Ep. 828: Nonresidents, Wildlife Commissions, and the Boundary Waters | MeatEater Radio Live!

This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Welcome to Meet Eaters 12 and 26 presented by Moltremobile and OnXMaps. 12 of Meet Eaters biggest and baddest hunts from the last year released throughout 2026. These are long form episodes so you get more of what you love. The first one up is my Bated Bear Hunt in Manitoba. If you've ever wondered what a Bated Bear Hunt is like, you'll love this episode. My favorite part was watching a younger bear spend an hour trying to figure out how to get a creatively hung beaver carcass down from a tree. Check it out now on Meet Eaters YouTube channel and be on the lookout for more 12 and 26 in the coming months. Welcome to Meet Eaters trivia's Meet Eaters podcast. Welcome to Meet Eaters Radio Live. It's 11 a.m. on Thursday which means we're here at HQ and Bozeman to a chit chat with you guys. I'm your host Brody. I'm your host randles loud bag of uh sun chips and some interesting email correspondence from the meat eater inbox and we'll also do a crew hot tip-off and the lie you guys the live audience you're gonna decide the winner and we'll announce that at the end of the show um what flavor do you got there randall? garden salsa my favorite nice that is a good stop to hear do you have enough for the rest of the class? nope okay moving on I'm not even supposed to be here moving on uh before we dive into the show um I want to make an announcement and in case you guys haven't heard some of you have probably have some we probably haven't might be a little painful for for our most diehard listeners like mogor mogor so uh hold on your bridges and case you haven't heard uh we're going to be saying goodbye to mediator radio live in early march um so sad been a great run um and we've had a so much fun uh doing the live show for you guys so we're sad to see it go randall in particular has been in a dark deep depression the last couple of weeks uh is it is that you got anything to add there? yeah but we've learned so much along the way and really made all kinds of new friends including we've learned things about one another that I don't think would have come to light yeah it should have happened for this vehicle that's true anyway there's there's some good news here too uh radio live is going to replace be replaced by a second weekly episode of mediator the mediator podcast um and you're still going to be seeing the crew from radiator mediator radio live along with Steve um and the additional drop of the mediator podcast is going to focus on news and current events but we're going to bring some of the fun and energy from radio live along with us but for now we've got another month's or so five weeks maybe a radio live left before we sign off and we're definitely going to be doing something very special for for our last episode of radio live fill fill and randall are already plotting so if you have if you have any like suggestions or like wants that you would see in in our last show send them in to us we'll see if we can do anything yeah Phil do we have a is it radio at the mediator dot com i believe it is if you have any ideas for the mediator radio live grand finale spectacular live on march 5th twenty twenty six march seven in the middle last show uh and we're playing it's gonna be a blast so please it's gonna be wild please tune in and i i think you really really quick too just to add to some of the messaging around here about like why specifically we're doing this i mean the main reason is that Steve wants to do stuff like this more uh he wants to be on like he loves radio live he loves coming on and it's just he can't do it very often because it's it's tied to a specific time but um so now it's just being replaced the the the new show is going to have a lot of the same energy sort of like the old crew shows from from back in the old day so i think you're going to still enjoy it but now if we're just more flexible we can talk about topical stuff more quickly which is what Steve wants fill can go on vacations that include Thursdays man i'm getting a high jacked here a little bit sorry i'm not to leave i just think some of the messaging hasn't been super clear so i just thought we get you know getting front of it pipe down boys that's not a you brody i know i know i know i'm talking about from you i mean the messaging that has been uh yeah communicated so far before today um and i will add that there's a chance and i think if we get get our way it'll happen um there's a chance every now and then we'll do like a pop-up version of radio yes oh so it may not be completely going away we'll see yeah we're even thinking about some some like prime time shows like you know seven o'clock on a Friday or Saturday night where you know we can kind of eventize it a little bit or some time like some kind of event or something we might try and do it do it right tuxedoes for those yeah um all right so uh you guys got anything you want a chit chat about before we start talking well i'd like to tell you a bunch of ice fishing stories but i saw you were on the ice the other day you get any of those five inch blue gills no well yeah i got some blue gills on three four spawns but yeah i was up at king fairy and just small just caught those small as usual up there yeah it was not four inches of ice couldn't get out to the good stuff yeah little sketchy ice was bare minimum ice was chit chatty up there yeah making all kinds of noises yelling at yeah threatening yeah little scary it's been so unseasonably warm i went fly fishing the other day wow yeah never done it in January before no typical January trout fishing they're pretty uh in the rivers at least not a lot of food not a lot of activity but if you put it in their face they'll eat it yeah yeah we caught a few one time i went ice fishing while fly fishing i was up in Alaska went out to the lodge on a snow machine busted the ice open next to the bank and drifted to fly through there kind of nice trout i'll show you pictures sometime really oh yeah oh yeah that's cool excellent job right yeah oh yeah oh yeah yeah i don't i don't got got a whole lot going on right now um my my life's kind of in turmoil really we're kind of just stuck in a weird time right now like vortex i know well the weather's not great for anything i know it's like between seasons it's like turkey seasons way off but the one good thing about this weather is uh it's super nice weather is i was forced by my family to um i was going to do a marathon my first marathon in september oh yeah and i was informed that that training program would be way too disruptive to our summer activities like every weekend i got to do some long ass run yeah yeah i can't go anywhere can't go fish and camping all that stuff so i bumped it up to to June to the mizzula marathon late June so it's like thrown my whole life off yeah well you're able to train at the moment at least yeah exactly maybe not that's a good thing oh how are you feeling about it good little nervous slow but good but a little nervous you're feeling like you're getting prepared yeah yeah i got five months so it's but a lot most marathon plans are either 16 or 20 weeks i've got over 20 i'm good you got time now it's real like september seems so far off in june's like right there anyway um we got more important stuff to talk about uh namely the boundary waters um our first guest today is lucas leaf and uh lucas is that the lead chef for modern carnivore and he's also contributed a bunch of his best wild game recipes to the mediator website in addition to that lucas is also the executive director of the conservation group sportsman for the boundary waters and he's gonna he's here to talk to us today about the most recent congressional assault on one of america's most cherished wild places um which is minnesota's boundary waters canoe area like the boundary waters have been threatened before um manage to fight those threats off but this one this time it's like serious um and before we get to the interview with lucas like for anyone is not familiar i want to give you guys a quick background on the on the boundary waters that's going to help you understand what the stakes are here um the boundary waters canoe area wilderness is a 1.1 million acre federally protected wilderness area in north eastern minnesota superior national force it's big i think yellowstone is two million so you know a million acres of big chunk of land um it's the most visited wilderness area in the united states it has uh 1,175 lakes 1200 plus miles of canoe routes and it offers back country canoeing hunting fishing hiking and and winter activities um it's like this vast very pristine network of interconnected waterways that provide really good fishing for wild eye pikes mom of bass lake trout um and and the area also encompasses our southern most boreal forest um that harbors you know you can hunt waterfowl black bears spruce and rough growles no shoe hairs and white till deer and their white till deer that have never seen a corn pile so they're pretty cool um and the reason we're talking about all this is because the boundary waters is threatened by this massive sulfide or copper mine um that's proposed on the banks of the south kowishie kowishie river and birch lake and and sulfide or mining in the united states has a what like a long dark history of causing significant environmental damage like something seems to always go wrong with these mines they're like you can look it up there's plenty of examples you google it and you'll see all these examples across the united states where these mines have just caused irreversible damage to habitat polluting streams lakes drinking water supplies with heavy metals and and and other toxins hard rock mining is the most generally guard as the most toxic industry in america and a hydrologist say that pollution from mining in this area is like it's inevitable it's gonna happen so we're in talk to Lucas Lucas you on the line I sure am thanks guys for having me and and bro do you know that intro man thanks thanks before we get into the boundary waters let's first talk about who