Roundup 154 || DSC, “Green” Vs Conservation Rhino Hunts, the new Global Care Fund and more!

Summary

Blood Origins Roundup 154 Summary

Release Date: July 23, 2025
Episode Title: Roundup 154 || DSC, “Green” Vs Conservation Rhino Hunts, the new Global Care Fund and more!
Host/Author: Blood Origins Inc.

---

Introduction to Rhino Conservation and Green Hunts

Timestamp: [11:17]

In this episode, hosts Melissa Bachmann (Speaker B) and Mike Axelrod (Speaker A) delve into the intricate relationship between hunting and conservation, focusing particularly on rhino hunts. They explore the concept of "green hunts" and its implications for rhino conservation efforts.

Key Discussion Points:

• Valuing Rhino Conservation Through Hunting:
  Melissa Bachmann: "We want rhino conservation to be valued properly. And hunting a rhino, killing a rhino, is valuing the rhino conservation effort properly." ([11:19])

• Understanding Green Hunts:
  Mike Axelrod: "A green hunt is the hunter gets to fire a vitamin, a vitamin dart into a rhino, checking the box that you have tagged, slash, killed the rhino. You have not." ([11:36])
  Melissa Bachmann: "The controversy is this. If that rhino needed to be dehorned, had a wound, needed veterinary care... the payment ranges from $3,000 to $19,000. It's pretty low." ([12:03])

• Ethical Concerns and Conservation Value:
  Melissa Bachmann: "There has been instances in the past where, where rhinos are just green hunted just because... there was no reason to tranquilize the rhino." ([13:08])
  Mike Axelrod: "If you're paying four and a half thousand dollars to Data Rhino and you're saying you're doing it for the protection of rhinos and conservation of rhinos, I'm going to say bullshit. Step up and pay $35,000 and kill that rhino." ([15:15])

Highlighting Successful Rhino Hunts

Timestamp: [16:04]

The hosts celebrate a significant achievement in rhino conservation funded through a successful auction.

Key Highlights:

• Record-Breaking Auction:
  Melissa Bachmann: "There was a Blaser rifle associated with it and it went for probably the most expensive rhino that I've seen go on auction in the last three years... he paid $55,000." ([16:04])

• Supporting Conservation Through Revenue:
  Mike Axelrod: "When I go hunting, I like to figure out how to get my trophies back home as expeditiously as possible... Safari Specialty Importers is working with us at Blood Origins and they are going to donate $100 from every shipment that they work with to conservation projects." ([16:04])

Introduction of the Global Care Fund

Timestamp: [17:27]

The episode introduces the newly launched Global Care Fund (GCF), a program designed to support those within the hunting and conservation communities facing unforeseen hardships.

Key Discussion Points:

• Purpose and Impact of GCF:
  Melissa Bachmann: "The DSC Foundation rolled out their new program, the new Global Care Fund. GCF is there to protect outfitters, PHS trackers, skinners, communities affected and that are tied in with the hunting fraternity." ([17:27])

• Fundraising Successes:
  Mike Axelrod: "Joel Swan's Champion ranch piece was 100% donation to Global Care Fund. That went for $40,000." ([18:02])

• Real-Life Applications:
  An immediate application for the GCF from Frontiersman, assisting a guide in British Columbia who was in a serious accident, exemplifies the fund's critical role. ([17:35])

Legislative Updates and Advocacy

Timestamp: [18:37]

The hosts provide an in-depth analysis of recent legislative developments affecting the hunting and conservation communities, emphasizing the importance of active advocacy.

Key Discussion Points:

• Budget Reconciliation Act and the "Big Beautiful Bill":
  Mike Axelrod: "The outdoor community did such a good job. The big, beautiful bill." ([18:54])
  Melissa Bachmann: "This is a budget reconciliation bill, which was all the things that either are adding money into the coffers or things that are going to save money in the coffers." ([19:13])

• Impact of the Byrd Rule:
  The Byrd Rule mandates that provisions in reconciliation bills must affect the budget's bottom line, leading to the exclusion of certain items like the suppressor and NFA amendments. ([19:27])

• Conservation Funding and Appropriations:
  Melissa Bachmann: "A lot of great projects get funded through the Sport Fish Restoration Act... right now there's a number of various fish commissions that receive funding from this." ([26:05])

• Grizzly Bear Delisting Efforts:
  Mike Axelrod: "Grizzly bear bill was moved forward out of the markup on July 15, which would delist the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear population from federal protections." ([30:13])

Conservation Projects and Collaborations

Timestamp: [35:31]

The discussion shifts to specific conservation projects and the collaborative efforts between Blood Origins and other organizations to support wildlife and communities.

Key Highlights:

• HEN Act - Supporting Waterfowl Populations:
  Melissa Bachmann: "The HEN Act is designed to support and encourage and sustain more healthy waterfowl populations across America." ([33:59])

• Successful Implementation of Conservation Programs:
  Melissa Bachmann: "Our Conservation Club is of just good people that we've gotten to know. We're friends, we trust them." ([47:05])
  Mike Axelrod: "The Helix program is a value add for this conservation partnership... capturing benefit data and telling the world about it." ([49:27])

International Conservation Efforts

Timestamp: [51:06]

The hosts announce Angola's reopening for hunting after 50 years, highlighting the meticulous planning and collaboration involved in this significant conservation milestone.

Key Highlights:

• Reopening of Hunting in Angola:
  Melissa Bachmann: "Angola is open for hunting again after 50 years of being almost virtually closed the whole time." ([51:06])
  Mike Axelrod: "They have just reopened hunting in Angola with a very, very well thought out plan." ([51:28])

• Conservation Force's Role:
  Melissa Bachmann: "A lot of time and effort from conservation force has gone into this and working with the people over there and the ministers and the government over there." ([51:16])

Community Engagement and Future Plans

Timestamp: [45:11]

Concluding the episode, the hosts reflect on community engagement initiatives and share exciting plans for future projects.

