Chris Gavin is a Wisconsin native who has lived or traveled across much of the country before returning to the promised land. Wild food, whether hunted, gathered, fished, or trapped, has become a major staple in his and his family’s diet. Chris stays busy raising his kids, getting outdoors, leading tours at Aldo Leopold’s Shack and giving instruction on everything outdoors-related through his business Eagle Outdoor Skills.
Chris Gavin grew up on the shore of Lake Michigan where he developed a love for water and the outdoors at an early age through family activities like canoeing and camping. After moving to Madison, WI during the high school years, he left the Midwest for a stint in the Marine Corps. where he got to travel the country and the world. Despite being from Wisconsin, Chris didn’t discover Aldo Leopold until
pursuing a marine biology degree in Southern FL. Chance brought him and his wife back to WI where he got a degree from the Dept. of Wildlife Ecology that Leopold founded in the 1930’s.
An adult-onset hunter, Chris was fortunate to pick up deer hunting in his twenties from his grandfather before he passed away. Now Chris pursues wild edibles in just about every form imaginable, from venison to chanterelles, trout to wild rice. Chris hopes to pass his passion and knowledge of wild food and outdoor skills not only to his children, but others through outlets like Hunt to Eat and his business Eagle Outdoor Skills.
Chris belongs to a number of nonprofits including Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Wisconsin Natural Resources Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, and The Aldo Leopold Foundation. Chris is avid conservationist who wants to see people deeply connected to their landscape. He sees hunting and wild foods as a way for people to rediscover their place in the natural world. As Aldo Leopold said, “We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
Follow him at @eagle_outdoor_skills on Instagram