sportsman for the boundary waters is and and what you guys do yeah so I mean you know sportsman for the boundary waters was founded you know roughly a decade ago mainly as the hunting and angling voice for the area for protections of the area for for the world class hunting and fishing opportunities that that it holds like you talked about but also you know to you know to work and prevent this proposed Copernickal mine that you were talking about by twin metals which is a subsidiary of anifagasta which is a Chilean mining conglomerate yeah that's one of our you know kind of key issues that we work on and we also have a pretty robust stewardship and habitat program so on the ground projects working with you know state and and national you know partners and coalitions as well great um so obviously um this seems Randall Randall is trying to play music over here sorry oh I was trying to hop into the chat um I really I like those sunships okay Lucas so like obviously to like most people I would say this seems like a real shitty place to put it it's self-wide or mining operation um so can you lay out why congress approved stripping protections from the boundary waters yeah I mean it's been a very partisan issue for a long time right you know um supporters of the market are hoping for you know protect projected jobs and and you know royalties to the state um you know touting the idea for for um showing up you know domestic critical minerals dominance um but but it really is like a terrible place for this as you alluded to right it's extremely water rich environment you said this pure national force the spirit of national forest holds 20% of the fresh water in the entire national forest system huge interconnected water rich area it is just a terrible spot for it right on the the shores of birch lake you know miles away from the boundary waters the head waters of the area and it's located you know north of the Laurentian divide so all the water flows north that'd be through the boundary waters in and out of it up through rainy lake you know a great wildlife fishery and and others all the way up to Hudson Bay also affecting parts of you know the Canadian border waters you know you mentioned you know the boundary waters 1.1 million acres well uh it's it's sister park uh in Canada the critical is nearly the same size yeah they border as well so it would end up flowing downstream to that as well yep exactly um you said it's a part of an issue which is unfortunate but um you know the reality is is that the Republicans in Congress are the ones that push this thing through um it's right and again like is this like unfortunately like is this come down to money i mean for it's hard to say right like you know quick background you know what what this and we can get into the the house resolution that was introduced by representative stopper and passed the house last week but you know it's it's this resolution is met to overturn a 20 year mind more my name moratorium in nearly 225,000 acres in that rainy river watershed the watershed that houses the boundary water state national forest and that happened in January of 2023 so we're we're just right at about the three year anniversary of of those protections being put in place and coincidentally and if a gas to just got fine for uh not meeting regulations in one of its Chilean mines for to the tune of nearly 800,000 dollars this week too so um yeah it's crazy it like whenever one of these these huge mining operations pops up that that's like environmentally questionable it's like always a foreign mining company that's right that's right and and a key point to put to point out here is is like anifagasta yes Chilean mining conglomerate um definitely has you know certain ties to the current administration um it it obviously you know is about money but but it's also about tying into that you know need for domestic critical minerals right the whole issue with that is is that those minerals once extracted are going to be shipped overseas there are no there are no smelting operations on U.S. soil that are capable of taking care of that and once the girls end up you know on forming soil for processing they just flood the global market with with no guarantee that they're coming back down to us that that's the real kick in the nuts yeah American no we don't get it yeah I mean someone's getting something out of it but yeah yeah um you know we're going saying that you know it's a 20 year withdrawal right the whole the whole reason for that is to give it time to find out whether or not it's viable yeah potentially it technology catches up who knows but at the moment as you said there is no there is no project similar to this that has been done without polluting in some form yeah and that's mostly there at environments too exactly so like obviously this goes like way beyond a handful of of hunters and anglers that are worried about like their spot right um so besides like the clearly dangerous environmental risks there there's also could be a huge like local and regional economic you know component to what's at stake here because the boundary water supports like 17,000 jobs and generates a billion dollars in in sales and income annually so I just wondered if you can hit on on that aspect of this at all like what what like who would be the people that would be losing jobs losing money if this thing goes forward well certainly certainly all of the local businesses you know this the boundary waters in the surrounding areas are a huge economic driver for for all of those you know local towns and cities and you know it's it's not just those local businesses I mean this trickles out everywhere to to the folks that are excited and buying gear to you know to go up and and take the trips to you know to everything that's needed for for a place like this yeah and for a trip to that you know true backcountry wilderness experience that anybody can you know from a you know an infant I just took you know the first time I took my kids they were two you know all the way up to somebody on their 50th anniversary that's you know 85 right it is it's truly accessible to everyone yeah so yeah and and you know with with the resolution the unfortunate piece for that is yes it did pass the house and now it does you know move on to the Senate and real the real battle is is hoping that we can turn this into a bipartisan issue and that you know this cross is a aisle and and we can have some Republican folks you know understand the implications of of what using the Congressional Review Act for overturning a mineral draw really means not only for the bounty waters but for similar protections across the country too yeah that that's I mean that's the worrying aspect of it is like if the dominoes start falling after this you know welcome to meat eaters 12 and 26 presented by mulch remobile and on x maps 12 of meat eaters biggest and baddest hunts from the last year released throughout 2026 these are long form episodes so you get more of what you love the first one up is my baited bear hunt in Manitoba if you've ever wondered what a baited bear hunt is like you'll love this episode my favorite part was watching a younger bear spend an hour trying to figure out how to get a creatively hung beaver carcass down from a tree check it out now on meat eaters YouTube channel and be on the lookout for more 12 and 26 in the coming months attention attention rail travelers platform paces window gaysers and unrest negotiators have you heard the big rail fair for ease is here rail fairs have been frozen across England until March 2027 on standard class tickets including offpeak anytime and season tickets for more information visit national rail dot co dot uk slash fairs for ease season excursions apply so it's going to the senate you got to feel for what things are looking like there like which direction it's leaning or is it completely up in the air you know it's it's pretty up in the air the uh so the senate parliamentarian still has to rule on whether or not the usage of the CRA the congressional you act is lawful in this manner because traditionally it's only been used for land management plans this is a federal action so kind of an unprecedented usage of the CRA so we're hoping to to hear what that ruling may be and if it'll sway the movement in in the senate as well but at this moment it has not been been taken up in the senate you know I think is everybody knows there's a lot a lot else going on right now in congress what's the what's the timing on it do you know when they're going to get to it we certainly expect sooner than later it moves so fast through the house I mean we're talking an introduction you know less than two weeks ago to to passage last week right like so it really slammed through and it had it certainly had some help too so we know that when it does hit the senate they know they have the backing to get it to move forward so best case scenario is that doesn't get the light of day right right our states do some work to ensure that that uh it scares off the folks trying to get this to move even move forward in the senate as well I know this is kind of like beaten a dead horse with with all these kind of issues that come up but what what can people do to to help stop it from happening yeah I mean this isn't a a bluer-red issue man this is this is everybody you know this is the time for us all to come together you know for the places that we cherish and understand that it has those broader implications for others so it's not just a Minnesota issue it's a national issue there are tons of great organizations working on this the best thing you can do is call your senators it doesn't matter if they're Republican or Democrat they need to hear from their constituents that this is not the right place for this mine and that uh this resolution should not move forward in the senate so making those phone calls getting a meeting with your with your senators if you can and and hooking up and joining conservation organizations that are working on this signing action alerts that that a number have out right now almost anything you can do is is most important right now it's all hands on deck yeah