What does it really mean to be a hunter? Is it about filling a tag, harvesting a trophy, or everything that happens along the way?

On this episode of Through the Gates, Dan Gates sits down with Jordan Budd, a Nebraska-based hunter, guide, filmmaker, and outdoor storyteller known for her work with MeatEater and Rockslide. Raised on her family's third-generation cattle ranch in northwest Nebraska, Jordan developed a passion for hunting, archery, and filming at an early age. Today, she has built a career around guiding hunters, pursuing big game across the West, producing outdoor films, and helping tell the story of hunting and conservation. Dan and Jordan explore the changing culture of hunting, the pressure to harvest, and the influence of social media and outdoor television on hunters' expectations. Jordan shares why some of her most meaningful hunting experiences have had nothing to do with whether she filled a tag, and why showing the realities of an unsuccessful hunt can be just as important as documenting a successful one. The conversation also takes a deeper look at the challenges facing today's hunters, including declining hunting opportunities, increasing difficulty drawing tags, wildlife habitat conservation, and the role of science-based wildlife management. Jordan discusses her family's ranching legacy, changes in Nebraska's mule deer and whitetail populations, the impacts of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), and the growing presence of elk. Dan and Jordan also discuss the importance of hunting ambassadors, women's growing influence in the outdoor industry, predator management, grizzly bears, wolves, and the need for hunters to stay engaged in wildlife policy and conservation issues. From high-country archery mule deer to the realities of guiding, filmmaking, motherhood, and maintaining a family ranch, Jordan offers a candid perspective on what it takes to build a life in the outdoors—and why protecting hunting opportunities matters for future generations.

In this episode:

• Jordan's journey from a Nebraska ranch to the outdoor industry
• Why hunting is about the experience, not harvest
• Social media, hunting television, and unrealistic expectations
• The challenges of guiding hunters and managing expectations
• Archery hunting, mule deer, elk, and Western hunting opportunities
• Women's influence and representation in hunting and conservation
• Ranching, wildlife habitat, and the importance of private land conservation
• Nebraska's changing deer populations, EHD, and elk expansion
• Predator management, wolves, grizzly bears, and wildlife policy
• Outdoor storytelling and the future of hunting films
• Why hunters need to be engaged in conservation and wildlife decisions

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SUPPORT THE RIGHT TO HUNT AND FISH IN COLORADO

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What happens when wildlife management becomes a political fight?

In this special Through the Gates x The Mountainside Podcast collaboration, Dan Gates and Bobby Marshall sit down for a wide-ranging conversation about Colorado wildlife, hunting, fishing, conservation, CPW, ballot-box biology, and the emerging fight over Colorado’s constitutional right to hunt and fish.

This conversation goes far beyond hunting.

Dan and Bobby break down why wildlife management affects hunters, anglers, hikers, mountain bikers, photographers, ranchers, outdoor businesses, and anyone who enjoys Colorado’s public lands and wildlife.

A major focus of the conversation is the proposed constitutional right to hunt and fish in Colorado and the argument that complex wildlife-management decisions should remain grounded in science, data, professional wildlife management, and adaptive management.

They discuss:

• What Colorado’s constitutional right to hunt and fish actually says
• What the proposed amendment does — and does not — do
• The concept of “ballot box biology”
• Why CPW and professional wildlife managers play such an important role
• Colorado’s experience with Proposition 127 and wolf reintroduction
• Mountain lions, bobcats, lynx, bears, wolves and beavers
• The debate over trapping and wildlife-management tools
• How hunting and fishing contribute to conservation funding
• Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson funding
• Why wildlife doesn’t recognize state boundaries
• Colorado’s rapidly growing human population and increasing recreation pressure
• The changing relationship between wildlife and outdoor recreation
• Why non-hunters have a stake in wildlife management
• How people outside Colorado can support Colorado’s wildlife-conservation efforts
• How to talk to someone who doesn't hunt or fish about wildlife conservation
• And why Dan believes wildlife management should remain adaptable as conditions change

The conversation also gets into something that often gets overlooked: Colorado’s wildlife belongs to everyone.

Whether you hunt, fish, hike, camp, photograph wildlife, ride a mountain bike, own a ranch, or simply enjoy seeing elk, deer, bears, mountain lions and other wildlife in Colorado, the decisions being made today can affect how those resources are managed for generations.

This is a conversation about wildlife first — and the people, policies, science and funding mechanisms that determine how Colorado manages it.

SUPPORT THE RIGHT TO HUNT AND FISH IN COLORADO

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What does Colorado’s Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish actually mean—and why should it matter to people who don’t hunt or fish?

That is one of the central questions explored in this special episode of Through the Gates, featuring internationally recognized conservationist Shane Mahoney, President and CEO of Conservation Visions and founder of the Wild Harvest Initiative.

This conversation is especially relevant for Coloradans who love the outdoors but may never have hunted or fished. If you hike, camp, mountain bike, kayak, photograph wildlife, watch elk and moose, enjoy Colorado’s public lands, or simply care about healthy wildlife populations, this episode explores the connection between those experiences and the system of wildlife conservation that exists today.

Mahoney and Dan Gates take a deep look at the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and how regulated hunting and fishing fit into a larger system designed to maintain abundant wildlife populations and provide public benefits.

The discussion covers:

• Why wildlife is considered a public-trust resource
• How North American wildlife populations recovered from historic declines
• Why wildlife abundance benefits hunters AND non-hunters
• The connection between hunting, fishing and sustainable sources of food
• How hunting and fishing contribute to wildlife management and conservation funding
• Why science-based wildlife management matters
• What “sustainable use” actually means
• The history behind the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation
• The role of regulation in preventing overharvest
• The importance of wild foods and the Wild Harvest Initiative
• How conservation can serve people who never hunt or fish
• The debate surrounding fur-bearing wildlife and commercial use
• Why wildlife management has to account for changing populations, habitat and human communities
• What the proposed constitutional protection does—and does not—say about wildlife management
• Why understanding the issue matters before Colorado voters make their decision

One of the most important themes of the conversation is that wildlife conservation is not exclusively about hunting.

Mahoney argues that the recovery of elk, deer, pronghorn, waterfowl, bears and other wildlife has created opportunities for everyone—from hunters and anglers to hikers, photographers, birders, climbers, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts. As he explains, abundant wildlife adds another dimension to the Colorado outdoor experience regardless of whether someone ever harvests an animal.
The episode also examines an important question for anyone thinking about food and sustainability: How does harvesting from the wild fit into the modern food system?

Mahoney discusses the millions of people around the world who continue to rely directly on wild resources for food and livelihoods, and why he believes sustainable, regulated harvest should be considered alongside other approaches to food production and conservation.

And ultimately, the conversation returns to Colorado.

The Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish is discussed not simply as a question for hunters and anglers, but as a question about wildlife management, science, public trust, outdoor recreation, food, conservation funding and how Colorado manages its wildlife for future generations.

If you're a Colorado voter who doesn't hunt or fish, this episode is an opportunity to hear the history, philosophy and arguments surrounding Amendment 83 directly and consider how those ideas relate to the wildlife and outdoor experiences you value.

Listen before you vote. Learn what the issue actually says. Consider the different perspectives. Then make your own informed decision.