Key Discussion Points:

• Introducing the Helix Program:
  Melissa Bachmann: "The Helix program is a value add for our corporate conservation club, our outfitters and operators." ([47:05])
  Mike Axelrod: "It's a partnership where we capture benefit data and help outfitters enhance their conservation efforts." ([49:27])

• Upcoming Hunting Trips and Collaborations:
  Melissa Bachmann: "The highlight is working with our friend Kate at Wildlife Partners on going to Namibia for my first hunting trip to Africa." ([45:28])
  Mike Axelrod: "We might film this one and share more about our adventures and conservation efforts." ([45:43])

Closing Remarks

The episode wraps up with a call to action for listeners to engage with Blood Origins through questions, ideas, and participation in conservation efforts.

Notable Quote:

Melissa Bachmann: "Carry on the good work and we hope Jay does too." ([44:40])

---

Conclusion

Roundup 154 of the Blood Origins podcast provides an insightful exploration into the balance between hunting and conservation. Through discussions on green hunts, legislative advocacy, and international conservation efforts, hosts Melissa Bachmann and Mike Axelrod emphasize the critical role that ethical hunting practices and community support play in preserving wildlife. The introduction of the Global Care Fund and the Helix Program showcases Blood Origins' commitment to fostering strong partnerships and sustainable conservation initiatives. This episode serves as a compelling resource for those interested in understanding the complexities of modern conservation efforts intertwined with hunting practices.

Transcript

[A]

Fishing trips anywhere, anytime fishingbooker.com hey guys.

[B]

This is Melissa Bachmann. Are you ready to stop spooking deer before it's even time to hunt them? Then you need the new Flex S Dark cellular trail camera from spypoint With a no glow flash option, long lasting solar power, and a ton of settings that can be changed anytime through the SpyPoint app. There are no more excuses for for letting your deer get wise before the season even starts. So check it out for yourself and see why the Spy Point Flex S Dark is the unstoppable and undetectable scouting tool you need for your next hunt.

[A]

Bow hunting all comes down to a moment.

[B]

And in the moment, you want equipment on your bow that will get the job done.

[A]

Trophy Ridge products are the tools bow hunters trust. React technology sites, rests, stabilizers and quivers to help a bow hunter be successful in the field.

[B]

And those tools are from Trophy Ridge. So there's a reason why I started Blood Origins. And that reason is simple. Is that I wanted to convey the truth about hunting.

[A]

It brings awareness to. To non hunters that it's.

[B]

It's more than just killing animals.

[A]

How do I start it? Britney?

[B]

My name.

[A]

Does my hair look okay?

[B]

My name is Mike Axelrod. Start again. Yeah, I hated it too. Braxton, you said something in the car to me. You said that you were living on borrowed time. There's a perception around who hunters are, what we're supposed to be. And a feminist that works for a nonprofit that is a hunter that has only eaten wild game for the last 20 years is likely not the thing that people think about when it comes to a hunter. Fresh off DSC Summer Expo. DSC F. Gayla Ashley. Your first indoctrination. Introduction to the African contingent. A small taste since Summer Expo was nowhere near what SCI and what Dallas Safari Club actually is.

[A]

Right, Right.

[B]

First impressions.

[A]

Totally different from what I expected.

[B]

What did you expect?

[A]

I honestly expected it to be kind of wild and crazy.

[B]

It typically is. It typically is.

[A]

Okay, okay. I'd heard stories.

[B]

Well, it is. And granted the fact that I had Montezuma's Revenge did not help the wildness of it. Because there would have been no way on the gala evening. Last gala. I'll say this. The last gala. I was out until they shut the bar down. Then one of the donors said, nope, reopen the bar. Not one of the donors, one of the patrons. Yeah, and I think we went to bed at 2:30 and typical me, I was ready to roll at the airport at 5:30 that morning.

[A]

Well, I didn't expect you to be wild. I should. I didn't expect you to have been wild, but yeah, no, I just expected kind of a different crazy scene and it was very refined. Very refined.

[B]

Oh, it is refined. It is refined.

[A]

It is. It is very refined. I did not realize how much money is in these programs. Not only are people spending to hunt these types of game, but that also how much money they're putting back into the ground. These various chapters and the big chapter and you know, their foundation. And I really had no idea. I mean, it's just not a world I've been involved in before. You know, I've been in North America.

[B]

It is a totally different world from like Ducks Unlimited.

[A]

Right, right, right.

[B]

It's like auction items going for big, big money.

[A]

Well, and. And you know, there's. There's a lot of money in waterfowl. There's a lot of money in deer. This is just.

[B]

Trying to call me right now on a different level.

[A]

Tell. Tell him you are otherwise occupied. But also tell him, tell Banded thank you for going to the Mississippi Wildlife Extravaganza. We actually had two. There were two big shows this weekend.

[B]

I'm not going to tell Bandit. Thank you for going to Mr. B wild love you show. I'll tell, but was telling them already on a global podcast.

[A]

Thank you, Bandit, for all your support of the outdoors.

[B]

That's crazy. Austin Booth, used to be the former commissioner, former director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, is now the CEO of Bandit. Yep.

[A]

And a good friend of ours.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And a dancer. And a very good dancer.

[B]

A massive dancer. Yeah. He won a dancing competition.

[A]

Won the Arkansas Dancing with the Stars competition.

[B]

Arkansas what? Dancing for the Stars. It sounds so much better when I say it. Dancing for the Stars.

[A]

They need to get you to mc.

[B]

Exactly. I may have to drop my job as the CEO of a. And I'm not the CEO, the executive director of a non profit and become an MC Professional mc.

[A]

Well, I have to give you a shout out for everyone listening or watching. Robbie MC'd both the Thursday night big dinner and also the Saturday night gala and did a phenomenal job. And it was a lot. Lots of up and down, lots of moving parts, lots of people to introduce. Auction, you know, in the middle, a guest speaker. It was just. And you kept things moving and kept the excitement up. And you know, I have to say, it seemed to be. You were in your element.

