Conservation Isn't Convenient
Here's the latest dispatch.
Good evening,
For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.
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Quick Thoughts of the Week
You’ll want a lump of coal for Christmas this year. Learn more at IWF Center for Energy and Conservation.
Several of my dear friends had share-worthy milestones: Lyndsey Fifield gave birth to her second child, a beautiful daughter named Evie, and Anang Mittal is back on the Hill as head of digital for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
My good friend/collaborator, Madison Hughes, who is a talented singer in her own right, released the raw version of her cover of Morgan Wallen’s song “I Deserve a Drink.”
This week, Rep. Mike Flood will introduce a resolution to nullify any adoption of the UN FAO global food systems roadmap to phase out meat consumption.
And I’m heading to New Mexico - my first time there - to deliver this keynote address.
That’s a wrap for this past week. Stay tuned for this Friday’s update!
Conservation Isn’t Convenient & My Dad’s First Hunt
Last week, I returned to the Congressional Western Caucus to brief staffers about the dangers of Natural Asset Companies (NACs) alongside American Stewards of Liberty Executive Director Margaret Byfield.
Shortly afterwards, I drove off to Dewey Beach, Delaware, to soak in conservation policy at the 20th Annual Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation NASC Summit at the Hyatt Place Dewey Beach. The summit coincided with Delaware’s birthday - December 7, 1787 - too. Delaware might be the home of our current President, whom I’m not a fan of, but it’s beautiful and a nice backdrop for a winter conference.
I went merely as a participant on behalf of IWF to learn the latest from state legislatures, reacquaint myself with top issues, and network with NGO representatives and sportsmen-legislators. I also reconnected with long-lost conservation policy friends, befriended social media ones, and recorded an episode of CSF’s podcast The Sportsmen’s Voice with Fred Bird.
Event organizers arranged for us to do some outdoor field trips—including a visit to Owens Station Sporting Clays—where we got a wild game cooking demo, did some trap-and-skeet, and learned more about trapping. And the hotel cuisine, including scallop dish below, was off-the hook.
On Friday, I was scheduled to do a post-conference trapping field trip, but had work calls to do and to prep for our deer hunt on Saturday, December 9th.
You might have seen me post on social media about Saturday’s deer hunt - one sans deer. Hunting trips are usually defined by a harvest, but don’t always have to be.
What was so special about this recent hunt, despite having tag soup, was sharing the experience with my dad and our friend Will Estrada. My dad, as you may be aware, hasn’t really hunted before—until this weekend. He has field dressed meat back in Lithuania many moons ago, but never sat in a blind or handled a bolt-action rifle. While we weren’t fruitful, we saw plenty of wildlife and not-so wildlife and got a little hiking in.
My dad introduced me to fishing, so it was a matter of time I introduced him to hunting and return the favor. It’s safe to say we have a new hunter in the Hoffman family.
Our hunting saga doesn’t end today. It’ll endure and persist. Stay tuned to see if we get another opportunity to harvest some whitetail deer this season!
ICYMI
Articles/commentary/media appearances from the past week.
MEDIA MENTIONS
I appeared on OANN on behalf of CFACT to discuss COP28 craziness and appeared on The Randy Tobler in STL for IWF to discuss Christmas coal and latest update from our Center for Energy and Conservation.
ARTICLES/BLOGS
Townhall: Three COP28 Updates to Be Concerned About
Washington Examiner: Massachusetts rideshare drivers fight to remain independent
IWF: UN Climate Summit Pushes Controversial Net-Zero Food Plan
IWF: This Christmas, Ask Santa For Coal
District of Conservation
Catch up on District of Conservation episodes below.
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—Gabriella