, JaredNotFromSubway, Jason Kiser, Jason "The Snail" Snailer, Luke Netjes, Matty in AZ, Patrick Cianciolo, Randy Sutherland, Rebecca Brave, Rural Juror, Sawyer Products, The Saint Louis Shaman, Timothy Hahn, Tracy 'Trigger' Fawns A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Bells, Benjy Lowry, Bonnie Ackerman, Brett Vandiver, Chris Pyle, Dakota J, David Neal, Dcnerdlet, Denise Krekeler, Jack Greene, Jeanie, Jeanne Latshaw, Lloyd Harris, Merle Watkins, Peter, Quenten Jones, Ruth S, Salt Stain, Sloan Alberhasky, and Tyler Powers.

Public lands stewardship has most definitely changed under the second presidential administration of Donald Trump. Land-management agencies such as the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management have lost thousands of employees, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is on a mission to turn the country's public lands into a cash cow of sorts. As the political tenure in Washington D.C., swings wildly back and forth like a massive pendulum when it comes to our public lands, there is an effort under way to provide a roadmap for public lands stewardship in the United States that stretches far into the future.    Ground Shift is a new nonprofit organization working to, as they put it, "develop creative, durable, and transformative ideas to shape the next century of public land and water stewardship in the United States." To better understand this organization and its goals, our guests today are Lynn Scarlett, who was a deputy Interior secretary during the administration of President George Bush, and Tracy Stone-Manning, who directed the Bureau of Land Management under President Joe Biden. 

We are all just one decision, one relationship, one breakthrough from a completely different life. Today, I'm sitting down with someone who is, first of all, a friend of mine, but she has walked through fire, and she didn't just survive. She found a way to break down better. Vivian Cumins is a former Air Force and Forest Service professional who reached a point where the weight of constant striving nearly took her out, but in her lowest moment, she heard a whisper that changed everything.Connect with Vivian:website: https://viviancumins.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viviancumins2/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viviancumins/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD2pCta0TpQ

On today's newscast: Public lands advocates are concerned about the Forest Service giving up management of the Maroon Bells, Basalt is considering a new sales tax to fund a new building for the police department and other town facilities, Garfield County is leasing at least half of its water right in Ruedi Reservoir, Independence Pass opens for the season Thursday, and more.

Welcome to stop three on the Backwoods Cryptid Road Trip. Tonight we're climbing up onto one of the most overlooked Sasquatch landscapes in the country, the Mogollon Rim of central and eastern Arizona, a two-hundred-mile shelf of stone where the Colorado Plateau drops off into the Sonoran Desert and ponderosa pine country meets red rock canyon. It's a place most people don't picture when they hear the word Bigfoot, and that's exactly what makes it so interesting.Because for as long as anyone in Arizona has been keeping records, witnesses have been coming down off that Rim with the same story. Something big up there. Something fast. Something that screams across whole canyons and watches camps from the tree line and throws rocks into fire rings in the middle of the night.We open the episode the way the Rim opens most of its stories, with a quiet camp and four experienced campers who realize, all at once, that the forest around them has gone silent. From there we build the history of the country itself, how the Rim got its name, why the Apache-Sitgreaves and the Coconino and the Tonto national forests stack together to make one of the largest unbroken pieces of timber and wilderness in the lower forty-eight, and how the Mogollon Monster legend traces back well before statehood, into the oral traditions of the people who knew that country first. Then we get into the encounters.A guide and his horseback hunters running into something on a ridge in the Apache-Sitgreaves that didn't react to them the way an animal is supposed to react. A family at an established campground hearing something walk a deliberate circle around their tent at one in the morning, twice, and finding a track in the duff at first light. A solo bow hunter sitting in a tree stand while something stands fifteen feet below him and breathes.A five-man hunt camp that loses a night to rocks on the canvas, a dog that won't get off the floorboard for a week, and a track measurement that no one in the group has been able to explain since. A Forest Service employee with thirty years on the Apache-Sitgreaves who heard something one summer afternoon that nobody at the office wanted to write down.And a couple driving home from Big Lake on State Route 260 who watched something step backward off the shoulder of the highway and clear a four-foot embankment in a single motion.We close with the question that always sits underneath these conversations. Why here. Why this country. Why does the Rim, of all the places in the American West, produce a Sasquatch tradition this dense and this consistent. The answer has to do with the geography itself, the food and the water and the cover and the canyons that no one has ever surveyed, and with the kind of witnesses this country produces, ranchers and hunters and Forest Service folks and law enforcement, people who know the difference between an elk and a bear and a man, and who keep telling the same story year after year.So pour a cup of something warm, pull your fire up a little closer, and come ride with me up onto the Mogollon Rim. Just don't go off looking for whatever's screaming across the canyon.It already knows where you are.If you've had your own encounter on the Rim, or anywhere in Arizona's high country, reach out. Every story matters, and this show runs on yours.Have you experienced a Bigfoot sighting, Sasquatch encounter, Dogman experience, UFO sighting, or any unexplained cryptid or paranormal event deep in the woods? We want to hear your story.Email your encounter to brian@paranormalworldproductions.com for a chance to be featured on a future episode of Backwoods Bigfoot Stories.Backwoods Bigfoot Stories is a paranormal storytelling podcast featuring real Bigfoot encounters, Sasquatch sightings, Dogman reports, cryptid experiences, and true scary stories from the backwoods.Follow the show and turn on automatic downloads so you never miss a chilling encounter from the forest. Listen with the lights off… if you dare.