[B]

Thank you. No, and I enjoy it. I really, really do. It is a. It's not the easiest gig in the world because there's certain times when you have to get up there and speak and nobody wants you to speak. That's the other thing. Right. You've got to remember I'm, I, I've been a part of the room too. And sometimes you're like, why this guy getting on stage? And we're not going to listen to him because we're having a fat conversation around the dinner table. Yeah, everyone, the second time I got up there, it's halfway through dinner, so everybody's cutlery is hitting the plate. Yeah, 700 people.

[A]

It was time. They let people eat for long enough. Usually people have to eat while the program's going on. So, I mean, look, it didn't wrap up until 1050 that the band started playing around 1045 or 1050.

[B]

Well, they had an exceptionally, you know, they had almost 40, 41 auction items, which is a lot. But it is the only evening foundation auction for the DSC Foundation.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So big kudos to the foundation expected.

[A]

The money and the bidding to drop off as people kind of got weary or wandered around through the night and it was, it just kept on rolling. Well, but these were also phenomenal packages.

[B]

Yeah, the booze kept rolling. The people who were interested that had the money in the room stayed in the room. You know our rhino hunt package. So we put a package together with Nkulu Adventures with Ruan Marx. And Ruan had a couple of bidders in the room. And I was sitting at a table with very good friends of ours, Clayton Williams, Chris Walter, Chance Parker. They're all friends with Scruffy and the conventional Mark Safaris. And Clayton, I said to him, just, you know, hey, what are you looking at? He goes, and he turned to the rhino one, he says, this one, this one. I'm going to get this one. And I was like, oh, really? I said, that's the one we did. That's blood origins involved. He said, yep, I know, that's why we want it. I was like, okay. And he was not on my radar. And he ended up bidding it and ended up winning it. And he paid $55,000. Look, guys, I'm a hunter, right? And when I go hunting, I like to figure out how to get my trophies back home as expeditiously as possible. Well, you don't have to look much further than safari specialty importers. We know that trophy importation can be quite a headache. That's why safari specialty importers strives to make it as easy and hassle free as possible. They have access to a bonded warehouse. Us, you won't be charged storage fees and you get a dedicated team that's readily available and will update you at every step in the process. They'll even go one step further. Safari Specialty Importers is working with us at Blood Origins and they are going to donate $100 from every shipment that they work with to conservation projects that include anti poaching, community development and wildlife conservation. At the end of the day, choose to spend your money with a team that's dedicated to you and is dedicated to helping show how hunting is a great conservation model. Hassle free logistics, fuel and conservation go with Safari Specialty Importers. Did you know that in 42 states it is 100% legal to buy a suppressor and protect your hearing? Silencer Central pioneered the simplified silencer buying process. It allows you to buy a suppressor online or over the phone. You go through all the paperwork with a certified expert and that suppressor ships directly to your front door. I don't even believe it, but I've done it and it's come to my door. You can buy a suppressor and have it shipped to you. They offer the best in service, a suppressor expert to make sure you get the suppressor you want. And from there they take care of everything. They take care of the paperwork, the applications to the atf. They even set up a free trust if you want one. And if you don't have the money, put down an interest free payment plan. It's incredible. You get access to your own customer portal online. It tracks your progress. So why not go get started today? Go to silenceessential.com or call 866-811-6536 and with today's fast approval times, you're actually going to be shocked at how quickly your suppressor arrives at your door. Bushnell has been a longtime supporter of Blood Origins and in keeping with the spirit of our collaboration, we've come up with an amazing idea. Bushnell is eager to help you get set up for conservation success. That's right. They want to help you. The conservation and research community is dominated by good people doing good things and investing significant time and effort for the benefit of habitat and the species. So what do you need to do? Pretty simple. Send us your conservation story and or your conservation wish could be managing whitetails. Could be understanding your environment or species or something else related to conservation. What would you be able to do if you had a great trail camera setup? We will select the best story every other month and send you a camera bundle. Cell camera, normal SD camera, SD cards as well, as optics, everything you need to get set up for success. I can't wait to see what you submit. You can email us at infolotorigins.com, dM US, message us whatever you want. We are not hard to find. Good luck.

[A]

Which is incredible. Which is what we want.

[B]

We want rhino conservation to be valued properly. And hunting a rhino, killing a rhino, is valuing the rhino conservation effort properly. I have mixed feelings about green hunts. I have.

[A]

Explain what a green hunt is.

[B]

A green hunt is the. The hunter gets to fire a vitamin, a vitamin dart into a rhino, checking the box that you have tagged, slash, killed the rhino. You have not. Then the vet follows up that dart very quickly with the M99, which is the anise. What's the word?

[A]

Anesthesia.

[B]

Anesthesia, the. The tranquilizing medicine to knock the rhino down. And so the controversy is this. If the, if that rhino needed to be dehonged, had a wound, needed veterinary care, I have no problems with the outfit operator saying I'm going to get, I'm going to recoup a little of my costs here. There's helicopter costs, there's vet costs, there's all sorts of costs.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And you can get an amazing experience from someone who wants to come do that. So let them pay. That's the problem here. The payment associated with something like ranges from 3,000 to 19,000. It's pretty low. Okay.

[A]

Oh, I would think it would be a lot higher.

[B]

You would, but it's not. That's the problem. It's devaluing rhino conservation. And because of that, there has been instances in the past where, where rhinos are just green hunted just because. Wait, there was no reason to tranquilize the rhino.

[A]

I was going to say is this, is this almost like a photo safari where you dart and then you get to look at them up close, but they don't. It doesn't kill them. You're not harvesting them right now. Okay. That's what you're talking about.

[B]

Yeah. They wake up, they wake up. Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But the controversy comes when you're doing the dotting and the tranquilizing for no real reason.

[A]

Right, right. It's just for a photo op opportunity.

[B]

They say it all. We're taking DNA sample, we're taking blood. But you did that on the same rhino six months ago in the same experience.

[A]

And it's bringing down the value of the actual rhino hunts because people can go do that.

