In this episode, I interview Ryan Callaghan, former hunting and fly-fishing guide who worked in PR & media at First Lite, led conservation efforts across MeatEater brands, and is now six months in as president and CEO of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA), a 501(c)(3) advocating for public lands, waters, and wildlife. We discuss current threats including monument reductions, wilderness and WSA reviews, mineral-withdrawal rescissions, roadless rule rollback, land sells offs, unfair land exchanges, and Alaska issues. We debate roadless management, wilderness protections, declining public favorability toward hunting, beaver trapping restrictions, and public-lands livestock grazing, including permit buyouts and disagreement over whether grazing can be responsibly managed.
03:48 Montana Check In
05:04 Cal’s Background
06:24 From Guiding to Media
09:18 Leading BHA Today
11:40 Mission of BHA
12:29 Fighting Land Sell Offs
16:29 Alaska Dalton Corridor
19:02 Crazy Mountains Land Swap
20:53 Roadless Rule Debate
29:51 Wilderness Reviews and WSAs
32:41 Gallatin Range
37:44 Hunting Favorability Decline
38:52 Disconnected From Food
40:15 Defending Hunting
42:17 Beaver Trapping Debate
51:36 Ungulate Habitat Threats
53:06 Grazing Impacts
55:47 Permit Buyouts And Policy
58:10 Cows To Condos
01:03:00 Wild Horses And Wrap Up
