Wildlife Management Institute

09/29/2026

What does it take to bring a new generation of hunters and anglers into the outdoors, especially from communities that have historically been shut out, left out, or simply never invited in? In Season 3, Episode 21 of Connecting with Conservation, co-hosts Jon Gassett of the Wildlife Management Institute and Jim Curcuruto of the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation sit down with Eric Morris, founder of Black Wolf Hunting Club and Non-Typical Outdoorsmen, a Georgia-based hunter, Army veteran, and one of conservation's most candid and committed voices on diversity, recruitment, and retention in the outdoors. Eric retired from the Army as a Major in 2016 after three combat tours, two to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, and asked himself one question: what would he do for the rest of his life whether he got paid or not? The answer was teaching people to hunt. He has been doing it ever since, and his approach is as no-nonsense as his military background would suggest.

The conversation covers the full arc of Eric's journey, from founding Black Wolf Hunting Club in 2010 to launching Non-Typical Outdoorsmen TV on the Pursuit Channel, growing that show to nearly 75,000 viewing households before cable's decline forced it into hiatus, and now delivering hunter education workshops, fi***rm safety classes for kids as young as five, and mentored hunts across the Southeast and beyond. Eric and Jon dig into one of the most important and underappreciated debates in the R3 space, whether to recruit kids or adults first, and Eric makes a compelling, experience-backed case that reaching parents first is the key to unlocking generational change. He also reflects candidly on the history that has kept many Black Americans out of the woods, the perception barriers that remain, and why he refuses to let those barriers be an excuse.

This is not a polished, politically careful conversation. It is honest, direct, and sometimes uncomfortable in exactly the way that productive conversations about conservation's future need to be. Eric Morris has been walking this walk for nearly 16 years, and the ripple effects of his work, from Darrell Smith's Minority Outdoor Alliance to Ivan Ford teaching his eight-year-old son to hunt, are the proof. This episode is sponsored by OpticsPlanet.

For more information, find us at:
• Wildlife Management Institute: https://wildlifemanagement.institute
• Outdoor Stewards of Conservation: https://stewardsofconservation.org
• Non-Typical Outdoorsmen: https://www.facebook.com/EricN.T.OMorris
• Optics Planet: https://www.opticsplanet.com

09/29/2026

In this episode of Connecting with Conservation, hosts Jon Gassett and Jim Curcuruto welcome Mark Horobetz, Manager of National R3 Programs for Ducks Unlimited. Mark traces the origins of DU's youth engagement strategy from the moment research revealed a critical gap between the Greenwing program (ages 11 and under) and the collegiate chapter program, with high school-age youth falling through the cracks entirely. Since joining DU in 2013 as its first dedicated youth hire, Mark has helped grow a national infrastructure that now includes roughly 130 collegiate chapters, the Varsity high school program, 61 annual scholarships totaling $45,000, a staff of seven regional youth engagement coordinators, and an organizational culture that is seeing a significant increase in female volunteer leadership.

Mark walks the hosts through two standout initiatives. The TRAC program (Team Resource Assistance Program) leverages DU's corporate buying power to help youth shooting sports teams run local fundraisers, netting an average of $7,000 per team with 100% of proceeds retained. Third Turn, DU's annual collegiate leadership summit in Memphis, brings together 350 students from more than 100 chapters for conservation education, business development, public policy training, and the peer-to-peer mentoring Mark credits as DU's most powerful R3 tool. The conversation also covers DU's "Conservation for a Continent" campaign, which surpassed its $3 billion goal by a full billion, and what that milestone means for wetlands and clean water across North America.

