If you don't know Blake Podhajsky, Immediate Past President of ACI, you've been hiding under a rock. Blake has been a presence at the Association for Conservation Information for more than a decade now, and his recent two-year stint as president of the association resulted in a revamped conference planning process, a new association logo and a brand-new website. Blake has become a good friend to me over our years together in the association, and I thought it would be fun to poke around the areas of his life many of you may not know much about to hopefully reveal a bit about who Blake is, his vision for ACI and where he thinks we're going in the future. And if you are a fan of good practical jokes, stay tuned for a good one from ACI friend and mainstay, Eli Garnish.

If you have podcast topic ideas for me, please contact me at Timothy.A.Akimoff@odfw.oregon.gov

The 2025 Association for Conservation Information Conference will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey July 21-24, and The Outdoor Communicators Podcast caught up with Linda DiPiano, supervising biologist with the Bueau of Information & Education at New Jersey Department of Environmental Protect Fish and Wildlife.

Please see this link for more information and to register for this year's conference.

Graphic design is a big part of communicating conservation, and even though it's a visual art, it often takes place behind the scenes in a busy communication team setting. Smokey Solis is the graphic designer for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, and like many of us, he wears many hats and has other duties as assigned, but it all comes back to good design. Smokey talked with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Tim Akimoff, host of the Outdoor Communicators Podcast, about how he got started in graphic design for a conservation agency and about what good design means to a team of people working together to convey many complicated aspects of fish and wildlife management. They migtht also have touched on tinned fish and tea, as Smokey and Tim share many affinities for fine tasting things and great design.

Questions about graphic design in conservation communication? Please feel free to reach out directly to Smokey Solis about those.

Smokey Solis

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation -

1801 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
(405) 522-4028
smokey.solis@odwc.ok.gov

Invasive species are an increasing concern everywhere and a challenge for conservation communicators. The Hawaiian islands are next level when it comes to the challenges of dealing with invasive species and communicating to the local audience as well as the millions of tourists who visit the popular islands every year. Hawaii DNLR's Senior Communication Manager, Dan Dennison, spent some time talking with Tim Akimoff about communicating around invasive species at last year's ACI Conference in Virginia.

For a quick look at some of the many invasive species in Hawaii, please visit this link.

Do you work for a fish and wildlife agency, and have you ever wondered what life is like at a Department of Natural Resources, which might encompass many agencies under one roof? You're not alone. This podcast host (Tim) has forever been curious about the differences between fish and wildlife agencies and Departments of Natural Resources in terms of communications.

I sat down with Jess Brown, social media coordinator at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and Brent Drinkut, a photographer for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, way back in July when we were all in Virginia together.

If you're new to conservation communication or looking for work in the conservation communication realm, I hope you find this episode helpful or at least an interesting look at how different communications can be depending on what type of agency you might work for.

If you attended the annual ACI Conference in Roslyn, Virginia in July, 2024, then there's a good chance you saw us make this episode on stage in front of a live audience. Jason Harmon, Communications Manager for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and Emily McCabe, Information and Education Director for the Maine Department of Fisheries and wildlife guest-starred on this episode and filled in for co-host Ashley Zeme. Our discussion centered around some of the aspects of starting a podcast, types of podcasts, generating podcast ideas. It also features listener questions about podcasting equipment and setting expectations.

Show Notes:

Want to see what a video podcast looks like? Check out The Tennessee WildCast, hosted by Jason Harmon - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrHYtWwg-24DbLVeV480kL67gkTXN-ygc&si=aReZKC_hhcaRSZcy

Check out the podcasts that Emily McCabe produces and hosts for the Maine Department of Fisheries and Wildlife -

Fish + Game Changers

Private for Public

Or check out the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Beaver State Podcast.

The Outdoor Communicators Podcast hosts Ashley Zeme and Tim Akimoff talk imposter syndrome with a varied group of guests this episode, including Wisconson Department of Natural Resource's Katie Grant, PayIt's Samantha Pedder, former Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation social media coordinator Sarah Southerland, historian and influencer Ashley Lewis and featured guest Dr. Rob Munjal. Imposter syndrome may not be the most-obvious topic for a conservation communication podcast, but it's something that impacts more of us than might be obvious.

If Virginia is for Lovers (the state slogan) then it stands to reason all the members of ACI, who are lovers of the outdoors, hunting, fishing, conservation and communicating about all of the things we love, then Virginia is also for ACI. It's also the place where most of us (we'll miss you Ashley) will be gathering in July for the annual ACI Conference. In this episode, your hosts Ashley Zeme and Tim Akimoff chat with Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Digital Marketing Manager Caitlyn Fralin Jacobus about what you can expect at the conference as an attendee.

Show Notes -

If you want to reach out to someone about details of the upcoming conference in July, please feel free to email Caitlyn Fralin Jacobus at Caitlyn.Fralin@dwr.virginia.gov