Monthly Archives: September 2020

Episode 18: A Campfire Chat with Mike Cravens

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Hi everyone and welcome!  For Episode Eighteen, we travel to Arizona to talk with Michael Cravens.  Mike and I go waaaay back, and we’ve spent time in the field together in a number of cool places, and had a number of interesting conversations around various campfires (hence the episode title).  Mike and his wife Mary are from Missouri but have lived out in AZ for a number of years now, and it was good for me to chat with my old friend and catch up.

Along with talking herps, I also heard about Mike’s work with the Arizona Wildlife Federation, and a couple of his side interests, including Hunt To Eat.  Here’s a link to an article Mike wrote for HTE – “A Life Defined By Wild Places”, which I think you will find interesting. I am also including a YouTube link to “Wild Game Big Mac Challenge”, where Mike takes on the infamous hamburger using a pound or two of elk.  That was fun Mike!  You’re a natural and it was great to see the kids in there.  And now I want an Big Elk Mac!

Mike is also involved with BackCountry Hunters and Anglers – which I didn’t know much about, but I enjoyed looking through their website and there’s a lot of interesting material there.  If you’re a hunter or angler and you haven’t already checked BHA out, take a look!.

Thanks for coming on the show, Mike!  Good to talk with you again.  And thanks for listening, everyone!  And don’t forget, the podcast will be taking a two week hiatus after this episode, while I do some traveling.  In the meantime, please keep the comments and suggestions coming!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions. game cooking, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike

 

 

 

Episode 17: Toadally Priya: A Conversation with Priya Nanjappa

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Hello everyone and welcome!  Episode Seventeen features my conversation with Priya Nanjappa (photo courtesy of Kevin Urbanek).  Among other things, Priya spent ten years with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), and served as the state agencies coordinator for Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC), and she currently serves as one of the commissioners on the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. During our conversation, we got into the nuts and bolts of wildlife conservation, and we also talked about the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, which should be of interest to anyone who enjoys herps (or any wildlife, for that matter). From Rep Dingell’s press release: “RAWA is the most signification investment in wildlife and habitat conservation in a generation. The bill would dedicate roughly $1.4 billion to the Wildlife Conservation Restoration Program for proactive, voluntary efforts led by the states, territories and tribal nations to prevent vulnerable wildlife from becoming endangered.”  That’s 1.4 billion EVERY YEAR, folks.

On another note, you all should know that So Much Pingle is not Priya’s first podcast rodeo – we also talked about her guest appearance (as it were) on Alie Ward’s Ologies podcast, where the subject was “Bufology”. You can listen to the Ologies toad episode on your favorite podcast platform. You can also follow Priya on twitter (@toadallypriya) and on Instagram (wildbeautifulworld).

Thanks for coming on the show, Priya, and hanging in there while we worked through some technical difficulties!  And thanks for listening, everyone!  Please keep the comments and suggestions coming!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions. toad therapy, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike