Fish and Game Commissions Sit at the Intersection of Science, Politics, and Public Responsibility for Wildlife

In this “Civics of Conservation” episode of the Project Upland Podcast, AJ and Gabby are joined by veteran journalist and former Montana Fish and Wildlife commissioner Andrew McKean to explore the often misunderstood world of fish and game commissions and the powerful role they play in shaping wildlife policy across the United States.

Together, they examine how commissions function at the intersection of science, politics, and public accountability, overseeing everything from hunting seasons and regulations to agency budgets, conservation priorities, and long-term strategic planning. The conversation breaks down how commissions operate, how the public can engage with them, and why their influence reaches far beyond hunting and fishing.

AJ, Gabby, and McKean also discuss the growing pressures facing wildlife commissions as debates intensify over predator management, non-game species, scientific research, funding, and the public trust in wildlife management. Along the way, they explore how commissions increasingly serve as the front lines of both conservation and conflict, where science, public opinion, and political realities often collide.

Throughout the episode, they argue that understanding how fish and game commissions operate is essential for anyone hoping to engage meaningfully in the future of wildlife conservation, hunting, and public policy in North America.

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How the Public Trust Doctrine Built the Uniquely American Idea of Publicly Owned Wildlife and Wildlife Management

In this episode, AJ and Gabby explore the origins of the Public Trust Doctrine with Leon Szeptycki and examine how a series of legal and political turning points helped shape wildlife conservation in the United States. From Roman law and medieval England to landmark Supreme Court cases and the conservation movement of the Progressive Era, they trace how the idea of wildlife as a shared public resource became embedded in American law and culture.

AJ and Gabby discuss how Europe’s long history of private hunting rights tied wildlife access to land ownership, and why the United States ultimately took a different path—one in which wildlife is collectively owned by the people rather than by landowners or the state itself.

They break down several pivotal Supreme Court cases, including Martin v. Waddell, Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, Geer v. Connecticut, and Hughes v. Oklahoma, explaining how each helped define the relationship between public ownership, state authority, and wildlife management. Along the way, they explore how these decisions laid the groundwork for modern fish and wildlife agencies and the broader North American Model of Conservation.

This episode also examines modern tensions surrounding public lands, private landowner tag allocations, and the ongoing debate over who truly benefits from wildlife management today. Throughout the episode, AJ and Gabby argue that understanding the civic and legal foundations of conservation is essential for hunters hoping to engage meaningfully in the future of public lands, wildlife policy, and access in North America.

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GPS tracking reveals American woodcock re-nesting movements across the Atlantic Flyway

In this episode, AJ and Gabby talk with Colby Slezak, a recent PhD graduate from the University of Rhode Island, about a surprising breakthrough in American woodcock ecology: evidence that female woodcock can be itinerant breeders.

Colby explains how new GPS tracking technology, combined with on-the-ground nest checks through the Eastern Woodcock Migration Research Cooperative, helped confirm a behavior that had long been suspected but rarely documented. When nests fail, some female woodcock will travel long distances and attempt to nest again elsewhere, sometimes multiple times in a single spring.

We unpack why woodcock have such an extended breeding season, what low nest success looks like on the ground, and how constraints like GPS tag size and battery life shape what researchers can learn about breeding ecology. Colby also reflects on the moment he and his colleagues realized their data supported this long-standing theory, an unexpected discovery that reshaped how researchers understand woodcock breeding behavior.

The conversation then shifts to Colby’s brief time with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and what federal workforce reductions and buyouts may mean for conservation capacity, long-term partnerships, and the institutional knowledge behind migratory bird research.

To learn more about the Eastern Woodcock Migration Research Cooperative, visit woodcockmigration.org.

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