The Origins Foundation Podcast

Episode: Roundup 160 || Ohio Deer Mortality, Anti-Hunters Sabotaging Florida Black Bear Season, Goldfish, Dissolving BLM
Date: September 24, 2025
Host(s): The Origins Foundation Team (Robbie, Ashley, and others)

Episode Overview

This episode is a lively, news-packed roundup discussing some of the most pressing, quirky, and controversial developments in wildlife conservation, hunting policy, and the broader environmental landscape. The hosts delve into alarming deer die-offs in Ohio, the complicated dynamics around Florida’s first black bear season (and the role of anti-hunters), invasive goldfish becoming bear food at zoos, and an unprecedented Congressional move to overturn Bureau of Land Management land-use plans. Personal anecdotes and energetic banter ground the episode, making complex policy issues both accessible and entertaining.
Themes: Conservation, sustainable use, community responsibility, the unexpected consequences of advocacy, and the wild world of wildlife management.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Goldfish: From Invasive Trouble to Bear Treats

• [15:47] The hosts kick off with “random but important” conservation news: the goldfish invasion.
  • Goldfish are a global invasive species — often flushed or released into lakes by ex-owners.
  • In Minnesota, goldfish are so rampant they’re disrupting native fish populations and ecosystems.
  • Innovative solution: Authorities are collecting the goldfish and using them as supplemental feed for zoo animals, especially brown bears.
  • Anecdotes: Ashley shares a saga about inheriting her kids’ goldfish, debating whether to release them to Mimi’s pond or keep them (the latter, for five years).
• Quote:

  “I personally think that schools should not be allowed to give live animals away to children without asking parents first.”
  — Ashley, [19:18]

• [20:28] Discussion on goldfish size and longevity as a metaphor for unintended consequences.
• Both hosts invite goldfish stories from listeners, highlighting community engagement.

2. Ohio Deer Die-Off: EHD Crisis and Hunter Ethics

• [22:35] Shift to a serious population-level crisis: catastrophic deer mortalities in Ohio (not CWD, but EHD — “Episodic Hemorrhagic Disease”).
  • Outbreak has decimated local herds, with reports of 30 dead deer in a 1-mile radius ([25:27]).
  • Ohio wildlife managers are proposing harvest restrictions; hunters themselves are calling for rule changes and even season cancellations.
• Quote:

  “If you’re truly interested in sustainability of the population and the health of a population, the hunters should be the first people to put their hands up and go, we’re okay with no hunting season.”
  — Robbie, [25:32]

• Discussion of disease mechanics (spread by gnats), impact on hunting traditions, and comparisons to Chronic Wasting Disease.
• Takeaway: Exemplifies hunters as conservationists first.

3. Florida Black Bear Season: Ironies of Advocacy and Economics

• [26:06] Fascinating look at Florida reintroducing a regulated black bear hunt.
  • Over 100,000 permit applications filed—far beyond expectations.
  • Many are from anti-hunting advocates, deliberately buying up tags to reduce harvest—a “sabotage” attempt.
  • Twist: To buy a tag, one needs a hunting license and hunter education—resulting in a windfall for Florida from hunting license sales, and increased federal conservation funding (Pittman-Robertson Act).
• Quote:

  “If that is happening, it means that a bunch of anti-hunters have had to become hunters in the state of Florida. They had to go through the hunter education course and pay for your hunting license, which is $17.”
  — Robbie, [28:10]

• More irony: If tags are bought but unfilled, the state will increase the number of permits next year.
• Conservation science rules: Number of tags was even reduced further after better bear population estimates post-drought.
• Memorable Moment:

  “Please do. Please, PETA. Keep it up, guys. You’re knocking it out of the park.”
  — Robbie, [30:52]

• Lesson: Unintended consequences can sometimes help the system one aims to disrupt.

