Mike Brasher
DUPodcast Science Host
Appears in 170 Episodes
RELOADED EP224 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 12: AHM – Learning, Legacy, and Influence
In this concluding episode about the implementation of Adaptive Harvest Management, Dr. Jim Nichols and Dr. Mike Brasher discuss the importance of population data, ban...
Duck Science at Scale: AI, Satellites & the Future of Conservation (Ep 776)
Waterfowl science is entering a new era — and Ducks Unlimited is right in the middle of it.In this episode, host Dr. Mike Brasher is joined by co‑host Dr. Jerad Henson...
RELOADED EP223 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 11: AHM – Alternative Hypotheses and Optimal Decisions
Is duck harvest mortality additive or compensatory? Is duck production strongly or weakly density dependent? Which habitat features most influence duck production? And...
Seeing Beyond the Duck: Conservation at Scale in the Great Lakes & Atlantic Region (Ep 773)
The Great Lakes and Atlantic Region may be Ducks Unlimited’s largest and most diverse — and it’s where conservation relevance is helping drive growth in habitat delive...
People Still Matter: Conservation Policy, Advocacy & the Power of Relationships (Ep 772)
Conservation isn’t just about habitat — it’s about people, relationships, and showing up when decisions are being made.In this episode, host Dr. Mike Brasher sits down...
RELOADED EP220 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 10: AHM – Champions, Objectives, and Regulations
Dr. Jim Nichols rejoins the DU Podcast to share stories about early champions of Adaptive Harvest Management and how they promoted it as a better way of setting harves...
The Duck Factory: Grasslands, Easements & Why Permanence Matters (Ep 771)
If North America’s duck populations are the engine of waterfowl hunting, the Prairie Pothole Region is its factory—and keeping that factory running requires permanence...
RELOADED EP219 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 9: An Intro to Adaptive Harvest Management
Concern for waterfowl populations and frustration with the status quo of duck harvest management in the late 80s stimulated new ideas for setting annual regulations an...
Southern Region Conservation: Wetlands, Water Control & the Future of Duck Habitat (Ep 768)
Ducks Unlimited’s work in the Southern United States is complex, diverse, and more critical than ever.In this episode, host Dr. Mike Brasher continues the regional con...
RELOADED EP217 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 8: Adapting to Change, 1970s to the 1990s
The ideas of “fair” and “equitable” in harvest distribution have been a challenging undercurrent for regulatory decisions over the years. Dale Humburg and Ken Babcock ...
Water in the West: Snowpack, Alaska, and Duck Conservation (Ep 766)
Water drives everything in the western United States — and right now, it’s increasingly scarce.In this episode, Ducks Unlimited's senior waterfowl scientist, Dr. Mike ...
RELOADED EP216 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 7: Stabilized Harvest Analyses & The NAWMP
The 1970s and 80s brought a flurry of activity, including early teal seasons, stabilized regulations, foundational analyses of compensatory vs. additive mortality, new...
RELOADED EP210 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 6: Biology, People & Debates Produce Solid Foundations
Threats of a closed season in the Mississippi Flyway in 1968 led to intense disagreement, restrictive regulations, and amplified the challenges of managing the resourc...
RELOADED EP209 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 5: Conventional Wisdom Gives Way to Data
With growing band recoveries and a newly implemented Breeding Population and Habitat Survey, waterfowl managers in the 1950s sought a more science-based understanding ...
RELOADED EP205 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 4: Post War Pioneers & Flyway Information
World War II brought global upheaval in the 1940s and caused a redirection of national priorities and placed a temporary pause on regulatory and conservation momentum ...
Prairie Habitat Update & Spring Migration Timing with Dr. Scott Stephens (Ep 760)
Ducks are heading north, and we’re getting the first hints of what breeding habitat may look like this spring.DU's senior waterfowl scientist, Dr. Mike Brasher, sits d...
RELOADED EP204 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 3: Growing Pain & Progress
Into the 1920s, the Federal government endured growing pains in its new-found regulatory responsibilities for waterfowl harvest. Then, the 1930s brought a Dust Bowl, G...
Spring Habitat Matters: Waterfowl Management Academy on Better Wetlands for Ducks (Ep 758)
Spring is one of the most important—and most overlooked—periods in the waterfowl annual cycle. In this episode, host Dr. Mike Brasher sits down with the creators of Wa...
RELOADED EP200 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 2: - The Migratory Bird Treaty Act
Following legal challenges to early attempts at Federal protection of migratory birds, policy makers and conservation leaders sought alternative avenues for establishi...
RELOADED EP199 - Waterfowl Harvest Management Series, Part 1: The Early Days
At the turn of the 19th Century, market hunting and unregulated harvest was taking a toll on waterfowl and other migratory birds. Growing concern produced the first at...
