Ep. 903: Stranded Whales, Cattle-Killing Wolves, and Maine Cleans Up Its Act
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Did you hear Phelps has teamed up with a bunch of other high-end brands to do the Ultimate Elk Giveaway? Anyone who is 18 or older can sign up to win an amazing gear package that includes a new rifle or bow along with great supporting gear. The winner will pick their rifle package or archery package. For every $25 spent, you get 10 additional entries. The sign-ups end July 26th. at phelpsgamecalls.com welcome to the news show everybody today we've got news about my unfortunate regrettable criminal past damn removals in maine stranded whales on the pacific coast anti-buffalo politicians are generally winning but they suffered a minor setback. And you've heard of earn a buck. Well, welcome to earn a second buck.
And you won't believe this one. Wolves eat cows. But first, our news. And to open up our news, we have a special guest here. The special guest's name is John Jersic. He is a retired Michigan conservation officer. Some folks call them game wardens, but in Michigan, they call them conservation officers. And I got to give some background here. We're going back in time to around 93, or my guess would be 93 or 1994. I was parked in my truck on Manistee National Forest, where Cedar Creek crosses underneath M120, checking mink traps. In behind me pulls a game warden, a conservation officer. He gets out. We're talking. He asked me, have you been setting snares? Which alarmed me because I had. And they were illegal in that area.
And it wasn't my fault. I'll explain how it wasn't my fault. I'll explain right now. There was a game. There was a fur buyer named Abe Salasina.
What happened during Steve Rinella’s run-in with a conservation officer in the 1990s?
And I would sell some fur to Abe Salasina. And Abe Salasina would always be pushing snares on you. When the snow got deep, A, B, you know what guys do in other areas is they set these stairs and the fur keeps coming in all winter. So it wasn't my fault. But it was very alarming to me. And I lied. I lied. This is all terrible. This is all terrible. I'm just being upfront about my behavior. I lied. And then the game warden, the conservation officer, goes to my annoyance, goes through every trap in my truck. Checking the tags. You're legally obligated to have a tag on there. Checks them all. We converse. He leaves. Now, I have written about this. I've talked about it. I told the story. A couple weeks ago, my good friend from back home, Ronnie Bame, is talking to a retired conservation officer.
The retired conservation officer, knowing where Ronnie's from, though he's from the same Twin Lake, asked him, do you know a guy? Steve Rinella, who I checked for whatever back in 1994. And I thought to myself, why in the world is this on this man's mind now? Ronnie suggested I ask him. Here he is. Thank you for coming on the show 30 years later.
Well, Well, I'm glad we've had this chance to sit down and talk, and I'll tell you, even though it's been a long time, you're going to feel a lot better getting this off your chest.
I've gotten it off my chest. I just need to hear it from your perspective, because at the time I didn't ask you what you're thinking and what you're doing. Walk me through your recollection of this.
Well, it's interesting that you know how you get caught with a snapshot, in your brain of a spot, you know, in a, in a, an incident or a time. I can see that. I can picture, you know, that was always a good spot. You know, there was a sand trap there and you could work trout fish right along that piece of ground and it would get trapped a little bit too. Right.
Everybody, everybody said make traps there.
Right. Right. Real common spot. And it's right along a busy road. Yeah. So anyways, and you know, I've been there of course, dozens and dozens of times in my career when I worked around here. And I can't remember, you know, what, you know, I think we approached this incident from two different perspectives. I may have simply just, hey, here's a guy trapping, right? I'm going to check him. And then going through traps and mentioning about snaring. The bottom line, the end to this whole story is I was clueless that you had any snares.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:13
2
What happened during Steve Rinella’s run-in with a conservation officer in the 1990s?
2:13–1:03:15
3
How do the hosts debate whether drake mallards actually “quack”?
1:03:15–1:17:43
4
What items and highlights are featured in the MeatEater Auction House fundraiser?
1:17:43–1:52:46
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from The MeatEater Podcast
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Ep. 929: Game On, Suckers! MeatEater Trivia CCXXXIII
Introducing: Gunfighters, with Bryan Burrough
Ep. 928: The Wreck of the Mentor
Ep. 927: Brent's Manitoba Moose Hunt | 12 in '26
Ep. 926: Suppressor Rules Change, Hangry Bears, Oil Worker Wins 100 Cooks, and More!