4. Illegal Cannabis Farms in National Parks

• [32:15] News story: Undercover operation finds a huge illegal marijuana farm within Sequoia National Park (13 acres, 2,377 plants).
• Point:
  • National parks are so vast and under-patrolled that illicit activities like this are common.
  • Clean-up and enforcement are difficult; hazardous chemicals left behind.
• Aside:
  • This segues into another discussion of public land management and the complexity of keeping lands both productive and protected.

5. Congressional Moves Against BLM Resource Plans (Public Lands in Jeopardy?)

• [34:20] Deep-dive into a significant, underreported federal action.
  • Congress has, for the first time, used the Congressional Review Act to overturn major Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plans—including the 12-million-acre Miles City Plan in Montana ([36:00]).
  • These plans are blueprints for balancing grazing, development, wildlife, habitat, and recreation.
  • Overturning them creates immediate chaos: uncertainty for ranchers, tribes, and wildlife, with protections and predictability erased.
• Quote:

  “The disappearance of this management plan is going to have immediate repercussions... ranchers don’t know how many cattle they can run... tribal sites left unprotected... safeguards for habitat thrown out the door.”
  — Ashley, [40:05]

• Concern: Future BLM plans may be impossible, as the CRA bars agencies from issuing new rules “substantially the same” without Congress—potentially freezing adaptive land management.
• Coverage of political motivations (energy development, etc.), legal ambiguity, and the wide-ranging stakeholder impacts.
• Hosts’ Position: Alarm and advocacy for public land protection.

6. Wildlife Successes: World’s Tiniest Turtle Hatches in Mexico

• [45:58] Celebratory story: The Guadalajara Zoo hatches the first Vallarta Mud Turtle—a critically endangered, recently-discovered species (only 300-500 known).
  • Turtle is just 2.8 grams, 2 cm, “the width of an adult human thumb.”
  • Conservation urgency: Heavily trafficked, habitat under urban expansion; recent theft of 55 turtles from a university lab.
• Parallels drawn to Louisiana’s “farm-to-wild” alligator conservation model as a possible roadmap for saving the turtle.
• Quote:

  “That’s what it’s all about. Sustainable use. Figure out what people want, find a way to propagate them, and then return them to the wild...”
  — Robbie, [49:37]

• Bright spot: Exemplar of innovative, hope-filled conservation work.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On hunter stewardship:
  “If you’re truly interested in sustainability of the population and the health of a population, the hunters should be the first people to put their hands up and go, we’re okay with no hunting season.” ([25:32], Robbie)
• Goldfish-parent woes:
  “I’ve kept these goldfish alive longer than we have kept multiple dogs and cats. Jeez.” ([22:00], Ashley)
• Florida bear tags ironies:
  “Please do. Please, PETA. Keep it up, guys. You’re knocking it out of the park.” ([30:52], Robbie)
• On Congressional action:
  “How do you write a resource management plan that is substantially different than a resource management plan that you just…” ([45:36], Robbie)
• Hope for rare turtles:
  “Sustainable use. Figure out what people want, find a way to propagate them and then return them to the wild...” ([49:37], Robbie)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [15:47] Goldfish invasion and zoo bear feeding
• [22:35] Ohio EHD deer die-off, hunters call for restraint
• [26:06] Florida bear season, anti-hunter tag-buying tactics and conservation funding
• [32:15] Cannabis bust in Sequoia National Park
• [34:20] Congress overturns BLM management plans and public lands fallout
• [45:58] First hatching of Vallarta mud turtle in Guadalajara Zoo

Tone & Language

• Friendly, informative, and conversational, blending technical conservation details with relatable humor, personal stories, and a dash of irreverence.
• The hosts champion science-based management, poke fun at human foibles (including their own), and keep a hopeful eye on the possibilities of adaptive, people-powered conservation.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode offers a whirlwind tour of current conservation news, alerting you to emerging controversies (public land management and hunting policy), the nuances of wildlife disease and population control, and inspirational conservation wins. You'll walk away with a deeper understanding of where hunting fits into the broader ethics of wildlife management, how conservation funding works (even when driven by opponents!), and the quirky intersections of animal rehabilitation, policy, and public action—plus a reminder to never, ever flush your goldfish.