and and for people who are wondering like it's actually very easy to to call your senator it's it's not like a painful long process I wish we have a number um but you can look it up and I know it better there you go lay it on us 202 244 uh I think it's 3121 okay well if it if it's wrong we'll figure it out out but I think it's double check me but it connects you directly with the capital switchboard and the operator can put you directly in touch with your uh your senator's office yeah it's actually a pretty quick process um all right before before we let you go Lucas you are a chef so we got to talk about food a little bit um yeah uh yannis has given us the bird out there um this place is falling apart man like we announced that radio live is going away in the whole place is falling apart um dominoes sorry about this Lucas is embarrassing um great give us like two or three of your favorite recipes or preparations from fishing game that that you typically would harvest in in the boundary waters if I'm in the boundary waters sure should we do it yeah okay or if you've got something home from the boundary waters whatever well I'll say all right in camp in camp there is nothing better than shore lunch lake trout cooked in bacon grease on a cold day are you spreading that are you just putting it in the game yeah just really lightly breaded yeah with with the axe will shore lunch otherwise like one that I that I'll use is just like pulverized cheeses yep and use yellow mustard as a binder trust me both are great but um yeah that that's one that's one of that's one of my favorites honestly uh let me think gosh what about walleye same thing walleye yeah you know um I think you know walleye is a pretty pretty lean fish it cooks up really well in a ton of different preparations it's really good in like kuries and uh a wasp I've done before it's called puttinesca it's uh pretty rich like olives capers and chow v tomato based um you know but again I mean nothing better than a fried walleye sandwich too right yeah let's say you were up there uh new shot yourself or rough grouse and you're like camping up there what would you do with it first I let it sit for a little bit um are you are you do you mean like let it hang for a while if you have time I mean yeah you know going going straight from shot to the pan can can make things a little bit difficult yep yep once that done I honestly I pound out the breasts and serum in a cast iron with a little sauce over the fire and take the legs and probably braise them in something you know which is just a really slow cook if you have time you can take the carcass and make a stock you know to make a sauce just kind of use the whole thing right yep take you take maybe you know the levers and hearts and grill them real quick you know just use everything you have god makes me want to go to the boundary waters yeah I mean you guys are talking about ice fish and earlier it is prime time right now yeah you guys got cold we didn't you got all the cold we missed man yeah you can you can take some it's been too cold well listen Lucas thanks thanks for chatting with us today and keep us posted on what's going on with the boundary waters if there's anything we can do to help get the message out let us know yeah I really appreciate it spread in the word and just getting folks to take action is super important so thank you so much for having me on today yep thanks again we'll talk soon all right moving on hopefully hopefully we get some good news here soon but we're gonna move on to our crew hot tip off normally we like to feature hot tip offs from our audience but you guys have been kind of lame on submitting stuff you know I'm sorry to say that's that's Brody speaking I think every tip we've gotten is it's not like we're just not like we're not getting many sent in right now the folder's pretty empty that's certainly not a lot of show where I mean come on film step it up yeah step it up well maybe maybe the folks just don't want to invest their time in the show that's going away don't make my last chance like get there get their big prize yeah that's a good point if you've been holding in those hot tips for the last year and a half yeah so anyway you're stuck with our hot tips which we'll see they might only be Luke warm tips wait a cell wait a cell the segment Brody I know I mean look I'm I'm trying to get get through this Randall I'm sad okay now I feel bad yeah um the way we're gonna do this is we're not like the the you guys are gonna vote on the the uh winner mmm but it's like kind of hard for Phil to do as we're we're doing the hot hot tips and compile kind of who who got the most votes so we'll the the second time we talked you guys that's that's that's at the end of the show that's one will announce the winner so it'll be all this tension through the rest of the show okay well that's not what I thought the plan was but I like it I like to keep you on your toes sure Brody's calling the shots today mm-hmm it's my show Phil my show um so Seth Corey which one you guys want to go first oh Seth why don't you do the honors sure I'll go I'm very curious um all right so when you're when you're out fishing um and it's like early spring maybe later in the fall waters cold um your hands are getting cold because you're touching fish and whatnot a thing you can do to help take the edge off is where a pair of nitrailed gloves I prefer black but um I ran out of my black ones so this is the only thing I had laying around mm-hmm I often wear those underneath a pair of fingerless gloves and it's just enough to take the edge off with it's a little windy outside or whatnot it's just enough to take the edge off and keep your your fingers warm oh about said it works I've done that running and you peel those things off and they're full of sweat water like but warm yeah but I haven't tried that yet and good for the fish too if you're handling right yeah as are good gloves to handle fish yeah yeah it's just that little that little you know barrier barrier there keeps your fingers warmer how about tying knots oh that's yeah that's a good thing but another plus is that you like have the dexterity right that you would lose with like a finger glove heavy finger glove yeah my vote you're bringing it to me bring it to me the hot in here all of a sudden all right try and beat that one Corey all right my hot tip uh I actually had a fun time a couple months ago making a video I was hoping there was going to be other crew submissions but there haven't been any so uh Phil do you have my video up there oh yeah let's let's bring it up I didn't make a little uh title card for you but I can just do it live here Corey Calcans thank you for pronouncing it correctly hi I'm Corey Calcans I got a hot tip for you anybody out there have one of these cheap foldable lifetime tables well anybody ever tried to cut meat on these and notice that it's just a little short and you find yourself hunched over all the time trying to cut up on the short tables so I'm going to teach you uh we have one of these how to raise it up so first I need to figure out it's pretty long how much higher that I'd like it so it's easy nice maybe if it was about belly button height or higher then you're going to measure the distance from the ground up to that little crossbar right there which looks like it's I'm going to say 10 inches so I need four 22 inch sections of this pipe you get you a stick of one of these one and a half inch PVC pipes I can't do much is what I do four two you've just done the whole video that way oh we lost the camera our tools I like to say anything for you thank you yeah what what a great film then two at a time you're going to lift the table and stick one on each corner one two three three that's what you're trying for just like that I've got a table it's belly button height so I can start cutting some meat not hurting my back give it a try man that's good I don't know it's all that dead stuff in there so I know my garage is a mess right now everything's in my drift boat I only got one suggestion for you Corey you put some non-slip feet down there on the bottom well you know I thought about that I was concerned but the angle of the feet that comes with the table is so wide that it's like it's done move around pretty grippy yeah so I don't know it's just if you aren't able to watch uh get to your computer phone fast and go watch that but uh it's pretty self-explanatory just try and erase the table pretty easily those little tables are cheap and they're great yeah you're a Costco or Walmart but they're always just a hair short and I'm a short fella so and it's a cheap fix yeah it's like a cheap skate tip yeah yeah shout out to my buddy Phil who actually came up with that hot tip this no that's funny buddy come on don't get mad broadwater street fill I'm not mad just you think I can know how to work a power tool in my garage as you could just find a chair and sit at your table oh that's uncomfortable oh yeah you can't do that cutting up an elk for six seven hours you'll get blood cloths doing that pass out for being dizzy all right I'm a little scared now mine's pretty simple man um simple's good when you like when you're braising meat cooking it in a liquid shank roast whatever save the braising liquid to reuse it um once you're done cooking it whatever you're doing doesn't matter like what kind of meal you're cooking um strain that we're all that braising liquid after you cook it so it's you know you get all the kind of scum and debris and stuff like that out of it you get a pretty clear you know liquid and put it in a topperware a mason jar whatever freeze it the next time you're going to braise stuff you get that stuff out thawed out dump it in there and you can do this over and over and over again and it just gets better every time I got this jar of what I called taco juice that's like three it's like I've had it for like three years man I use it for making like turkey leg carnita like when I'm braising turkey legs or whatever like Mexican style and I just keep reusing that stuff and it gets better and better like you could eat it like soup it so good so that's that's my I like that