[B]

And so my, so my response, I've had a big, A big argument with.

[A]

Someone about this, but Is it not cumulative? I mean, is it not just additive too?

[B]

But you shouldn't be, you shouldn't, you shouldn't. Yes. And that's the, this is where it's, it's, it's difficult in, in the proper circumstances. It is an added conservation value for that rhino. It's when someone crosses the line and Vita darts Green hunts that same rhino once a year, every year.

[A]

Yeah. Over and over.

[B]

Or twice a year every year when that rhino should only be dehorned, ear notched, blood sample taken once every two to three years. Okay.

[A]

And there's no regulation. You just have to rely on ethical.

[B]

No, there is no regulation. It's just the vet, it's you and the vet being able to do it. Okay, so now I've had an argument with someone who says, you know, and they believe that they're doing it because this rhino needs work. And if that's the case, again, I've already said it twice already, I'm good with it. But if you're paying four and a half thousand dollars to Data Rhino and that and you're saying you're doing it for the protection of rhinos and conservation of rhinos, I'm going to say bullshit. Step up and pay $35,000 and kill that rhino.

[A]

Does the rhino need to be culled? I mean, is that part of the management of the species?

[B]

If the rhino is being hunted in a place then they're taking a very old bull just like any other system and the money's being plowed back in.

[A]

The system instead of just leaving them in circulation.

[B]

Yeah, and old bulls tend to kill, young bulls. They tend to get onerous and whatnot and kill man. What's going on in your house?

[A]

The TV just went on by itself in your room. In, in, in. Hold on, hold on. Keep talking. Good grief.

[B]

All right, you're back.

[A]

I'm back.

[B]

Kids, cartoons off of the tv. You're claiming nobody else is in the room?

[A]

They're not even in the room watching tv. I was about to yell at some and that was not real kids, it was TV kids.

[B]

So yeah, you know, so we're pretty happy. The rhino, the 55,000 when came with us filming because we're going to film it as a part of a rhino documentary series that we're doing. There's a Blaser rifle associated with it and it went for probably the most expensive rhino that I've seen go on auction in the last three years, probably since I've been watching these auctions.

[A]

Good, good.

[B]

That's Pretty happy, pretty exciting. Yeah. And look, kudos to everybody at again, dsc. DSC Foundation. We DSC foundation rolled out their new program, the new Global Care Fund. Gcf, that's there to protect outfitters, PHS trackers, Skinners, communities affected and that are tied in with the hunting fraternity. And I know that Mark hall immediately reached out to me this morning saying that something just happened in B.C. where there's somebody already that could be eligible for GCF money. Okay, let me see. It was Frontiersman, if you want to look. Frontiersman did a piece he says we'll have an application for shortly. Frontiersman is getting the details. A guide in British Columbia was in a serious accident, smashed up, has a family, medical expenses, and won't be able to work this fall.

[A]

Oh, gosh. And that's exactly what this is for?

[B]

Exactly 100%. Exactly.

[A]

And that's what Francesca's draft went for into that fund as well, right?

[B]

Yeah. Francesca's giraffe, Teton Leather Company. We had three artisans for conservation. Francesca's giraffe, Katie Hargreaves, Kudu, and Charity's necklace and earrings. I think Katie hargreaves went for 1900. The two pieces from charity went for 1900. So we've already put towards the Global Care Fund. Probably us alone. Blood Origins alone with our artisans. Nine and a half thousand dollars.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then Joel Swans. Joel Swan's Champion ranch piece was 100% donation to Global Care Fund. That went for 40,000. And then they did a paddle raise at the end between Global Care Fund and Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation. I don't remember. Do you remember how many hands got put up there?

[A]

I don't. It was a lot.

[B]

I think they made probably at least 50,000 on that. So it's a great way to start the Global Care Fund.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. All right. There's a lot that's been happening legislatively in the last couple weeks still.

[B]

How is this still legislative stuff? Aren't they all gone home already?

[A]

Federal Congress. Congress is in session since we've gotten past the Budget Reconciliation act. And the outdoor community did such a good job. The big, beautiful bill.

[B]

And here's what I'll tell you. I was. I didn't know much about the big, beautiful bill. And Erica Turgison stood up in the chapter breakfast at DSC and explained it so simplistically that it wasn't. It wasn't a. Like, the budget still has to be approved.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

This is a budget reconciliation bill, which was all the things that either are adding money into the coffers or things that are going to save money in the coffers. That's what the budget reconciliation bill was.

[A]

Basically. It changes the overall structure of the budget.

[B]

And that's why people are like, why did the suppressor thing get thrown out? Why did the NFA thing get thrown out? And she explained it super simply as well. The tax stamp stayed in there because the tax stamp was a savings.

[A]

It affects the budget. Something has to affect the bottom line of our budget. And that's what, that's why we, that's why you said early, the bird bath, the bird rule, that, that all these things, when it came right down to the end of the wire, when they were in committee trying to pass these things, every single one of those provisions had to go in front of the Senate parliamentarian to determine whether or not it passed muster with the Byrd rule. And the Byrd rule essentially says for this type, for reconciliation, for this type of bill passing this budget act, something has to affect. This is a very simplified way of saying this, but something has to affect the bottom line of the budget. It's got. Which is why guarantee income, takeaway income, you know, it has to be fairly certain, has to be very specific.

[B]

So which is why you said right in the beginning of when we got involved in the public land stuff, it likely was not going to pass.

[A]

I just didn't see how it could, the way it was written. I mean, the initial one was so broad and so uncertain and I didn't see how it could pass. I was hoping that the Hearing Protection act with the suppressor, new rules and it was going to make it through, but, you know, it ended up okay in the end. It's. Look, it's the biggest coming together of the sportsmans and wildlife community that I have seen in over a decade. I've really never seen anything quite like it in Genesis Hunters. Well, I'm talking about for the whole country.

