Project Upland

This story originally appeared in the fall 2025 issue of Project Upland Magazine. Hunters on horseback following packs of hounds is as old as the hills, right? And American field trials have always been about handlers and judges on horseback following the best bird dogs in the land, right? Well, not exactly. Sure, dogs have been helping hunters put meat on the table for over 15,000 years, but for the first 10,000 of those years, horses were among the hunter’s favorite quarries.

This article originally appeared in the winter 2024 issue of Project Upland Magazine. “Birder” isn’t a label I’ve ever applied to myself. However, if I put a little thought into it, I realize that birds have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Before I could read, I memorized every bird in a children’s edition of a Peterson field guide, so proud to recite the names my parents read to me.

$39.99 Dr. Joe Spoo, also known as the Gun Dog Doc, is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Known for his online courses in canine emergencies and first aid, Dr. Spoo presents his first book, Field Medicine for Outdoor Dogs: Real-World Emergency and Preventive Care for Working, Hunting, and Adventuring Dogs.

Even if you’ve never spent time sitting on a field edge scanning the sky for mourning doves (bless your heart), you probably have a picture in your mind of what the average dove hunt looks like. That’s especially true this time of year, when all the big brands in the hunting space are falling over themselves making sure we know that they know what dove hunting is all about.

This film is presented by Weatherby and OnX Hunt. For Dr. Dave Dahlgren, hunting and wildlife science have never been separate pursuits. They are part of the same legacy—and the same responsibility to understand and conserve wild birds and the landscapes they depend on. In the mountains of Utah, the Utah State University wildlife and rangeland specialist has spent years studying dusky grouse, a bird traditionally thought of as a forest grouse.

As shown in Project Upland’s Annual Community Survey, there are many reasons why people hunt upland birds. Some hunt for the dogs, others for cultural or familial traditions, and many for the adventure and the opportunity to spend more time in wild places. For most bird hunters, the appeal is a blend of all these things. Each year, the survey helps paint a clearer picture of the upland hunting community, including the game birds we pursue, how often we hunt, and where we spend our time afield.

In this episode, Dr. Lance McNew, Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Montana State University, takes Gabby and AJ behind the scenes of modern game bird research. From sharp-tailed grouse and habitat management to Pittman-Robertson and the realities of securing research grants, Dr. McNew explains how science informs wildlife management—and how the way we fund that science can shape the questions researchers are able to answer.

This ruffed grouse recipe combines wild game with morel mushrooms, stinging nettles, feta, herbs, and flaky phyllo pastry in a skillet version of Greek spanakopita. It’s a savory wild game pie built around ingredients gathered from the northern hardwoods but inspired by a Mediterranean tradition of cooking with seasonal wild greens. The Mediterranean diet has become one of those things that exists in a strange middle ground between nutritional science and lifestyle influencer branding.

This article was originally published in the summer 2026 issue of Project Upland Magazine. Each year, approximately five million public land hunters put their leather boots in Eastern forests and on Western sands, or don rubber boots to trudge through Gulf Coast gumbo mud. They have this opportunity because it is guaranteed by America’s Bill of Rights. It was not a simple or easy journey.

If you mention the state of Iowa to any bird hunter, one thing instantly comes to mind: pheasants. Iowa is known for its incredible ring-necked pheasant hunting, and this should come as no surprise given the state is a major agricultural producer with a robust hunting culture. In 2025, the 100th year of pheasant hunting in Iowa, the state’s pheasant population reached a 20-year high. To put that in perspective, in a good year, hunters shoot an estimated 500,000 roosters.