For more information, please check us out at:
Wildlife Management Institute — https://wildlifemanagement.institute
Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation — https://outdoorstewards.org
Ducks Unlimited — https://ducks.org

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07/14/2026

In this episode of Connecting with Conservation, hosts Jon Gassett and Jim Curcuruto welcome Mark Horobetz, Manager of National R3 Programs for Ducks Unlimited. Mark traces the origins of DU's youth engagement strategy from the moment research revealed a critical gap between the Greenwing program (ages 11 and under) and the collegiate chapter program, with high school-age youth falling through the cracks entirely. Since joining DU in 2013 as its first dedicated youth hire, Mark has helped grow a national infrastructure that now includes roughly 130 collegiate chapters, the Varsity high school program, 61 annual scholarships totaling $45,000, a staff of seven regional youth engagement coordinators, and an organizational culture that is seeing a significant increase in female volunteer leadership.

Mark walks the hosts through two standout initiatives. The TRAC program (Team Resource Assistance Program) leverages DU's corporate buying power to help youth shooting sports teams run local fundraisers, netting an average of $7,000 per team with 100% of proceeds retained. Third Turn, DU's annual collegiate leadership summit in Memphis, brings together 350 students from more than 100 chapters for conservation education, business development, public policy training, and the peer-to-peer mentoring Mark credits as DU's most powerful R3 tool. The conversation also covers DU's "Conservation for a Continent" campaign, which surpassed its $3 billion goal by a full billion, and what that milestone means for wetlands and clean water across North America.

For more information, please check us out at:
Wildlife Management Institute — https://wildlifemanagement.institute
Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation — https://outdoorstewards.org
Ducks Unlimited — https://ducks.org

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In this episode of Connecting with Conservation, hosts Jon Gassett ...

07/14/2026

In this episode of Connecting with Conservation, hosts Jon Gassett ...

07/08/2026

07/08/2026

07/08/2026

06/09/2026

What does it take to bring a new generation of hunters and anglers ...

06/08/2026

What does it take to bring a new generation of hunters and anglers into the outdoors, especially from communities that have historically been shut out, left out, or simply never invited in? In Season 3, Episode 21 of Connecting with Conservation, co-hosts Jon Gassett of the Wildlife Management Institute and Jim Curcuruto of the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation sit down with Eric Morris, founder of Black Wolf Hunting Club and Non-Typical Outdoorsmen, a Georgia-based hunter, Army veteran, and one of conservation's most candid and committed voices on diversity, recruitment, and retention in the outdoors. Eric retired from the Army as a Major in 2016 after three combat tours, two to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, and asked himself one question: what would he do for the rest of his life whether he got paid or not? The answer was teaching people to hunt. He has been doing it ever since, and his approach is as no-nonsense as his military background would suggest.

The conversation covers the full arc of Eric's journey, from founding Black Wolf Hunting Club in 2010 to launching Non-Typical Outdoorsmen TV on the Pursuit Channel, growing that show to nearly 75,000 viewing households before cable's decline forced it into hiatus, and now delivering hunter education workshops, fi***rm safety classes for kids as young as five, and mentored hunts across the Southeast and beyond. Eric and Jon dig into one of the most important and underappreciated debates in the R3 space, whether to recruit kids or adults first, and Eric makes a compelling, experience-backed case that reaching parents first is the key to unlocking generational change. He also reflects candidly on the history that has kept many Black Americans out of the woods, the perception barriers that remain, and why he refuses to let those barriers be an excuse.

This is not a polished, politically careful conversation. It is honest, direct, and sometimes uncomfortable in exactly the way that productive conversations about conservation's future need to be. Eric Morris has been walking this walk for nearly 16 years, and the ripple effects of his work, from Darrell Smith's Minority Outdoor Alliance to Ivan Ford teaching his eight-year-old son to hunt, are the proof. This episode is sponsored by OpticsPlanet.

For more information, find us at:
• Wildlife Management Institute: https://wildlifemanagement.institute
• Outdoor Stewards of Conservation: https://stewardsofconservation.org
• Non-Typical Outdoorsmen: https://www.facebook.com/EricN.T.OMorris
• Optics Planet: https://www.opticsplanet.com

What does it take to bring a new generation of hunters and anglers ...