How YOU Can Save Wildlife and Public Lands w/ Jaden Bales

So if you've ever wondered how you can help preserve more land to recreate on and how to take care of that same land, you're going to find out in today's episode. I firmly believe that everyone that takes part in recreating on public lands needs to know about the work that goes into protecting them and the animals that live there as well. After I saw a video that our guest shared the other day, I invited him on the podcast to talk about the work he does with the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. He's also going to discuss the challenges of wildlife habitat preservation and the important role that individuals can play in supporting some of these efforts. So stay tuned for a fascinating combo on hunting, wildlife and conservation with the one and only Jayden Bales. Today we have the pleasure of interviewing Jaden Bales. And this guy's a remarkable. Well, actually, first of all, this is the first time I met him, but from what I know so far is he's a remarkable guy. He wears many hats, he's a, he's a hunter, he's a passionate conservationist, skier and, and an entrepreneur as well. And yeah, we, our paths kind of cross path on social media and so we've been talking ever since and it just seems like a good, outstanding guy to talk to. So he recently shared a video on Instagram that was very, that got me really thinking. It was very thought provoking. And he spent a lot of time, crafted this awesome message in the caption and I kind of wanted to start off the podcast with him talking about what he wrote in that caption and kind of what that video was all about. I'll give it to you, I'll pass.

The football to you. Oh, thanks man. That was really, that was really kind introduction and I've never actually put those like, I guess, identities together in a string before. And that's kind of interesting because I just kind of, you know, everyone wants to put themselves in a box usually because that's where you like build your community. But for me, I've, for a long time I, you know, will be like, ah, I dabbled in this, dabble in that. And then over time you just build up like, huh. I guess there are a handful of things I'm interested in. So I was really interesting hearing that from you and I appreciate the kind introduction. I'm really passionate about a lot of stuff and there are a few things that I go into that I just like, I, I will, I will learn it top to bottom. It was kind of that like, don't do anything you Know, half ass. And it could. There are some drawbacks to doing that, but, you know, in regards to wildlife hunting and, and how I recreate outdoors, I've definitely gone in wholeheartedly. So, yeah, that, that. Honestly, that post you talked about the other day, the. The background on that is I was driving, trying to drive to northeast Oregon to go visit family, where I'm from originally. And it just has not. The snow globe has not shut off in southeast or southwest Wyoming, let alone central Wyoming, kind of where my house is. And I couldn't. I basically pulled the plug on driving the 12 hours to get home from Wyoming to see my mom and brother and some other family because it was snowing so hard. But those critters, like, I mean, my driving to eastern Oregon to see family is pretty minor, as far of an inconvenience as it has been for those critters that are trying to make a living down there. And especially the Bear Lake area, which includes Idaho and Utah, and then over to Cookville and Kemmerer, all that stuff has. Has had a really harsh winter as far as, especially for deer and pronghorn and for the hunting crowd. Like, it has people kind of up in arms about, like, what we should be doing to. To help these populations. Because, you know, we look at this and like, no one wants to see these critters suffering from malnutrition, from not getting enough food in their mouths. And so you're like, ah, what can we do? Like, you know, and everyone's like, trying to come up with something, like, frantically. And oftentimes the solutions sometimes aren't like, the best for the long term. So it basically, you know, sparked. I drove through that part of the world and it sparked this, like, thought process as I'm driving. I don't know if you take notes while you're driving very often, but it's like one of the best places for me to think. And I like, talked to, texted kind of this post that I ended up putting up. And when I turned around, I went back, going back home, and I passed these two dead pronghorn next to the road and they'd been hit by vehicles. And it's actually a place that we had done some work on the fencing there to make it easier for them to get through for my day job. But I pulled over, took a video, and I was like, okay, like, this is the reality of what we're seeing here. Our human impact. Like, we have a major impact on the wildlife populations, right? But our human impact can be worked on. We can we can do some things with it. And I wrote down, like, three quick things, and that was, one, support wildlife crossings. Two, find habitat projects to do, and three, support officials who want to make a positive change. And so those three things are kind of. It's funny, like, I wrote those because I was in the front of my mind. It's also, those are the three things that I am tied in with doing for my day job at the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. So, yeah, and then my buddy Braxton, he lives in that local area, and he said, four, educate yourselves, people. And so I feel like you must have. Must have read Braxton's. And you asked me to hop on here because I realized after the fact, like, these are. These are new things for a lot of folks. So just educating yourself on what can be done, I think is a. Is a huge step one.

Wow. But first of all, dude, super articulate. Thank you for. Thank you for explaining that.

So. Dang.

Well, I'm glad. Glad I didn't really talk about it in my intro, because I would have.

Butchered that thing so bad.

But that was an amazing, amazing recap of that. So what you're saying is, so basically, you're taking this drive, and as you were going, you saw these dead animals on the side of the road, and you're like, what can we be doing better? Like, we're already doing some of these things. How can we get more. And how can we get more people involved with this stuff? And one of the things you touched on was, like, fences and things like that. Can you tell me a little bit more about the detriment of fences, especially to animals like pronghorns and things like that?

Yeah, and I just want to, like, take a slight step back as well. Like, one of the number one things that I struggle with is sometimes, like, I forget that these are. These. These are new concepts to folks, because I was raised in a family that this was kind of. It was front of mind. My grandpa used to take us to the Ducks Unlimited banquets when I was a little kid. And we would go because he was donating grass seed and. And also I think he was donating some, selling some. Regardless, he was tied into these conservation projects for wetland areas and wetland restoration. So this is, like. This is stuff that's been going on for a long, long time. And I think it just sometimes takes driving by a dead pronghorn or a dead deer or dead elk or whatever, like, to really jog your memory of, like, oh, yeah, like, we're having an impact here, and maybe we can do something. So one of those things. And in this local area that I was driving, it's on Highway 28. It's near Farson, Wyoming, which has a great little mercantile if you need some ice cream in the summer. But that's about it. The fence.