[B]

No, yeah, for sure, for sure.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1, 127 was just Colorado and just a western issue. But I mean, this was, this was nationally and people from every state were weighing in and people who don't agree on all the issues, but agreed on this. We're coming together, working together, collaborating. It was just a massive, massive public outreach. And so it was really, really cool to see that happen. And I hope that we can keep the momentum going. And, and I think we've seen it's just a matter of getting the word out, get the word out, get the word out, let people know what's going on let people know when there's a pro problem. Because, I mean, honestly, that was such a confusing situation and it kept changing day by day by day by day that it was really hard for those of us who work in, you know, government circles to keep up with what was going on. Even staffers sometimes didn't know day to day what was happening. And the bill was so big that not all of the members knew everything that was in it. So at the same time, I mean, you're, you're educating the public, but you're also having to reach out to all of these offices because they may not have any idea that something's in there. On a bill that big things get slipped in all the time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So we have to constantly, constantly be watching and monitoring. But it passed and it did not pass with the public lands sale package in it. So that was really, really good news. And overall, the, there was, you know, a couple of other good things in the bill. They did end up putting in some cuts to staffing and funding. But, but things could have been a lot, lot worse. I'll say that. They could have a lot worse. And so since then, there are a number of pieces now that we kind of got past that because that had basically took all the air out the room. It sort of did for a little bit. I mean, there were some, there were some things moving. But we've got other bills that have been introduced. We have bills being marked up, bills being moved. The, the cormorant bill was marked up last week which would reinstate those permits for commercial harvest operations. Because it's just a nonstop fight on their behalf to literally like a 24 hour a day job with the cormorants. And so it's, it's not perfect. It doesn't reinstate the permits for all.

[B]

Of the cormorants eat at night.

[A]

Cormorants are all the time. Yes. They're just nonstop. It's insane.

[B]

Crazy.

[A]

And they're, they're, they are literally costing billions of dollars in damage to the industry and, and to our, you know, natural lakes and waterways.

[B]

And the natural lakes are cormorants. Almost like, you know, I put them in the sort of save the X now we have to manage the X category. Did we have to, like, is that why they put, they were put on like a protected species list because of.

[A]

Persecution before they're covered under the Migratory Bird Act. And I mean, I assume they're in there because they're a migratory bird, but they, there's just so, so, so many of them, and they just decimate fishery populations. And so, you know, kind of everything got thrown in the Migratory Bird Treaty act and way too long to talk about that in here. There are probably some. And so what they do is they go through and when they need to, they provide permits to people who need to do things. Well, for. For a long time there was the Cormorant act and those permits were in place, and then they went away. And so they had to. They had to reinstate those. That's really good news. Really good news, especially for the commercial fish farming industry.

[B]

And so they do have permits now?

[A]

Well, they will as soon as it passes. It. It went. It went for markup, so it's moving and they've got a good number of people signed on. Mike Ezell out of Mississippi is the lead sponsor on that. But there's a lot of. There's a big coalition behind it, and the ag industry is behind it. And so I think it'll. I don't think it'll have a problem moving forward. We'll continue to monitor it. Should come up for hearing soon, tomorrow, which really, really good news. The. The Sport Fish Restoration act is going before the House Natural Resources Committee for a hearing. It's been marked up. And so the authorization was going to expire in 2026.

[B]

And so that's PR dollars and Dingle Johnson dollars and stuff like that, right?

[A]

Yes, yes, all of that. It was originally reauthorized, gosh, a zillion years. I mean, originally authorized a zillion years ago. And it was just the fishing tackle. And then it was amended when the Wallet Bro act was passed and expanded the reach and the number of things that were included. And then it's. It's, you know, been expanded a number of times because so many great projects get funded through the Sport Fish Restoration Act. So when that happens, we'll buzz everybody and put something out about when it actually passes.

[B]

I remember getting Sports Fish Restoration act dollars as a professor at Mississippi State when I worked in collaboration. I was the water quality guy on the project in collaboration with Wes Neil, and we were doing triploid Florida bass hybrid projects in the dams in Puerto Rico.

[A]

Triploids?

[B]

Yeah. So I e. They came out of the.

[A]

Were you in Puerto Rico doing this act?

[B]

Yeah, we were doing that work. It was amazing. We would go and we'd do electrofishing of bass. And so the coolest part about that project in Puerto Rico, just to make a side note, was that Puerto Rico's environment should be very, very conducive to grow massive bass. Water temperature, everything's conducive to grow massive bass. But the problem is, is that because everything is so conducive for growth of bass, it means it's also super conducive for the reproduction of bass. And so instead of putting their energy into growing, they put the energy all into reproduction. And so they stay a very small bass class. And so our hypothesis was put a triploid bass in there, it's not going to reproduce. All it's going to do is eat and get it work. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Epic.

[B]

There was some big bass. Epic. Yes. I said yes. I did not say epic.

[A]

Oh, I thought you said epic.

[B]

And but you should. The. What was so crazy is you do electrofishing surveys. We did electrofishing runs for bass numbers and whatnot. And you know, once you've fished with electricity, there's no reason to fish any.

[A]

Other way and you get spoiled.

[B]

Geez. But you should see the fish that come up, right? The like golden tilapia and your plex and everything. There's so much, so many crazy fresh peacock bass, so many crazy fish in those Puerto Rico reservoirs.

[A]

Yeah. Well, I found my numbers. The sporefish restoration was originally passed in 50, and then Wallet Bro was passed in 84 to amend it. There's a few changes under this authorization, basically expanding the or. Well, it. It expands the amount. So right now there are a number of various fish commissions, fishery commissions that receive funding from this. And it's. A set number would change that to a percentage, which makes a lot more sense. And so they'll probably get. They will get a little bit more money. Increased funding allows commissions to address, you know, all the habitat work that they do, whether it's inland or marine. It would expand domestic fuel option for boaters, which adds an additional priority section. So I think. I think it's really good. And if people care about fishing and if they care about native species in the water and if they care about getting invasive species out, then definitely call your members and let them know. Call your members in the house and let them know that you want the sport Fest restoration trust fund reauthorized. And do you like the changes we do on our side? A grizzly bear bill was moved forward out of the markup on July 15, which would delist the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear population from federal protections, return management authority to Wyoming and other regional states. Companion bill is also introduced in the house.