we we actually do that all the time yeah anytime we braise something we we run it through a screen at the end and then freeze it and then a lot of times we'll just pull it out thaw it out and just drink it yeah yeah exactly it's good man so it make a gravy with it yep anything yep anything great great hot it's a great four-year-old taco juice that's my hot tip I bet that's got some flavor yeah Randall you want to jump in yeah you got a hot tip winner gets a bag of chips here so hot tip I don't know I shouldn't have come in here here style tips maybe we put you on the spot it's okay yeah I'll come up with something some good just give me so here's here's where the problem lies in your strategy Brody I I think the the live chat can see poll results before I announce them I think it updates them live so I if I start the poll now the audience will already know what the results are so we might as well just announce them damn it will landslide or what I wanted to build up some tension here can we just edit this part out Phil where you don't come up with a radio live it doesn't exist so this is pre-taped you're right all right whatever Phil I thought you were like all right starting the poll and Randall's one of the offense of Randall you about 30 seconds to come up with a hot tip go oh god oh oh some of our people are voting already the long you take hurry Randall flat tires shooting pistols oh when you go to the range and the range being an empty piece of public land where you shoot bring a rake so you don't have to pick up individual brass cases by the thousands yep preach yeah we were shooting last weekend Randall's like we should have brought a rake yeah because we littered the ground yeah and he suggestions on a type of rake metal rake plastic rake I would think just something with the teeth rather close together because like a two two three case you know if it gets the long way in there you could see it sliding through but I don't know if that's really hot tip we also thought we should just shoot steel case ammo and use a magnet yeah but I don't I haven't tried it yet so I don't know if it's hot tip to think of it I actually haven't used the rake tip either so I'll add a hot tip to your hot tip geez guys are getting that fast today pick up your damn brass yeah that's what I'm saying don't don't be a garbage person you want to do follow up hot tip Randall based on this question we got Garrett asking what's the advantage of opening freedom's from the bottom of the bag as opposed to the top oh you get Adam faster if you're holding the bag upside down and that's you know if you think it's first Garrett plus it's if if if yourself conscious about what you're eating and you don't want people to be able to read the label hold it upside down they'll think maybe it's some sort of foreign food and you're a fancy person that buys like imported snacks there's no hot tip take freedom is on your backcountry trips because they're high in calories and you can start fires with them so you can mix them into like a if you know if you have a freeze-dried chili or stew or anything like that like a Mexican mash as I like to call most of the mountain house southwestern meals you just dump your freedoms in there you're going to be living like a king or as a matter if they get all mashed up in your pack so good 30 more seconds on the pole there was how many hot tips you're going now are thrilling yeah my hot tips are layered Corey eagbority you want to throw any additional ones in there to try to juice juice your numbers here no man don't hurt your back all right all right all about 40% of the vote the winner today is Randall william what the hell is not really in a show what what what if we took his away who won yeah yeah Corey no that's Corey nice work god thanks everybody hey Randall you can shout out to the crew and by the crew I mean the chat must have been that editing you guys do we got any other feedback we want to do a feedback right now do a couple sure I I I will just say something really quick based on some comments I do not speak for meat eater or Steve or TRCP putting a sitting US representative on the podcast is not platforming so if you're if anything it lets them speak more to things and you can hold them accountable for it come election season or when you call your representatives and senators so anyway it's all I have to say about that they already have a pretty big platform and they're writing the legislation what the hell is it any different than them going on the news exactly yeah anyway when Rachel Maddow has Josh Holly on it's not we're not platforming him we're letting him talk all right vice versa let's do something sure Jackson really says when I cook shanks in the crock pot the tendons turn gelatinous but usually sticks to the meat and doesn't add much moisture but just leaves an unpleasant texture what am I doing wrong hmm just think about your joints when you're eating that gelatinous stuff yeah it's good for you if it's not turning like almost liquidy I don't know like what your process is for cooking them but I would try maybe go on a little less temperature and quite a bit longer yeah if it's stuck to the meat might just need some more time yeah I like that stuff oh that's good I will but I know what he means it it can take sometimes it doesn't get where you want it to get well meat theater continue to exist when radio live ends give me meat theater give me death Randall you know meat theater started as a fever dream in my mind and it will always live there but if you are a fan of meat theater be sure to tune in to the meat eater radio live grand finale spectacular live on what they feel March 5th March 5th you won't be disappointed we should make merch for this final episode oh man I think we're going to find an investor just comes in and buys the concept yeah maybe we can sell the concept yeah there's some questions regarding the new show and will it be live note the new show will not be live it's kind of the whole point is just so we can uh Steve can talk about stuff whenever he wants we can drop it quickly oh no this guy says the rake doesn't work uh oh dang it oh there goes rake I've got a big uh I've got a big canvas uh drop cloth like for painting that I used as a floor in the wall tent this fall and I thought next time we go out we should just spread that out of the ground and do all of our shooting yeah nothing we just rolled up like like a rug it's kind of like when a when a hitman killed someone on a sheet of blood oh yeah blood and everything Randall and I have been thrown around the idea starting to meet eater intermural pistol league and it's called the it's called the me e peely for short uh there's some questions about about drops and uh stuff like that I will at in the first week of March I will put together a a a a strung together medley of all of my drops and relief put it on the reddit or somewhere where you guys you weirdos can download it can you put it on spotify or will you get dinged uh yeah I don't think I can do Spotify but yes it's got to be kind of under the radar welcome to me eaters 12 and 26 presented by mulch remobile and on x maps 12 of me eaters biggest and baddest hunts from the last year released throughout 2026 these are long form episodes so you get more of what you love the first one up is my baited bear hunt in manitoba if you've ever wondered what a baited bear hunt is like you'll love this episode my favorite part was watching a younger bear spend an hour trying to figure out how to get a creatively hung beaver carcass down from a tree check it out now on me eaters youtube channel and be on the lookout for more 12 and 26 in the coming months Phil we we got Jeremy waiting for us uh we actually don't he's not in his chair right now so all right yeah this guy loves Jeremy Romero he's like oh we got good to bring him in now pretty yeah bring him in okay um all right up next uh we've got Jeremy Romero from the National Wildlife Federation you might have seen Jeremy hunt with Steve on the mediator television show I think you guys did a couple different shows uh down there in New Mexico but if not um go watch that and I can personally vouch for for Jeremy's status as as an all around good guys a hard work and wildlife conservationist he helps out me and Steve on the youth deer hunt and and this this should tell you everything you need to know about him he sleeps in a tool shed with the mink set Steve's fish shed he's a good stick in the hell of it waters too oh yeah he like he may have been the guy who introduced uh slow pitch jigging to southeast Alaska yeah the OG slow pitch how's that for butter and you up Jeremy oh oh some of his audio problems we're live he sounded great right before this I can keep buttering and my thank you buddy I appreciate the compliments hey Jeremy really really quick we are getting audio from you but it sounds like it's coming out of a tin can and we can't understand a word you're saying so I'm gonna I'm gonna boot you from the call and you want to try to hop back in I don't know food info well he can you can see kick me oh yeah kick from studio all right we're gonna we're gonna try this again I kind of like this show is ending free wheel and spirit we got going with the wheels are just falling off it was so buttoned up before but now it's really how we really show our true colors loosen our colors uh it's kind of like when you put your two weeks in you drop in like kind of stop working a little bit on the reaction got we got solid numbers right um it's gone we all three 44 come on we need him back yeah yeah I mean I think I think the yeah it's right again all the hard work is ahead of us you think the finale Jeremy you want to give us a few words here any any better okay I'm sorry guys I didn't know where he's why that was was messing up but I I should have stayed quiet with all those nice things you guys are yeah um yeah that was nice I appreciate it all right now now that you're feeling all good about yourself um I want to talk to you about state wildlife commissions and their role in guiding the rules and regulations that are set forth by state fishing game agencies I think a lot of