Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson Fitz Cahall - Going on the Offense for Public Lands
Fitz Cahall is the creator of the legendary outdoor podcast The Dirtbag Diaries, co-founder of the creative agency Duct Tape Then Beer, and author of the excellent book States of Adventure. But most recently, he's gone from prolific creative mind to public lands advocate with the launch of Save Public Lands, a campaign that gives public land lovers of all stripes, from climbers to hunters, a way to go on the offense against the ongoing attacks on our public lands. The goal is a million signatures on a short letter with three clear demands: no more sell-offs, no more giveaways to foreign companies and billionaires, and no more backroom deals. Those signatures get delivered to DC and statehouses around Public Lands Day on September 26th. Partners include Outdoor Alliance, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, MeatEater, The Conservation Alliance, and The Wilderness Society.
Fitz got his start in the mid-2000s scraping by as a freelance journalist, a job he refers to as "naked subsistence hunting." In 2007, he took a few stories that hadn't sold and turned them into a podcast. He emailed it to 30 friends. The next day 30 people had listened, then 300, then 3,000. Nearly 20 years later, he and his wife and creative partner Becca have built Duct Tape Then Beer into a story studio behind award-winning films and podcasts, all guided by one rule: the work has to strengthen people's connections to the natural world and to each other.
We talked about how Save Public Lands came together, why Fitz chose offense over defense, and how a coalition this politically diverse—hunters, climbers, skiers, veterans, and legacy conservation groups—managed to find common ground and rally around a shared goal. Then we lightened it up and got into his creative life, including why he treats creative work like a band rather than a solo act, how he and Becca avoided chasing money for its own sake, what he does when his enthusiasm dips, and why he believes doubt and optimism are far more powerful together than either one alone.
It's worth noting I consider Fitz a role model in a lot of ways, and I don't think Mountain & Prairie would exist without his example. I've been listening to The Dirtbag Diaries since the days when you had to download podcasts onto your computer, load them onto your iPod, then plug the iPod into the tape deck in your truck to listen. That's exactly what I was doing back then, driving around trying to sell real estate, and those stories cracked open a whole way of living and working that I didn't know was available to me. So thank you, Fitz, for all of it.
There's a link below to sign the letter. It takes about 20 seconds, so there's no excuse not to do it. I loved this conversation, and I hope you enjoy.
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- SAVE PUBLIC LANDS – Sign the Letter!
- The Dirtbag Diaries
- Duct Tape Then Beer
- Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/fitz-cahall
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:
Mountain & Prairie is listener supported via Patreon, and brought to you with support from the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, MIRASOL: Looking at the Sun, Patagonia Books, the Rye Resurgence Project for their generous sponsorship.
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TOPICS DISCUSSED:
- 0:00 - Introducing Fitz Cahall and highlighting Patagonia books
- 7:45 - Jumping right into Save Public Lands
- 13:22 - Going on the offense
- 18:05 - Partnerships for public lands
- 22:30 - The money
- 29:32 - How people can help
- 32:40 - And how orgs can help
- 33:56 - Fitz's creative life
- 39:42 - Evolving as a collaborator
- 43:12 - States of Adventure
- 46:26 - Keeping values intact
- 50:22 - Dealing with the dips
- 54:32 - Book recs
- 59:48 - Wrapping up
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