[B]

So regional states. Montana, Idaho, Wyoming. All three of those makes sense.

[A]

Yes. I only see and you know, those States have different opinions on what should be done with their grizzlies. So I don't know if they cut out, you know, they don't, they're not all in agreement about the management and the listing and delisting. So I'm, I'll pull up the bill.

[B]

I think all three states want state management, don't they?

[A]

They, they do. It's anti hunting activists have politicized this issue to know 100 and they don't want management returned to the states.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

So there's an incredible, incredible amount of pressure up there. And so.

[B]

Yeah, that's what you, that's the original goal against it. That's why who you say is against it. It's not the states, it's not the management agencies of the states.

[A]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. But, but you know different groups, various political groups, various you know, so called conservation groups within the state but a lot of anti hunting groups. Um, let's see, we can figure out which ones but you know if you just look at the numbers. The original plan under the ESA the recovery goal for bears was set at 500. The population has well more than doubled. So there's no reason they shouldn't be delisted. But there's just one of the Fed.

[B]

One of the reasons that the, one of the federal judges that put them back on ESA and refused a delisting was something to do with like connectedness between sub populations or something.

[A]

Yeah, like that. Yeah, there's, there's, they came out with this plan and it was like the subspecies of the bears and you know, depending on where they live they have different protections. And it just, I feel like it was super complicated. But I am not the grizzly expert. There are other people who, so it would be my Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

[B]

Yeah, for sure those are the states.

[A]

But look, it's good that somebody's doing something about it.

[B]

Well, let's see if it passes. Now's the time to do it.

[A]

It's been introduced both, both in the House and in the Senate. So that's, that's good news. We've got Steve Danes, Cynthia Loomis in the Senate which is fantastic. We have got a sporting goods excise tax. Modern Modernization Tax act actually put that out.

[B]

What's that?

[A]

Sporting Goods Excise Tax Modernization Act. So right now there's this loophole and foreign entities are avoiding the excise tax that they are supposed to pay.

[B]

The PR11PR tax is what you're talking.

[A]

About because they're, they're selling Direct to consum. And so there's. That's just a massive hole in income that we could be putting into the ground here in America. So Rob Whitman introduced that act. He is a just staunch, staunch supporter of all sportsman's goods. And so that should be moving. That's going to be on the markup. I mean, going to be on the hearing tomorrow. It's already advanced through markup. So that, that is really good news. And then we've got a really interesting bill that I don't think has. I mean, this was literally just introduced by Cindy Hud Smith and it's going to be called the HEN Act. H E N Hen Act.

[B]

The HEN act, yes.

[A]

And it is designed to support and encourage and sustain more healthy waterfowl populations across America. So this is really being billed as a.

[B]

But don't we have that already a dunks. Don't we have like, duck stamps?

[A]

We have conservation programs, but there's only so much you can do to directly affect how many ducks we have still in America. And I don't know how many duck hunters you've talked to lately, but complaining, complain and complain. Now they always. We, we. Because I'm a, I'm a duck hunter. We like to complain. Everybody likes, oh, the ducks weren't here last year, they're not here this year, you know, or, But I mean, some seasons are better than others and there have apparently been, you know, pretty good declines in numbers to the point that they are thinking that the service may actually decrease some bag limits. So that has not come out yet. But I mean, they're definitely, they're down. I mean, like, look, just North Dakota should showed this past the June surveys showed the mallard breeding populations down 26%. That's the lowest that they've been since the early 90s. So, I mean, that's a pretty big chunk. 26%.

[B]

Yeah, but, but this. So what is the act gonna do? Okay, what is this bill gonna do?

[A]

It's going to authorize Secretary of the Interior to issue grants to states and local governments and NGOs and individuals. So it covers a wide variety of potential recipients to incentivize the construction and installation of hen houses, nesting cover, create or restore brood ponds and other conservation enhancements in mostly in the primary nesting grounds of North America. American dogs.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So, I mean, you know, it's a, this is a really interesting bill to me because a lot of times members and legislators will say, okay, well, we're just going to give money, money to Interior. We'll give money to Fish and Wildlife Service or we'll give money that, you know, ag, the ag community and, and let them figure out a solution. Whereas this bill actually identifies a problem, identifies some solutions that have been shown to work and says, you know what, we're going to incentivize the public to put these into place. So you don't see bills like this very often.

[B]

No, I like it, I like it. I was just, you know, I, I, I'll tell you, I'm a little skeptical of the federal government sending a grant to an individual given all of the reporting requirements associated with receiving federal money.

[A]

I mean, it's no different than the easement programs that move through the Farm Bill.

[B]

No, that's true, that's true.

[A]

You know, those go to individual, individual landowners.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.

[A]

And speaking of those, one good thing I didn't mention earlier in the Budget Reconciliation act, the there was a huge chunk of money that was put in, I don't know if you remember back to the ira, the Infrastructure act that was passed, a huge chunk of money for the Farm Bill, easement programs under ace, crp, wrp, equip, all the different programs. And that money was authorized but has never been fully appropriated. You know, we talk about something's authorized and then you still have to pass a budget each year and, and many, many things are not appropriated at the levels at which they are authorized. They could, they're usually less, they're almost always less. Occasionally we'll see something that's a little bit higher. So that's really just the, that's where it's supposed to be, is the authorization level. And then things are also appropriated that aren't even authorized, you know, that have gone past their point. I mean, I think I heard a statistic that 30 something percent of the federal government is passing unauthorized spending. So it's just kind of a crazy little weird, you know, sure, I do it in America. So, so the IRA had all this money in it and you know, the Farm Bill has not passed and it's been held up for a number of years. We are past the authorization. They just keep doing CRS continuing resolutions. And so this money rescinded the IRA money, but made those funds that were authorized part of the permanent baseline funds of the Farm Bill. So that's actually really good news for those easement programs. So instead of just being this one Luxam, they'll become a part of the regular baseline funding. It still has to be appropriated. You know, Congress still has to, you know, fund it. But they still have to pass the.