people maybe aren't aware of how these things work in regards to the regulations that you got to follow in any given state um a lot of people are like you know fishing game or parks and wildlife they do this or they do that but in a lot of cases it's like they're doing these things at the behest of what state wildlife commissions kind of like how they steer them into a in a particular management strategy um so Jeremy give us quick breakdown of what a state wildlife commission is and who they're supposed to represent as far as different user groups and stakeholders and then like how they actually end up guiding the policies of state fishing game agencies yeah you bet and first of all thanks for for having me on the show yeah um you know you bring up a really good point and a lot of people don't quite understand you know what and you know what game commissions do and game commissioners and their responsibilities in roles with working with the with the department of game and fishes and so you know I think it's important to note that these commissioners are tasked with setting the rules and regulations as you mentioned you know hunting dates as well as quota limits and things like usable weapon type they're also tasked with hiring and overseeing managing the directors of the departments deputy directors um it kind of goes kind of varies depending on the state and how the department is made up but they also are tasked with you know receiving a lot of that public input and trying to incorporate that into management level decisions but the end of the day the the folks that work with the departments they propose different ideas different recommendations as far as like the rules changes policy changes and at the end of the day they gained the the game and fish commissions are the ones that are tasked with voting to finally approve or adopt those measures that go into those proclamations that you see that you identify hunt dates species types weapon types etc so they they play a pretty important role and you know most dates uh the number of commissioners is different but a lot of times what I've seen is you know in that five to seven range um and they really they are really tasked with an important role of overseeing the game agencies and they are voting who can buy vets all that all those types and generally they they're supposed to represent different user groups and stakeholders correct like there there will be like a commissioner that represents the ranching community there'll be a commissioner that represents like outfitters and guides there'll be a commissioner that represents like wildlife biology etc etc like is that is that correct yeah that that's exactly right so usually you see a few at large seats so people fill in those commission roles for various reasons but a lot of times by law those commissioners have to represent those different stakeholder groups or those different demographics and so as you mentioned you'll have a a rancher or a a farmer on the commission you'll have a hunter or an angler and some instances you'll have an uh uh an indigenous member from a federally recognized tribe and sometimes you'll have seats that are filled based off of geography um in different states and so you know it's important to point out that in most situations in most states across our country commissioners are appointed at the discretion of the governors so you have a new governor that comes in office newly elected and they essentially appoint a new slate of commissioners and yeah the hope will be that those that the governor or the overseeing body appoints those commissioners that are qualified to serve in these roles right qualified for knowledgeable and doing so to represent the best interests of hunters anglers and wildlife management yeah um that's not always the case yeah let's let's let's kind of pause i don't i don't want to you to roll too far ahead of us yet um i was i was gonna you already answered my question which is how our wildlife commissioners chosen most of the time their governor appointees um and i want to address that before you before we move on um in states like Colorado Washington you may have some other examples that use this system where these people are appointed directly by the governor we've seen wildlife commissioners who are like openly anti-hunting end up on these commissions and and these are the people who end up shaping the policy it at least can like affect the policy of state fish and game agencies is there any do you have any other state examples you're aware of that we're like we you know in Washington things happen like spring bear hunting got outlawed um and Colorado the wildlife commissioners got involved with things like the wolf reintroduction in ways that probably weren't in the best interest of hunters anglers and wildlife management very yeah i mean you guys have done a phenomenal job of what's been happening in Colorado in Washington and there really aren't a lot of examples you know we'll touch on kind of what's happened in in New Mexico but the other one that comes to mind which wasn't exactly you know the full responsibility responsibility of the game commission what we saw you know in New Jersey with the black bear hunting and reduced black bear hunting that wasn't all the commissions fall but it was very much a politically driven effort so you can you can you know say that it was indirectly you know attributed to commission level impact you know you you bring up an important point which is sometimes you'll have commissioners that are pointed by the governor that just do not serve the best interests of the hunting and hunting angling or wildlife management communities but there's also the flip side right the flip side is that you have these qualified commissioners that do represent you know the hunting angling and wildlife management world but at the same time when they bring up controversial topics that you know the hunting hunting and angling community want a seed brought up sometimes they're removed sometimes they're removed from those seeds right any valid justification whatsoever yeah because it's at the will of the governor right correct yeah absolutely and so I can get into you know a little bit of what New Mexico get to help yeah let's let's talk about that your home state is New Mexico and up until this past year New Mexico's wildlife commissioners were were appointed by the governor but this uh a bill recently passed in New Mexico that mandates that the commissioners be selected through a different process so can you explain what the process in New Mexico will be going forward and whether you think that's going to be an improvement on on the current like governor appointed system yeah absolutely so so last year New Mexico bunch conservation organizations came together formed a coalition and pursued a bill it's called uh Senate Bill 5 it was the title of it was game commission reform there was a lot in that bill so I'll just quickly touch on it part of it was renaming the wildlife the game and fish agency to department wildlife change the mission of that increased license fees which were much needed for game and fish agencies our our licenses in New Mexico hadn't been increased I don't want to say around 20 years so you know kind of meeting current cost of of living and inflation and adjusting those prices accordingly bringing in more funds to the agency but the most important piece and the most and the most important piece that's relevant to this conversation was you know the section of the bill that it that reformed kind of the way our wildlife commission is is created and so the wildlife commission will still have seven voting members um instead of being appointed by the governor there is now a a wildlife commission nominating committee so this is a little bit of another layer of protection that insulates these commissioners from just being appointed for for specific government interest or governor interests who who makes up that committee is it state legislators members from the state legislature or who so there are members of the state legislature there's also the the the director the directors from both of the wishes that it's actually pretty cool the directors from you know the wildlife conservation biology wildlife wildlife biology programs at both of the universities in New Mexico large largest university so University of New Mexico any Mexico state university as well as some of the directors from the agencies within the state government so I want to say it was you know the director of or secretary of uh energy minerals natural resources those those types of roles so it's a pretty comprehensive list of folks that form that nominating committee great um so now now you'll have this new process and and in your opinion you think it's going to be an improvement on how the commission is able to act in the best interests of the people in New Mexico and the wildlife and 100% 100% and you know in that criteria for appointing those new those new members to a nominating committee they have some some restrictions to do so right so there's a seven you know seven commission members of which three of them are at large so really they can be nominated for a lot of different reasons um you know one of the members has to be from federally recognized tribe that represents you know tribal interests no more than two members can be affiliated with the same political party those initial three at large members um the remaining four one of them has to be a farmer or rancher who actively farms or ranches were two big game species are frequently present cool right now someone who's who's a rancher or a farmer that has you know political interest or ties to an administration they have to be in an area where big game are are present so that's important another member has is it has to be a conservationist working from a conservation organization that has been employed in the conservation field for at least four years not the other one has to be a hunter and angler um or you know it could be both and they had to have had a license a hunting and fishing license for four years and then the last person is a scientist who holds at