The Host of Fresh Tracks Offers Fresh Ideas on Advocacy and Access

Randy Newberg is one of the most trusted and strategic voices in the sportsman conservation world, and he’s got stories to prove it. In this episode, Randy joins Bill and Anders for a wide-ranging, funny, and deeply personal conversation that moves from his childhood hunting on public lands in northern Minnesota to testifying before Congress and building a media platform to fight for the places that fed and shaped him.

He shares how growing up with limited means made public lands essential—not just for food, but for stability, identity, and survival—and why that experience drives everything he does today. They dig into the overlooked role that hunters and anglers have played in building and funding the American conservation system, and what it’s going to take to protect that system in the face of growing threats.

Along the way, Randy gets real about the myth of political neutrality, the importance of bipartisan action, and why it’s not enough to just post about it. Real advocacy means showing up, speaking out, and educating the next generation.

This one is for anyone who believes that wild places matter, and that defending them means telling better stories, finding unlikely allies, and standing up for what you stand on.

Today, we explore:

• Randy’s personal story of growing up hunting and foraging on public land
• How public lands became his grocery store, classroom, and refuge
• The Pittman-Robertson Act and how hunters fund conservation
• Public land literacy in Congress—and why it’s dangerously low
• Why BLM lands matter just as much as national parks
• Political strategy, cross-partisan advocacy, and the new public lands caucus
• The difference between performative politics and real action
• How Randy uses storytelling to build trust and shift culture

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at thewildidea.com.

Resources and mentions from today’s episode:

Find Randy’s work:

• Fresh Tracks (YouTube)
• Hunt Talk Radio

In Today’s Episode:

• Pittman-Robertson Act (USFWS)
• Land and Water Conservation Fund
• Public Lands Caucus (co-chaired by Rep. Gabe Vasquez and Rep. Ryan Zinke)
• Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Randy Newberg has spent the last seventeen years hosting his popular hunting TV shows, podcasts, and other digital media platforms, all focused on self-guided public land hunting in the Western United States. Randy currently distributes video content on his YouTube channel Randy Newberg, Hunter and via his proprietary video platform Fresh Tracks+ with his team of seven creative employees.

Randy’s podcast, Hunt Talk Radio – Randy Newberg Unfiltered is a companion to his wildly (pun intended) popular web forum, HuntTalk.com. Randy is co-host of the Elk Talk Podcast with Corey Jacobsen.

Randy grew up in northern Minnesota, graduating from college in Reno in 1988, where he got his first taste of the open vastness of the west and started his path of advocating for public lands, access, and conservation.

Wild places and wild animals are what drives Randy in his advocacy for hunters and the public lands of America. His platforms are designed to show average hunters the remarkable public land experiences that are available for the price of a tag, the gas to get there, and the effort invested.
Randy lives in Bozeman, Montana with his wife, Kim, where he volunteers for many national and regional conservation groups. When not hunting, Randy and Kim spend the summer traveling the high plains in search of western walleyes.

If you believe in the power of public lands and the people who speak up for them, help us keep these conversations going. Subscribe to The Wild Idea wherever you get your podcasts, leave us a rating or review, and share this episode with a friend who cares about the future of our wild places. You can also sign up for our newsletter at thewildidea.com for behind-the-scenes updates, links to action, and more ways to get involved.