Remember Smokey the Bear? His correct name is Smokey Bear, a fictional spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service. He’d say, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Yeah, fires can start by one careless person. But when it comes to the fire of revival, that fire can start with one person who does care. And today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us be that kind of person who let’s God use them to share the love of Christ in a world that needs that message. The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details. — Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years. Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trump administration has made dramatic changes to the U.S. Forest Service -- closing nearly every regional office and axing its research budget. Some say it's overdue reform. But critics say public lands won't be protected. *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

Remember Smokey the Bear? His correct name is Smokey Bear, a fictional spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service. He’d say, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Yeah, fires can start by one careless person. But when it comes to the fire of revival, that fire can start with one person who does care. And today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us be that kind of person who let’s God use them to share the love of Christ in a world that needs that message. The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details. — Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years. Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alaska doesn't just have Bigfoot. It has something older.This is the second stop on our cryptid road trip across America. Last time out, we worked the longleaf pine country of Alabama and the legend of the White Thang.Tonight we head north to the rain coast of southeast Alaska, where the fog comes down low over the tideline and the spruce trees grow right to the water. This is the country of the Tlingit, a maritime people who have been reading these waters for somewhere between ten and fifteen thousand years. And it is the country of the Kushtaka — the otter people, the shape-shifting beings who imitate the voices of the people you love and call you out into the dark.We open in a fourteen-foot skiff outside Wrangell, with a fisherman in the fog and a child crying near the shore, and what his Tlingit grandmother told him to do if it ever happened.From there we go deep. Into the ethnography of the Kushtaka, into the protections the old stories say can save your life — copper, dogs, and one other thing nobody likes to bring up — into three traditional accounts passed down through generations, and into two modern reports from a Forest Service ranger in the Tongass and a pair of kayakers on Admiralty Island. We close with a long, cinematic survival story from a cannery cove outside Hoonah in October of two thousand and eleven, and the one small tell that may be the only thing standing between you and what's on the other side of the door.Handle this one with respect.The Kushtaka belong to a living tradition still carried by Tlingit families in southeast Alaska today. Listen with that in mind. And if you ever find yourself on a piece of Alaskan water you don't quite know, on a night when the fog has come down and the world has gone quiet, and you hear a voice you recognize calling your name from the trees, you already know what to do.Put your back to it. Keep your hands on something made of copper. And don't look back.Have you experienced a Bigfoot sighting, Sasquatch encounter, Dogman experience, UFO sighting, or any unexplained cryptid or paranormal event deep in the woods? We want to hear your story.Email your encounter to brian@paranormalworldproductions.com for a chance to be featured on a future episode of Backwoods Bigfoot Stories.Backwoods Bigfoot Stories is a paranormal storytelling podcast featuring real Bigfoot encounters, Sasquatch sightings, Dogman reports, cryptid experiences, and true scary stories from the backwoods.Follow the show and turn on automatic downloads so you never miss a chilling encounter from the forest. Listen with the lights off… if you dare.