least a master's degree in wildlife biology conservation biology fishery science etc um and term limits for those commissioners are six year terms and they can only serve two terms so you know that in of itself creates a a buffer from being able to be with you know a pointer for a lot of different interests or brings a lot of knowledge and expertise and you know quite frankly qualified individuals to serve on these seats and then the other important piece of of that legislation was it is it prevented the way was initially written was it created a much more formal process for a governor to remove a commission member you know eight years ago we had two commissioners a the chair and the vice chair of the commission here in New Mexico that brought up some topics that were controversial um I think those topics in my opinion were were within the best interest of of helping hunting in eight hunters and anglers in New Mexico as a result of those efforts the governor overnight removed those commissioners yeah I think that's that's the best thing about this is it it kind of puts a roadblock in the way of a governor who might want to like push their own agenda through the state fishing game agency like like we've seen in states like Colorado um it kind of it puts a stopper on that which is in my opinion a really good thing and these in these processes where you have commissioners representing you know what's best for the hunting and angling and wildlife management world you know you want those checks and balances yeah you don't want you know a governor to remove uh commissioner because they're doing the right thing you know you you don't want commissioner serving in these roles for reasons other than you know the best interest of the hunting angling and wildlife management worlds so if it really is a good thing I hope other states you know adopt these measures to really you know insulate their commissions to best serve members of of those states um you know all a lot of this goes into effect next year and so we're we're going to get to see one you know as rubber as rubber meets the road what this looks like but I I imagine that it's going to be nothing but but good news for for the state of New Mexico and hopefully other states see it as a as a model and start to adopt it if they don't already have a similar model you know in place though the one thing I did want to mention really was you know in that in that section to remove a commissioner there was a lengthy section there that provided more of that formal you know process to remove a commissioner and at the time the governor ended up vetoing or mind vetoing a lot of that section to the only remaining so the only remaining section there for the removal process is a commissioner can be removed if it is deemed that they are and you know and if they're illustrating incompetence you know neglect of duty or malfeasance in that in that office now there's similar efforts in this legislative session to kind of reinsert that language so there's a much more formal process that has to go through the course if in fact it is deemed that a commissioner should be removed right that's that's one piece worth noting and I think it provides those different layers of you know oversight before something like that happens one last thing about these state wildlife commissions that I want to I want you to talk about it again people may not be aware of like these people you should look at them almost like one of your congressional representatives or state legislature represent is like they're there to represent you they work for you so and people may not be aware that they can interact with these people and communicate with them and so I just wanted you to touch on how people can do that how can they let their voices be heard to these these state wildlife commissions and it's it's incredibly important that people understand that they can connect with these these commissioners why because a lot of times these commissioners represent those constituents right so if there's an issue that you're facing if there's a problem or even an opportunity in your areas or something you do when it comes to hunting and fishing like being able to communicate that to a commissioner so they can then also carry a little bit of that weight and advocate it at the department level is is important and so you know most game and fish websites have a commission page where it identifies all the different commissioners that are sitting in those seats provides contact information usually their email you can reach out to them via email and express your concern concerns frustrations or you know commend them for the good work there they could they could be doing another important resource and a way to commission to communicate with those commissioners is at the public meeting level most state game departments have public commission meetings you know this is where those rules and regulations and setting budgets and approving them and you know hearing from what the department wants to do what needs that approval this is the this is the setting for that and so most of these commission meetings are publicly advertised via the the game departments websites you can go and attend these meetings there's also and I would say all the meetings there's a carve out for public participation where you can go up there you know and talk about the issues that are most concerning to you and at the end of the day if you don't you don't feel comfortable doing that in a public setting you can at least introduce yourself and meet the commissioners you know in person at these at these commission level meetings and I would say those those two are probably the most important ways to communicate with your commissioners to hopefully see the work the good work be done and reflect the best interests of of the hunting and angling and wildlife management yeah no they'll often be like like a question comment opinion like survey type thing attached to those meetings that you can fill out too and that goes to those commissioners as well the only the only thing I want to point out is that the commission is no with the current attacks that you can come and clean at the at the commission levels like not only important to be the commissioners that's an that's an important piece but also reaching out to the different you know to the agencies directly as well as to the different conservation organizations that are that are advocating for these bills are you know work in day and night to see you know commission reform take place like it's worth it's waiting goal to reach out and support those organizations because those are the ones that are going to go to bat for you on issues like this and they're you know the tip of the spear when it comes to seeing legislation like what happened in New Mexico get over the finish line so I want to emphasize you know reaching out and supporting those conservation organizations because they do play a critical role in this whole piece yep for sure organizations like yours New Mexico wildlife federation you mentioned but but any of them you know BHA they're all they're all working for you so absolutely all right Jeremy we got to move on but thanks for thanks for joining us today and talking to us thanks guys for having me I got to go get some lunch after hearing Lucas talk about this yeah yeah you lost your glaze and curry and smash grass breast I gotta go eat but I appreciate you know for for letting me chat with you today and I feel like we're still so great thanks man thanks Jeremy all right did you learn anything there always learned something when when I'm around Jeremy welcome to meet eaters 12 and 26 presented by mulch remobile and on x maps 12 of meet eaters biggest and baddest hunts from the last year released throughout 2026 these are long form episodes so you get more of what you love the first one up is my baited bear hunt in Manitoba if you've ever wondered what a baited bear hunt is like you'll love this episode my favorite part was watching a younger bear spend an hour trying to figure out how to get a creatively hung beaver carcass down from a tree check it out now on meet eaters youtube channel and be on the lookout for more 12 and 26 in the coming months all right man this one I'm hoping will be fun we're gonna do some some fan emails and uh what we'll try and you know get some feedback from the crew here that this is this is one that that I think is very interesting um and I'll I'll read through it here for you guys uh this is coming from Peter and uh Vancouver Island British Columbia uh family members and I have been traveling northeast Montana each fall to hunt pheasants for about 15 years uh we've done our homework scoping out habitat establishing relationships with landowners it's been a great time but changes our foot recently passed senate bill 514 will give Montana residents a head start on the season by 10 days my cohort and I obviously think this is a bad idea we will probably had in North Dakota for uh next season opener I think this is a good one for your show to tackle um including why uh the state doesn't give preferential treatment to residents for fishing uh quite certain the same folks from western Montana clamoring for preferential treatment for upland hunting in eastern Montana would strongly oppose such a change strictly for economic reasons okay this guy is bummed that he can't hunt the dumb young of the year birds anymore before they get shot at like I get it I fessant hunt um they're eat they're well out easier to kill in the first week of the season I'm like I'll let everyone weigh in but I'm gonna say one thing to this guy first and I'm not trying to be confrontational it's just the reality of like being a non-resident I cannot go to british columbia and hunt big game unless I hire a guide like preferential treatment for residents right um it's just the way things work um as far as his fishing thing like fishing and hunting or it's like you can't compare it it's like apples and orders but I'll give you an example where resident anglers are highly prioritized over non-res and that's Alaska like we deal with it every year man like the limits are