[B]

Budget every year, essentially, is what you're saying.

[A]

Yeah. And I mean, you know, sometimes they fund things and sometimes they don't, which is why it's important for sportsmen to become involved in that process as well. You know, tell them what you want to be funded. Tell them what you like. Tell them, you know, don't cut all the science out. Don't cut all these programs out that are so great. Don't, don't, you know, cut all the staff from our BLM Lands and Forest Service and National Parks. Like, we, you know, need those people to run. We need USGS to keep, you know, the Biological Research Division going, which is basically all the science on wildlife in America.

[B]

So.

[A]

So, you know, when you cut out that stuff, you're cutting out decades and decades of research, expertise, work, and the people that have that knowledge when they leave. It's not like you can just come in and duplicate all of that knowledge overnight. You can't. Yeah, yeah, you're a scientist.

[B]

No, I get it. I totally get it. No, you have to invest in science. And it is a pity that they, you know, feel like that is a. Something that can be cut very easily. Uh, and there's often, you know, it is often the thing that is the lowest fruit to be cut off. So.

[A]

So there's more. There's more things. There are, you know, there are a lot of stuff moving right now in markups and hearings. And so we will. Everybody who monitors our Instagram or Facebook account, we try to pump out releases when something moves through. And so we'll just keep, Keep everybody updated. And if something gets stalled and needs some help, we'll try to give it a little push. So we may be asking you to reach out on some things.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

But, yeah, good things on the horizon. Yeah, it's nice to see that there's a lot of conservation in sportsmen and pro sportsman legislation moving through Congress right now. And people can hunt again in Pennsylvania and Connecticut or not again for the first time on Sundays.

[B]

On Sundays, yeah. Of course. They could have hunted. They just couldn't hunt on a Sunday.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

Did it go through in Connecticut? It did go through.

[A]

It did, yes. And in Pennsylvania.

[B]

Yeah, I know the Pennsylvania thing. Before I let you go, did you see old, and I think he's still in South Africa right now. Jay Cutler. You know who Jay Cutler is?

[A]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[B]

Who is he? Actually, he's a.

[A]

He's a really hot former football player who used to be Married to Kristin. And I can't remember her last name, but she was.

[B]

Oh, that was. She was at Orange, California. Movie.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The Hills, maybe Kristen Caglieri or Cavalieri.

[A]

Oh, don't act like you don't know who she is.

[B]

I know who she is. I can't remember her last name.

[A]

Probably I can't either. Hold on.

[B]

Cava Calleri or something like that. Anyway, doesn't matter.

[A]

I think that's how you say it. She's beautiful, too. Yeah. Beautiful.

[B]

Yeah. Jay Cutler is hunting in South Africa right now, and one of the first animals he took was a. If you have been living under a rock, you have not seen the news. But if you're not living under a rock, you've seen lots and lots and lots of J. Cut the news in that he, in a video, kills an amazing sable. And in the video itself, you see him kill the sable, shoots it once, shoots it again, drops it in its tracks. Obviously, everyone's excited, everyone's pumped up, and the PH goes, that's a giant sable. Now, I wanted to do a meme video, and I didn't, unfortunately. And maybe I'll still do it and we can post it just to keep the ball rolling. I want to pretend I'm like the journalist at the New York Post that watches this video and goes, oh, my God. And then pauses the video opens Google and goes, what's a giant sable? It's a giant sable question mark. And the return is a super critically endangered sable in Angola. Oh, my God. He killed a critically endangered animal. This is brilliant. This is headline news and posts.

[A]

We're about to cancel him.

[B]

And I look at this and I go. And, you know, obviously, we said. Here's what we said. We said, unfortunately, English and punctuation matter in that there is a difference between a critically endangered species and. And one that is thriving because of hunting. There's seven. Over 7,000 sable in South Africa because people value them to hunt them, okay? They're not a species of animal that somebody comes to South Africa as an ecotourism, ecotourist and says, I want to see a sable. It's almost like a byproduct of what you get to see. And so we said, giant, comma, sable. Now, bunch of smart asses online are like, you clearly don't even know how punctuation works. Yes, we. We don't need a comma after giant for giant sable. However, we needed a comma to make a point, essentially a full stop, that it wasn't a giant stable. It was a giant Comma, sable, I. E. A big sable, a huge sable.

[A]

Read that article.

[B]

Really read multiple articles, dozens of articles.

[A]

Well, it was just part of, you know, the media and the anti hunting narrative that they love to promote.

[B]

Anyway, at least we've got a little truth out there and we planted a couple of seeds or a bunch of seeds and a bunch of people's brains about the truth around Sable.

[A]

Jay, because he's posting some great stuff, he's an avid outdoorsman, understands why he's there, is educating people.

[B]

Well, he's like educating them. You know, I didn't know this about him, but a lot of. Because I read it in the comments. He obviously has, has put forward a very much, you know, I don't give a attitude. Okay. And yeah, I, you know, that's what like, I, I love the fact that again, we, we collabed with him on a post and got a bunch of traction and did what we do best and educate people that have no idea.

[A]

That's right. So we'll keep up the good work and we hope Jay does too.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Anything else on your front?

[A]

Not today.

[B]

What was your highlight of dsc? Let's leave it with that highlight of Dallas Safari Club Summer Expo.

[A]

The highlight is working with our friend Kate at Wildlife Partners on what is looking like going to be my first. Not my first trip to Africa, but my first hunting trip to Africa, to Namibia.

[B]

So, man, you didn't waste any time of me taking you to Dallas and finding your way.

[A]

I thought you were gonna say me taking you to Africa. I was like, you're not taking me. I'm gonna have to take myself.

[B]

You figured out a way.

[A]

And I might take you. I might take you along. We might film this one.

