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I took my third antelope in Southeastern Wyoming in October 2024. I brought back larger, primal cuts for steaks and roasts. There was also plenty of grind meat left over. The dilemma was how to prepare it. I wanted to choose something other than burger for such a fantastic animal. That set me to thinking…what could be done with the venison scraps?
So the fabled hunting trip out west for mule deer has made it out of the group chat, and you are ready to start packing. The whole group is excited but you are more nervous as the trip becomes real. You have only hunted Ducks and Whitetails your entire life in the woods and waters of the Eastern United States. So you get online and instantly are overwhelmed with knowledge. Have no fear, here are the key points to focus on as you prepare to head out west.
Katie was born and raised in NE Kansas with a passion for the outdoors and wildlife. She followed this passion in her educational career, graduating from Benedictine College with a bachelor’s in biology and then completing her master’s degree at the University of Kansas in ecology and evolutionary biology. She worked for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources for two years working with private landowners to further conservation of land and wildlife habitat.
What’s better than a big old bowl of steaming phở? The meatiness, the herbaceousness, the spiciness, the slipperiness of rice noodles?
Sometimes though, you don’t really feel like a huge bowl of soup, or maybe you don’t feel like spending hours creating a perfectly balanced phở broth.
What if I told you that you could have your cake and eat it too?
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“The only thing that could improve it would be seeing a big ol’ boar,” I said after the elk had disappeared into the spruce forest. Billy and I stepped back onto the road in high spirits. As we slowly still hunted our way along, I suddenly felt something. Apparently, Billy thought it, too. When I turned around to see what had the hair on my neck standing at attention, he was turning back towards me wide-eyed.
As many hunters and conservationists know, in certain states winter survival for mule deer is essential to keeping the population at its objectives. Therefore, it makes sense why states wildlife managers collect this vital information year after year. In fact, winter survival and post winter population counts are vital to MDF’s prioritization of where it can focus its conservation efforts in coordination with state agencies.
Ella Hartshorn is a spatial ecologist who explores how wildlife navigate ever-changing landscapes and increasing human pressures using remote sensing and geospatial analyses. Raised in rural western Colorado, she grew up immersed in the daily intersections of human and wildlife activity—from waking to deer in the backyard to helping trap prairie dogs in agricultural fields. These formative experiences sparked her dedication to understanding and improving how humans and wildlife share space and resources.
Inspired by the Turkish dumpling dishes I encountered in Istanbul that feature dumplings served with garlic-spiked yogurt and chili oil.
Turkey hunting may not have the appeal of 100-plus pounds of meat in the freezer and a set of antlers on your wall that mule deer hunting does. Still, the spring season makes it an essential time of year to better prepare yourself for success in the fall. If you found success filing last year’s mule deer tag in the early days of the season, It’s been almost six months since you went on a hunting trip. I don’t mean a day hunt or driving around forest roads to fill a B tag. I mean a real hunting camp out in the wilderness. Turkey season can be a great time to break out all the gear that I’m sure you put away in an organized fashion last fall and make sure everything is still in good working order.
I’m excited to share another Goñi González family recipe with the Mule Deer Foundation, adapted to use ground venison instead of the traditional beef or pork. Growing up, my great-aunt often prepared these albondigas (Spanish-style meatballs) for me, and they quickly became one of my favorite comidas. I would eagerly race home from school whenever I knew they were on the lunch menu.
Oak woodlands are an important ecosystem type for the long-term health and sustainability of our black-tailed deer herds throughout much of their range in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Black-tailed deer need a variety of habitats to thrive, but oak woodlands are one of the most important. Typically, a healthy oak woodland is made up of an overstory dominated by mature oak trees with enough space between them to allow sufficient light to reach the ground. The most common types are white oak, blue oak, black oak, valley oak, or one of several varieties of live oak.
Mushrooms are at once familiar and mysterious. Anyone who spends time outdoors is sooner or later going to run into these fruiting bodies of fungi. For many, mushrooms need no introduction. Childhood storybooks with pictures of toadstools colored bright red with flecks of white are familiar to all. Perhaps equally common are the experiences of a hiker or hunter coming across a mushroom in the woods. Most folks, without any special training, can tell with a reasonably high degree of accuracy if they are looking at a mushroom rather than a plant, and yet I’d venture to guess that many would be hard-pressed to name more than a handful of species.
That’s right I said cattail, you know the things growing in your local park or swamp. Now lets be clear it is KEY to pick these from clean water early in the spring (around morel mushroom time) Just pull up a young cattail, from the base. Trim all the excess green leaves until you are left with the tender inner core, similar to fresh hearts of palm or baby artichokes, which could easily be substituted in this recipe
The Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) is seeking applicants for one Project Manager to assist with habitat projects on the USFS lands. This position is a full-time, field- based, position that will help deliver the mission of MDF on USFS lands. This is a term, 2-year position with the possibility of extension based on funding.