very strict compared to what residents can do for many species of fish so states do in some cases prioritize residents for fishing um and and like it or not this is just like a larger trend that's been going on across western states for the last several years um um the fact is like no state is under the obligation to provide equal access and opportunity to that states game resources to non-resonance like it's they're just not states could be a state could be like we're not letting any resident non-resonance hunt here um the the reason these things these things happen is because state fishing game agencies and wildlife commissions like we just talked about they're under an obligation to try and satisfy the resident hunters like they got to keep those people happy they need the money from non-resonant license sales like there's no doubt about that but there's a social component to this and that's that residents get priority and their satisfaction with their experience is important um you've seen this happen over the past few years Colorado no longer issues over the counter archery alkycences to non-resonance why I'm in Colorado of cut non-resident rifle draw tags pretty significantly Montana reduced non-resident you'll hear tags so like this is a thing that's that's been happening across the west and it and it is the result of kind of how residents feel about their hunting experience um I feel for you like I understand it but uh you know I'm kind of like it is what it is man um I understand why you'd go to north the coda but you know it's 10 days out of a three-month-long season if you want to continue to hunt Montana you could you're just missing the first 10 days of the season I don't know if you guys have any cloud I agree 100% you nailed it yeah you're spot on I mean north the coda is probably going to see a little influx a lot of folks in these same shoes as this fella but I don't know think of the positives like you said it is what it is so opening day won't be as chaotic right that next week might be that much easier and you might find just as many birds especially if you've done your homework and you got the places to hunt there could be like some minor economic impacts to small towns out in eastern Montana that you know may not get you know people coming into the restaurants or the campgrounds or what are as many you know yeah um I will say that the fesyn opener coincides with the anilope opener so you know I don't know how much of an impact it's gonna have busy weekend really you got nothing there oh I just yeah yeah I mean it's kind of baked into the system and uh you know it obviously like there's no perfect balance I don't know what what that would look like if you know I'm sure there's somebody who lives in a state with real bad hunting and fishing although I think there's you can always find like everywhere has something to offer but if everybody could buy a resident license in Montana that wouldn't work right and we can't shut out non-residents completely like I wouldn't want to do that but you're always going to have to find some middle ground between those two extremes and so um it's true the overall trend um is is that non-resident opportunities are declining across the west and yeah like I'm affected by that as well like states right right right right right bonus points and preference points that are limiting the percentage of non-resident tags um you know it's hurting me as well so I don't know what the what the perfect situation looks like I think would all like to turn back the clock to the glory days of the whatever the 70s 80s 90s when it seemed like uh you could if you had the money you could travel across the west and and get tags and hunt as much as you wanted but the reality is it's a finite resource and so we're left with this unfortunate balancing act that as you point out it sort of structurally is tipped in the favor of residents pretty extremely so yeah I don't know um and it's not just a western issue try getting a white till tag in Iowa and you'll know what I'm talking about um it's not easy all right there you go good one sorry sorry to the guy from from BC I hope I hope you have a good hunt in North Dakota um all right next one where is it this one's kind of long I'm gonna try and shorten it as much as I can I would really like to get your opinion uh to help set all a bit of neighborhood etiquette question involving three white tail carcasses and my neighbors love of their dogs live on the outskirts of town and a development consists about 15 homes that sit on four to five acre parcels that are mixture of yard woods and prairie I have three acres woods that are between my house and the county road I have good relationships with all my neighbors most of which have a dog or two that can run relatively free um last year our group shot three deer and we processed them at my place I had three carcasses I had to dispose of I thought nothing of it and put them out of sight from the road out in the middle of his woods um you know it's it says it's cold here so there wouldn't be any concern over smell and by springtime all that would be left was it few bones um my first mistake as he didn't do this over the cut cut for a darkness I don't know about that if that was his first mistake um one of the neighbors saw me dragging carcass into the woods um and within a day I had multiple people questioning me um they're a little irritated about the the carcasses and the dogs getting in into them and the possibility that he was attracting predators to the area he brushed off those concerns um but he did find it humorous when he saw a dog from three doors down walking up the road a month later with a deer leg in his mouth um anyway he's wanting now wondering um what's your take what should what should you do find somewhere else to dump them wait till dark and sneak in there um you know this isn't a huge problem necessarily um it's your property and you can do what you want but I'm gonna play devil's advocate here um your neighbors do have a point and I'd rather have happy neighbors like uh you know it's not too hard to throw deer bones it like a whole deer bone boneed out carcass into a trash can I do it all the time um and if coyotes do come in they will mess up a dog or two um there's nothing illegal about what you're doing it doing more than likely but there possibly could be um and you should consider disposing of those carcasses properly not only because of the dogs because of CWD concerns um I don't know if you're getting your deer tested or not but dumping carcasses is a good way to spread CWD around so whatever you do don't go dump them out on public land somewhere that like that's the main thing put them in the trash is the is the best thing I would say I don't know if you guys feel like I'm being a little hard on this guy but no that's honest truth I mean Steve's drives deer carcasses on the roof of his yeah no I it's on the roof at least if you don't like your neighbor if you don't want your dog eating deer that's on the neighbors don't let them go on the neighbors true right like your dog's probably shouldn't be going on like with my dog goes over to the neighbors yard I say hey yep get over here I don't I agree I mean if the carcasses is on his property uh sounds like your neighbor needs offense yeah and like the neighbors help it's like they nobody it's like it's like a it's like um everyone agrees that it's cool that the dogs roam around I don't think he's saying these dogs are a problem you know I know but like if you're the type of person that doesn't want your dog getting into stuff and you got to issue with right yeah keep your dog on your property but yeah I mean I don't know I don't think the neighbors are helping that guy pay his property taxes so they don't really have to say let me add another hot tip this isn't really pertinent but uh along the lines of the brass don't be the guy that drives to a trailhead and dumps like four whitetail carcasses three feet off the gravel in the bushes yeah that's that's where I have an issue with people like just being sloppy public lands stewards you know if right as far as I'm concerned if you want to leave your carcasses and your in your woods in your living room whatever no I like like I said I'm cool with it but if you want if it's like if you're weighing how important it is to like not have a beef with your neighbors you know yeah you can throw those carcasses oh sure yeah that'd be the best and plenty of people do that who don't have access to woods where they can let them stink you know yeah I do that all time um all right set this one's uh I'll let you hit this one first um I don't mean this in any sort of critical judgmental or confrontational way I'm just curious about your thoughts on meat for from fur bearing animals recently I don't know how recent this is talking about part my plate muskrats which that's long that's you're just catching up I guess anyway it still applies um Steve says these trapped perhaps a thousand muskrats but only 20 that got me wondering do you find that hypocritical since we're always championing want want and waste laws and maximizing the use from the meat what do trappers do with all the meat if they're not eating it dog food would it also be okay I'm not sure where he's going with this part would it also be okay if someone turn a whole white tail into dog food like let's not even worry about that yet let's stick with the trap and thing um I just think it's an interesting question I don't mean it to be condemning doesn't bother me in fact I'd really like to get into trapping myself I just haven't made the effort but I'm interested in how you deal with that potential conflict um I mean some things are good to eat like beaver muskrats but yeah we ate we ate bobcat down in Texas a couple weeks ago but if it was like as far as like want and waste laws if states required you to eat coyotes no one would trap or kill coyotes yeah there is no want waste law for for many fur bearing species and if there is it's just like you have to harvest the fur yeah yeah um yeah I don't I think it's okay to have a resource that you're using that's using for fur and it's