In this episode, the team discusses a new paper on why Clovis hunter/gatherers selected certain types of stone for their points and blades. Then the team welcomes archaeologist Scott Ashcraft to discuss his complex federal whistleblower case against the U.S. Forest Service.  Scott Ashcraft attended Western Carolina University, earning a degree in Physical Geography. In the summer of 1989, he was hired for a major archaeological excavation ahead of the construction of a new elementary school within the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' Qualla Boundary.   After graduating from WCU in 1990, Ashcraft immediately enrolled in a University of North Carolina-Charlotte field school at a large WNC Mississippian site. Over the next three years, Ashcraft worked on a variety of archaeological contract projects from Mobile, AL, to New York City. During occasional work breaks, he returned to Asheville, NC, to assist Dr. David Moore with large salvage excavations at Mississippian town sites across western North Carolina. In 1993, Ashcraft was hired by the USFS (NFsNC), beginning a 32-year CRM career that eventually broadened to include complementary research and investigative interests.  In 1994, Ashcraft founded the North Carolina Rock Art Project, eventually increasing the state's recorded petroglyph and pictograph sites from seven to more than 120. He also advanced major rock art conservation efforts, including Judaculla Rock—the most densely carved petroglyph in the eastern U.S.—and Paint Rock, among the region's oldest pictograph sites. Another primary career passion for Ashcraft was Wildfire Archaeology, a specialized field he helped pioneer by integrating archaeologists into active wildfire operations to assess and protect important cultural resources. This position required intensive firefighter training and physical conditioning so that archaeologists could play an active role in protecting significant sites during the often chaotic initial attack phase of fire conditions.  As the specialty matured, Ashcraft was invited to co-instruct the National Interagency Fire Archaeology Course over several years. Working closely with Tribal partners—especially the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians—was among the most meaningful aspects of his later career, including many collaborative projects important to the Cherokee.  Seven Ages Official Site  Seven Ages Official Merchandise  Instagram  Facebook  Patreon  Seven Ages YouTube  News Link Why did Clovis toolmakers choose difficult quartz crystal?   Guest Links Scott Ashcraft  Scott Ashcraft Go Fund Me     

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   The U.S. Forest Service is planning a massive overhaul that includes closing research stations in Pennsylvania. What's at stake? Some residents and environmental groups oppose the Pennsylvania Turnpike's proposal to reroute the highway over wildlife habitat. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are turning food waste like egg shells and mango skins into building materials. Fruit growers across Pennsylvania have experienced partial to total losses of their 2026 crops. Pittsburgh's 2030 District says its building owners are beating their climate goals ahead of schedule. A new report finds Pennsylvania's use of solar energy is on the rise, but the state still falls behind the rest of the country in putting more renewable energy on the grid. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed.  Donate today.  Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.  And thanks! 

Calmatters investigates successes and failures of state's Project Homekey. Plus, how the Forest Service and CAL FIRE are preparing for summer wildfires across the region. Finally, Snap Judgement host makes his In a Nutshell debut.

https://slasrpodcast.com/        Welcome to episode 232 of the sounds like a search and rescue podcast. This week, catching up on SAR news, Recent hikes, and Notable Hikes. Plus a fatality on the Kinsmans, the Pemi / Liberty Springs problematic Black Bear has been removed, some early season fires in the Whites, recent hikes in the Belknaps, Moosiluake, Bald Peak and Kinsmans, the federal government is moving the Forest Service HQ out of Washington DC plus recent search and rescue news.  Join the SLASR Podcast 48 Peaks Team on June 13 to hike Mount Adams   Topics Dave Shits AT Update Stomp's new hip Hangover and College Adventures Snow is gone, three season hikers are starting too early  Will Peterson FKT on the AT Pemi Bear Hiker Fatality Brush Fires  NH Rest Area Politics Gear Talk  US Forest Service moving headquarters More Gear Talk Music Minute - Pixies Recent Hikes - Belknaps 12 Finish Recent Hikes - Greylock  Recent Hikes - Kinsmans / Bald Peak Recent Search and Rescue News   Show Notes Apple Podcast link for 5 star reviews SLASR Merchandise SLASR LinkTree SLASR's BUYMEACOFFEE Order Hike Safe Card 48 Peaks website Nick's Instagram Will peterson (@_will.peterson) • Instagram photos and videos He has long trail supported FKT Pemi Bear Missing Hiker Located Deceased in Lincoln  Fire crews battle multiple brush fires in Hart's Location Drama surrounds the NH Liquor Store Rest Area Bidding process Forest Service moves Headquarters from Washington DC to Utah Re-Organization of the Forest Service Information webpage Outside Magazine Article on the move Flash Grenade for Bear deterrence Injured Hiker on Sabbaday Falls Trail - 3/14 Injured Hiker Rescued from Lowe's Path - 3/15 Hikers Rescued on Mount Flume in Lincoln - 3/19 One Injured Hiker on Mount Monadnock - 3/22 Injured Hiker on Mount Major - 3/27 Injured Hiker Assisted Off of Gap Mountain in Troy - 3/29 Snowboarder Seriously Injured on Cannon Mountain - 3/30 Injured Hiker on Iron Mountain - 4/24 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17J3in5K69/  Sponsors, Friends  and Partners Rek' lis Brewing Company Wild Raven Endurance Coaching burgeonoutdoor.com 48 Peaks - Alzheimer's Association Mount Washington Higher Summits Forecast Hiking Buddies  Vaucluse - Sweat less. Explore more. – Vaucluse Gear Fieldstone Kombucha CS Instant Coffee The Mountain Wanderer 

Is the Forest Service really spraying Round Up in our forests? Is the Garmin InReach Mini 3 worth the money you'd spend on it? How likely are you to be attacked by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone? All this and more in this episode of the Backpacking Podcast.Get signed up for the Live Ultralight Membership at Outdoor Vitals: https://alnk.to/fSkxDxLGive us your thoughts on this article: https://www.backpacker.com/stories/essays/opinion/thru-hiking-demands-sacrifice-but-it-still-favors-privilege/

Guest Minnesota native Aaron Hebeisen grew up hunting, fishing, and recreating outdoors. His lifelong passion for wildlife led him to earn an Animal Ecology degree from Iowa State University. He has worked for the Minnesota Conservation Corps, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on wildlife disease research, and is now the Field Operations Coordinator with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, supporting chapters in 10 states across the Midwest and the southern U.S. Summary This episode explores the meaning, management, and future of public lands in the United States. The discussion begins by defining public lands—roughly 640 million federally managed acres overseen by agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service—and emphasizes their "multiple-use" mandate, balancing recreation, resource extraction, and conservation. Aaron highlights BHA's mission to advocate for these lands on behalf of all users, not just hunters and anglers, framing Americans as "public landowners" with both rights and responsibilities. A key theme is the complexity of land and water access, illustrated through conflicts over stream access laws in states like Illinois, where differing definitions of "navigability" create legal gray areas and tension among stakeholders. The conversation also examines policy advocacy, including coalition-building, lobbying, and navigating bipartisan politics. Aaron describes BHA's approach as "radically purple"—engaged but nonpartisan—focused on finding common ground across competing interests. A major case study is the rollback of mining protections near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area via H.R. 140, which Aaron argues could set a precedent for weakening environmental safeguards nationwide. Despite such challenges, the episode remains grounded in a broader philosophical reflection: public lands are a uniquely American inheritance that fosters personal connection, humility, and stewardship. Ultimately, Aaron underscores that protecting these lands requires active civic engagement—if people don't participate, they risk losing access to what is collectively theirs. A key takeaway Public lands belong to all of us, but their future depends on whether people actively engage in protecting them—through stewardship, advocacy, and participation in the political process. References / Links Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting LinkedIn Instagram Facebook

Monday on the News Hour, Iran fires on commercial vessels and American warships as the U.S. launches a new mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Supreme Court temporarily restores nationwide access to a widely used abortion pill and cuts at the U.S. Forest Service raise concerns about its ability to protect public lands and fight wildfires. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Sweeping changes are coming for the U.S. Forest Service, which manages roughly a third of America's public land. The agency announced a dramatic overhaul of cuts, closures and consolidation. That's on top of the Trump administration's latest budget request that seeks to slash billions of dollars. But some worry it could undermine the agency's mission. William Brangham reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Photo: Apache Stronghold supporters converge at Oak Flat campground on February 22, 2025. (Gabriel Pietrorazio) A group opposed to a massive Arizona copper mining project filed a petition last week before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. They are hoping the court will reconsider the recent Oak Flat land swap between the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. A split, three-judge panel from the very same appeals court allowed the controversial transfer to proceed after tossing out a slew of lawsuits – while also lifting an injunction back in March. But plaintiffs now argue they still have a case to be made. Judge Johnnie Rawlinson agrees. In her dissenting opinion from April, she wrote that before the court stamps its seal on a decision that will “completely annihilate sacred Native lands, we must be certain that every i was dotted and every t was crossed. And that simply is not the case.” An FNX original children's series is earning national recognition. “Navajo Highways”, created by Pete Sands and filmed in Moab, Utah, has been nominated for two Emmy Awards by the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The nominations, announced recently, honor the show's educational content and set design. The Navajo-language series teaches culture and storytelling through the journey of a young girl reconnecting with her roots. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, May 4, 2026 – Demands for action grow as details of Indigenous surveillance program surface

The number of people canceling or not using their permit to visit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness rose again in 2025. The U.S. Forest Service says more than 40 percent of permits for May 1 through September 30 last year were never used.Depleted by injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves saw other players step up on Thursday to lift them to a first-round playoff series win over Denver. Now the battered Wolves face another tough test against San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals starting Monday night. Expect traffic delays on a busy central Minnesota highway over the next couple of months as a detour goes into effect starting Monday. That detour is along U.S. Highway 10 just east of Wadena. MnDOT says it's to allow crews to replace a culvert under the highway. It'll be a short detour to start, but that will be extended to a much longer route in early June as crews replace a second culvert. The detour will remain in place until early to mid-July.

