I this episode, I interview Dave Stalling, writer and wildlife advocate based in Missoula, Montana. Dave recounts his time serving in Marine Corps Force Recon, struggling for years with self-acceptance, and finding his footing by spending long periods alone in remote Montana wildlands, influenced by Doug Peacock’s Grizzly Years and writers like Edward Abbey and Jack Turner. Dave explains his deep connection to grizzlies as teachers of humility, and critiques how modern hunting culture, commercialization, and hunter-dominated agencies use “science” to justify politically driven predator killing and maximizing harvest of game animals. Dave argues wildlife management should include all citizens, discusses ballot initiatives, and shares how hiking with his son Cory, who has a muscular disease, taught him to slow down, notice small details, and practice “forest bathing.”
https://substack.com/@davidstalling
Doug Peacock’s Grizzly Years
Jack Turner’s The Abstract Wild
01:47 Meet David Stalling
03:27 Gray Hair Hypocrisy
05:21 Force Recon Self Acceptance
08:32 Father Roots in Wild
12:53 Grizzlies Teach Humility
16:43 Hunting Culture Critique
17:32 Anti Hunter Who Hunts
25:20 Science Versus Politics
27:03 Elk Bears Misused Science
34:59 Commercialized Hunting Takeover
37:51 Conservation Groups Letdown
38:51 Reforming Wildlife Management
40:33 Ballot Initiatives vs Science
45:31 Calling Out Hunter Culture
47:54 How Dave Learned to Write
53:05 Lessons From Cory
58:18 Rethinking Wild Places
01:03:56 Forest Bathing and Healing
01:07:17 Public Lands Are Everything
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