[B]

You figured out a way. You figured out a way. I say my highlight is we debuted a new program through Blood Origins called the Helix program, which is a value add for our corporate conservation club, our outfitters and operators. And I think this is, I'll give you the key to this is a lot of people like, how do you choose? I've actually been asked this question a bit and I've been thinking about it. How do you choose your outfit as an operators that are part of your conservation club? Because we could pick anybody, right? They just give us a hundred bucks a month or 250 or 500 bucks a month and you're in. But what it's, and maybe unintentionally this is what has happened is because Blood Origins is so personal and we develop relationships with people really, the Conservation Club is of just good people that we've gotten to know. And we're like, yeah, this, this makes sense. We're friends.

[A]

It's like, we trust them.

[B]

They trust you. Right. It's not just. It's beyond. It's beyond liking.

[A]

Beyond, like, I mean, no, they're doing a lot. There's a lot that goes into that program.

[B]

Yeah. But it's also just like, you know, when you. I think you nailed it. You know, when you like someone and you know when they're being genuine and you want to form a relationship as a friend. Right. And you want to develop that. That's what our Conservation Club has become. And it's really a feel. It's not like a check the box exercise. It's more of a feel. And I sum it up like this. I was at the bar, surprise, surprise, on a Friday night after our dinner with board member Susan Rubio. Advisory member Ben Wolf was there, and Scruff Vermac, who is the owner of Kunrad for Mark Safaris, and all of his folks were there behind us. And he came up, you know, said, hello, how's it going? I introduced him to Ben, introduced him to Susan. We. We chatted. And I was about to go to bed, so I said, good night, man. Love you, my man. And he said, I love you back. And I turned to my. My board member and my advisory member. I said, tell me. Show me an organization who says I love you to your outfitter. And they respond back by saying the same thing. Pretty amazing.

[A]

Yeah, it is pretty amazing. Look, the people we work with are pretty amazing. Yeah, these people are pretty amazing. So. But there are boxes. There are boxes that have to be checked. As much as we like these people, there are things that have that go into it, and I think it's really kind of extraordinary, the parameters that you've put around it, because it's a lot. And, and I will publicly say this, when you first told me about the idea, I was like, oh, that's. That's too much. Like, do we really want to make people. Do they have to do all this stuff? And you're like, it's not too much. It's not too much. Most of these people are doing it anyway, and they're doing it because they believe in it and want to do it. And it's. Tell. Tell us what the. What are the things they go into?

[B]

So the Helix program is, again, a value add for this conservation partnership, essentially a partnership between us and the outfitter. And we want them. They do Great things for all sorts of. Of elements. Okay. And those are the elements that we get hit about, hit up about the most in social media. You guys do nothing to help communities. Okay, well, we do. We know we do. So let's, let's have a community element, let's have a people element, let's have a wildlife element, let's have a science research element, let's have a transparency element. Five things that we know good hunting outfitters and operators do. And we want to capture that data, we want to catch that benefit data, we want to tell the world about it and then also help them. If they don't do anything with the community right now, how can we help them? Oh, we can help the school. Okay, what do you need help with to get the school up and running? Oh, we need money to outfit the kitchen. We need a new kitchen. Okay, let's go find the money to get you a new kitchen.

[A]

Right, right. That's a phenomenal. And we'll talk even more about this going forward. You'll hear more and more about this from us as we continue to expand and the program really takes off. But I forgot to mention the coolest thing that happened at dsc. Oh, you've recently, you've had, you've had wine. That was the coolest thing to me. That was the coolest thing for me. This was the coolest thing maybe for the hunting community at large. Definitely for Africa is. Was the announcement of. And the Angolan ministers.

[B]

Oh, shit.

[A]

There, right. That Angola is open for business. Open for hunting again after 50 years of being almost virtually closed the whole time.

[B]

50 years.

[A]

They did a few little years in there that they, you know, tried to for a few years and something happened. They closed it again. But yeah, essentially no hunting in Angola for 50 years. And they have just reopened hunting in Angola with a very, very well thought out plan. A lot of time and effort from conservation force has gone into this and working with the people over there and the ministers and the government over there. And I think they're going to be very, very successful from the plan that I saw. So we are, we are wishing them the best. We are hoping to get over to Angola, aren't we?

[B]

I've actually got an email from the Angolans already.

[A]

Fantastic.

[B]

So you're already going to too much in Africa. We don't have to leave you.

[A]

Origins foundation might need a apartment in Africa. I probably for all the, all the trips.

[B]

Probably. All right, girl, you have a wonderful day. Don't as well get into trouble.

[A]

They already are. Summer summer is. We're in the midst of it. Midst of the trenches.

[B]

Anybody?

[A]

Everybody's having a wonderful summer.

[B]

Has anybody texted us? Nope. So if you've reached this point in the Blood Origins Roundup podcast, give us a text 601-790-0607 text us 601-790-0607 send us a question. Send us an idea. Send us your thoughts. See ya.

[A]

Bye.

[B]

Well, that's it for today. I appreciate you listening. As always, leave a review, share it with your friends, and most importantly, do what's right to convey the truth around.

[A]

Hunting Want to plan your next fishing trip without the hassle? FishingBooker.com is the best way to find and book a fishing charter anywhere in the world. Whether you're chasing trophy fish or just looking for a family day on the water, fishingbooker makes it simple, fast and secure. With thousands of experienced guides, verified reviews and 24? 7 customer support, FishingBooker takes the guesswork out of planning. Visit fishingbooker.com and book your trip today. FishingBooker Fishing trips made Easy Want to plan your next fishing trip without the hassle? FishingBooker.com is the best way to find and book a fishing charter anywhere in the world. Whether you're chasing trophy fish or just looking for a family day on the water, fishingbooker makes it simple, fast and secure. With thousands of experienced guides, verified reviews, and 247 customer support, FishingBooker takes the guesswork out of planning. Visit fishingbooker.com and book your trip today. FishingBooker Fishing trips made Easy.