Your Mountain
Join David Willms, Mike McGrady, Nephi Cole, and entertaining guests each week as they use humor, storytelling, and more than 40 years of collective experience in law, science, and policy to explain important decisions affecting your outdoor experience. As the guys frequently say, "There are millions of acres of opportunity out there. They belong to you. Every day, decisions are being made that affect your land, your water, and your wildlife. You should know about them. This is Your Mountain." http://www.itsyourmountain.com/
- Update frequency
- every 17 days
- Average duration
- 69 minutes
- Episodes
- 207
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
Breaking down Willow (not the classic 1980s film)
The Biden administration recently gave the green light to a controversial oil project in northern Alaska. Dave and Nephi wade into the issue. They discuss why many in the conservation world oppose it…
Advocacy and Grizzlies: Making a Point vs. Making a Difference
The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced it would consider Montana's and Wyoming's petitions to delist grizzly bears. The guys do a deep dive into the decision, the state politics, the leg…
Boundary Waters, Tongass, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Dave and Nephi break down a bill that could require leasing tens of millions of acres of public land to replenish the strategic petroleum reserve. They also discuss the administration's decision to p…
Wolves, Bears, and Bills
Grizzly bears and wolves remain hot topics. Dave and Nephi provide an update on Colorado's efforts to reintroduce wolves, and how the public can get involved in the process. Then, they break down a r…
Lead Ammunition on Wildlife Refuges and the Colorado River Water Catastrophe
Dave and Nephi end 2022 discussing some hot topics in conservation, including a Recovering America's Widlife Act update (update since recording: it didn't pass in 2022), and teeing up a needed deeper…
Whose Land is it Anyway: Contentious Access Issues in the West
Jonathan Wood, Vice President of Law & Policy at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), joins the guys to discuss some contentious access issues in the West. They dive into a New Mexico…
From Scarcity to Abundance: The History of Game Management
The guys take a deep dive into the history of wildlife management in America, using Wyoming's journey as as example. They discuss: how wildlife laws progressed from the 1860s to the modern era; how i…
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery
Renowned biologist, and Wildlife Science Coordinator for the Arizona Game & Fish Department, Jim Heffelfinger, joins the podcast for a deep dive into the good science, bad science, politics, influenc…
Banned Birds from Canada, and a Dubious Damage Claim
In this episode, Dave asks for help understanding the impacts Eurasian collared doves have on mourning doves. The guys also discuss the issues surrounding importing harvested game birds from Canada; …
RETURN Act, Corner Crossing, and the Senate's Inflation Reduction Act
Dave and Nephi provide updates on the RETURN Act (Pittman-Robertson defunding act) and the infamous corner crossing case from Wyoming. Then they dive into the freshly passed (as of today) Inflation R…
A Federal Proposal to Gut Wildlife Funding for States
In late June, nearly 5 dozen members of Congress co-sponsored a bill that would end the 100+ year excise tax on firearms and ammunition, which contributes more than $1.1 billion to state wildlife age…
Permanent Wildlife Funding Nears and 70,000 Acres of New Public Access
After a month away from recording due to Nephi building a house and Dave completing a fellowship in Europe, the guys are back. They discuss Recoving America's Wildlife Act, the major Congressional hu…
Corner Crossing Update and Proposed Lead Ammunition Ban
The guys discuss a recent bill in Congress that would ban lead ammunition on US Fish and Willdife Service lands. They also jump back into the corner crossing issue with an analysis of the Wyoming lit…
The Open Fields Doctrine and the 4th Amendment
After a long absence, Mike McGrady rejoins the podcast to discuss the open fields doctrine and search and seizure laws under state and federal constitutions. They explain what the open fields doctrin…
The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation with Tim Brass of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
The Energy Debate
NOTE: THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED PRIOR TO THE US BANNING RUSSIAN OIL IMPORTS, BUT THE MATERIAL REMAINS RELEVANT TODAY.
Nephi and Dave discuss oil and gas policy in the US since the Russian invasion o…
Relisting Wolves (again)
Thinking Outside the Box: The Path for State Management of Federally Listed Species
Suppressors and Other Hunting Technology with John Burns of Wyoming Arms
Dave and Nephi are joined by John Burns of Wyoming Arms to talk about technology in hunting. They talk about the importance of range finders, and then take a deep dive into the history and use of sup…
Grizzly Bears and the Rinella Family Feud
Dave and Nephi provide an update on all things grizzly bears, including updating on a petition to delist Yellowstone grizzlies; a petition to delist Northern Continental Divide grizzlies; and a new p…