The U.S. Forest Service is heading for a major restructure. Its headquarters are moving from D.C. to Utah, all regional offices are being eliminated, and dozens of research facilities across 31 states are being shuttered. This is all unfolding before what's expected to be a very active wildfire season. How do these changes affect our ability to fight wildfires? But first, we're digging into the latest economic impacts of war in the Middle East.

The U.S. Forest Service is heading for a major restructure. Its headquarters are moving from D.C. to Utah, all regional offices are being eliminated, and dozens of research facilities across 31 states are being shuttered. This is all unfolding before what's expected to be a very active wildfire season. How do these changes affect our ability to fight wildfires? But first, we're digging into the latest economic impacts of war in the Middle East.

The forest floor was nothing but patches of brown. No ferns, no brush, no flowers, and definitely no wildlife. Everything was dead except for rows of hand-planted baby trees.This is what reporter Nate Halverson found while mushroom foraging in the California wilderness near Lassen Peak. He would learn the area had been sprayed with the controversial weed killer glyphosate, more commonly known by its brand name, Roundup.This week on Reveal, Halverson's yearlong investigation reveals that the US Forest Service and timber companies are spraying glyphosate in record amounts in California's forests in an effort to regrow timberland that's been decimated by years of megafires.“The wedding of the chemical industry and the Forest Service has got to be seriously and deeply looked at,” Craig Thomas, a fire restoration expert, says about the spraying. The Forest Service is “addicted to herbicide use and glyphosate, and we need to get them into rehab.”Read: We Are Bombarding America's Forests With Roundup (Mother Jones)Watch: The Secret Plan to Cover the World in Herbicide (Mother Jones) Support Reveal's journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/weekly Connect with us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Are you team camping or glamping? On today's show, we're checking in on the outdoor recreation economy in the Western United States. KUNC's Mountain West News Bureau reporter Rachel Cohen joins Kimberly to unpack the pressures facing the industry, from climate change to Trump administration policies. Plus, will President Trump's new $100 foreign tourist fee hurt national parks?Here's everything we talked about today:"The Mountain West's outdoor economy continues to grow – but pace may be slowing" from KUNC"Ski resorts gain year-round adaptability in Forest Service rule" from KUNC"Visits to national parks dipped slightly in 2025—after a record-breaking year" from KUNC"Forest Service plans to move D.C. headquarters to Salt Lake City" from KUNCWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

Are you team camping or glamping? On today's show, we're checking in on the outdoor recreation economy in the Western United States. KUNC's Mountain West News Bureau reporter Rachel Cohen joins Kimberly to unpack the pressures facing the industry, from climate change to Trump administration policies. Plus, will President Trump's new $100 foreign tourist fee hurt national parks?Here's everything we talked about today:"The Mountain West's outdoor economy continues to grow – but pace may be slowing" from KUNC"Ski resorts gain year-round adaptability in Forest Service rule" from KUNC"Visits to national parks dipped slightly in 2025—after a record-breaking year" from KUNC"Forest Service plans to move D.C. headquarters to Salt Lake City" from KUNCWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

Headlines for April 20, 2026; “Gulf of Trust” Between Iran & U.S. as End of Ceasefire Nears, Peace Talks Uncertain; Who Is Breaking International Law in the Strait of Hormuz? It’s Not Iran, Says Scholar; Shepard Fairey on Art, Activism & Resisting Fascism: “It Can Happen Here, and It Is”; Forest Firings: Trump Admin Aims to “Break the Forest Service,” Nearly 200 Million Acres at Stake

Steven Rinella and the MeatEater crew discuss: Bobcat collaring; the Man Eaters of Tsavo by John Banovich; the Monteith Shop fundraiser; building the border wall through Big Bend National Park?; an interview with professional golfer Brian Harman; the "rapid depopulation" strategy unfolding on Catalina Island; the effort to legalize deer baiting in Michigan; Forest Service overhaul confusion; Alaska opens a mountain lion season; a big crappie tournament; and more. Connect with Steve and The MeatEater Podcast Network Steve on Instagram and Twitter MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.