not it's it's okay that you're not using yeah I know we harp on that all the time the meat thing but like look man like it's okay to go trap a fox or a skunk or like whatever fur bear and not eat it you know you shouldn't have to feel bad about that yeah but if you know if you want to try some bobcat back straps yeah let's get weird raccoon we've got raccoon rest those like look there is opportunity for to eat some of these things for sure but I don't think you should necessarily feel obligated to do so yeah it's like shooting of uh what is it the fall bears in Alaska you're not required to right because they're because they just taste terrible yep yep um all right last one I threw a venison shank into my instant pot last weekend everything was great except the last meal one of the last bites I ended up finding a mushroom bullet whoo I initially thought it was a chunk of bone my question I tried asking Google and couldn't seem to word it right to get the answer I was looking for was did that instant pot just make a lead based broth that I consumed entirely by myself and should I be concerned I can't say I know the science behind pressure cooking meat and lead bullets together no you do not have to worry about it um otherwise uh like people who shoot all kinds of small game and birds with die of lead poisoning like we're picking lead out of meat that we've cooked all the time humans can't absorb lead through their solid lead through their digestive system um lead poisoning is like from inhaling dust particles from old lead best base paint and things like that now if you cooked it past like 600 degrees then you'd be in trouble because that lead would melt I'd rather find that lead in the in the crock pot than an a turd you know just to be safe right but no it's it's not gonna hurt you um your your gut is not as strong as like an eagle or a condor where you know you're gonna break that lead down to the point where it's gonna poison you know I gotta know what that shank looked like and who shot yeah I'm just gonna say like I'm like I I'm a mushroom bullet in the shank I know listen it wasn't him I give this guy credit what's his name Brian let's worry about the shot but the meat you know no hold on I I shorten this thing for to make it shorter thank you um he that bullet was already in there he's found it in there oh yeah yeah and it might be healed over and he couldn't tell huh yep interesting wow yeah you never know what you're gonna bite into in there um that's it for the the uh the meat eater correspondance inbox that's fun um he did you know yeah what what's the chance and chance mostly trying to figure out a way to save the show starting underground uh letter campaigns oh good so we'll see how like plays out for them that's decided to get an update on that uh this is from popamedic office for Seth two-part question around that two parts but it's just long Seth I'm trying to save some money by making my own predator bait for trapping hmm I'm using a commercial bait solution with sodium benzeneat I don't have any beaver meat at the moment but I do have two frozen bobcats should I use the bobcat meat or wait until I have a beaver targeting coyotes primarily coyotes if you're a west coast child how also how tainted thanks I think a lot of uh bait and lore makers would say that bobcats better than beaver meat that right yeah I know Steve right now has a a jar of bobcat meat in his garage that's he's tainting um for bait for you but you'd be good with the other one right yeah go with either one but I do think I've never made bait before but I think people prefer bobcat meat over anything oh so use the bobcat try it after we just told you you should be eating it let us know before March 5th how it went uh for mogor question for Randall hi Randall and these remaining few five radio live episodes will there be a butcher's crossing review hmm or should we no longer expect it thank you so much a lot of pressure mogor you got to do it for mogor mogor is that your number one choice could we ask mogor in the chat if that's his number one choice we can get a top three from mogor yeah if I could get a top three the issue is mogor we have a limited number of shows um I will only be on a few of them because I have a bit of travel coming up in the month of February and at this point knowing that I only have a set number of movie clubs um I'm really thinking about opening up the the catalog of films I'd like to I'm entertaining the idea of Jurassic Park Congo any sort of Michael Crite and based wildlife centric film hmm I want to get loose with it I feel like we have this platform that we can now use to just transgress all boundaries of good taste and judgment so the rules have been thrown at the windows so yeah maybe deliberate free to do whatever you want maybe maybe we do do the the deliverance movie club but yeah if you have if you have strong thoughts mogor I would like to uh I would like to throw you a bone so can tell me your number one movie will do it cool let us know uh this is from Brian Lammers it's also a loyal loyal live watcher Cal who update on Cal has the crew been in contact who's this Cal guy um I've forgotten I've I've tried text and Cal I got men in black and I don't remember who that is I tried text and Cal uh yesterday about the fesant thing we were talking about earlier still haven't heard from him I can't heard busy man yeah I heard he's been real busy he had time for a couple beers on friday oh and he texted me over the weekend to ask me to plug his trailer in so that the batteries weren't uh damaged by the cold he just wanted to maintain his batteries um he has time for an occasional long phone call I don't know if people out there know this but when you get a phone call from Cal it typically goes until it has to be uh you have to hang up because someone needs to do something else right it's sort of an open-ended conversation he might have another conversation with someone in the room with him as you're on the phone with him um he's gotten a couple those uh he seems to be doing well but very obviously there's a lot going on so it was very stressed and uh but yeah he is still finding time to wet the whistle every now and then yeah and I would say if you haven't listened to Cal's week in review in these last six seven years that it's been running now's a good time to do it because it's a whole new perspective he's got a he's got a very different job than he used to have and and he talks about it at the top of the show every week the stuff he's doing where he's going um I would recommend it yeah I'm still hoping I can get him to come over for stew this week got a lot of stew need some mouths feel I want to do a couple more because I don't know if I'm going to be hosting this thing before the end you really not sure okay well yeah there haven't been a lot of direct questions that usually gets people are mostly talking about the show ending which is I mean Randall hijack the whole show you know it's funny I didn't even think about this I got a DM yesterday that said can you just go f off and not be on every podcast let it out I feel the same way Randall they said you love yourself we get it it's too much or something along those lines and it hadn't occurred to me that now you didn't check who sent that to you did you just showed up to a podcast that I'm not even supposed to be on so maybe that guy's a point that was very much that is my burner Instagram I burst through the door at like 1058 with two bags of chips and a diet coke it's not because I love myself it's because I love you guys if I wasn't here I'd be up sitting in my office alone staring at books yeah I'm gonna come in here I'm gonna miss this show but it's making me more excited for the big blow out books and used firearms the blowout spectacular is gonna oh god I'm so excited one more felt okay come on man guys get get the questions first one I see that catches my eye gets red hmm guess any plans this weekend we need a lot of exclamation points that somebody said good taste and judgment when is Randall getting his haircut on radio live sounds like a great segment for the world spectacular you should do that for the grand blowout spectacular have you ever heard Clipper said home no no we're not cutting it that much oh you know we should do is have 10 people involved in each each person gets like 30 seconds oh oh oh on my hair on your hair we could put your hair in the auction house of oddities as you can say we do that donate that hair at this point like I said the things are just falling apart here uh Brody closed his computer already yep all right that's all we got for it today guys um thanks for joining tune in next week we love you guys the the radio live going away is not in any way a reflection our love for the crowd here so see you next week have a great week bye should I play the outro the outro hit it Phil you're usually so timely I know I'm just thinking about I just don't want the show to end oh welcome to meet eaters 12 and 26 presented by mulch remobile and on x maps 12 of meet eaters biggest and baddest hunts from the last year released throughout 2026 these are long form episodes so you get more of what you love the first one up is my baited bear hunt in manitoba if you've ever wondered what a baited bear hunt is like you'll love this episode my favorite part was watching a younger bear spend an hour trying to figure out how to get a creatively hung beaver carcass down from a tree check it out now on meet eaters youtube channel and be on the lookout for more 12 and 26 in the coming months travis perkins strafford has now moved to latin stone we've got everything from timber bricks and blocks to loads of tools plant and equipment for hire along with benchmarks kitchens and joinery we keep all your essentials in stock deliver to site and I've great trade deals too your new travis perkins branch is packed with even more products more space and even better service so for all your building materials higher requirement in kitchen needs simply head to travis perkins and benchmarks on joseph ray road latin stone doing what matters for the trade this is an i heart podcast guaranteed human