Our Story

Project Upland is dedicated to those that love wild birds, public lands, shotguns, and hunting dogs.

We understand the niche diversities of the upland hunting culture: grouse hunters are different than chukar hunters, pointing dog folk are different than spaniel folk, and those double gun people are committed—but so are those vintage pump collectors, too. What we all share in this love is the stories that move our culture toward the future while celebrating the past. We strive to tell those stories to inspire everything from the next hunt to the first hunt.

To share a little bit about myself as the founder—I grew up hunting grouse and woodcock on the weekends with my father over a Brittany named MacGyver. I would smuggle hunting magazines into my bedroom and read them with a flashlight under my covers while dreaming about my first pointing dog. My uncle would drop me off on random logging roads and point in a direction and say, “Eventually you will end up at camp if you walk long enough.” All are adventures I still crave today: the wildness of grouse, the romance of logging country, and the hum of gas lanterns at night with friends and family.

Deer hunting took up a lot of time through my high school and college years, but I always found my way back to the grouse woods each season. When I finally worked that bug out of my system, I did get that pointing dog I’d always dreamt about. He’s a Griffon named Grim and, well, if you found your way to Project Upland then you know how the story goes from there. Now I spend each fall season at my family’s camp, hunting behind my dog in the north country of New England. I occasionally wander out to experience new places like the prairies of the West. I developed an unhealthy financial relationship with side-by-side shotguns, yet I never seem to find the perfect one…

In 2014, I founded Project Upland while chasing bird hunters and dogs through the Northwoods with a camera. I set simple goals of sharing other people’s love for the uplands and creating art from it, not to mention having a convenient excuse to hunt more often. In 2018, the simple goal somehow evolved all the way to a print magazine and, in 2020, it escalated to the print volumes of Hunting Dog Confidential.

Our promise to our subscribers, readers, listeners, and viewers is to deliver high-quality storytelling from all over our community that is a realistic reflection of the upland- obsessed. We strive to give ample effort, time, and resources to the cause of upland conservation to help ensure that future generations can enjoy better habitat and greater bird numbers. We are far from perfect, but we seek to evolve ourselves and learn along the way in order to serve the community as a true representation of what we all love.

If we tell one story, produce one film, or take one photo that inspires someone to either rekindle or discover their love for the uplands, then it was all worth it.

The family at Project Upland hopes you find yourself following dogs across the unique habitats of the North American landscape in pursuit of wild birds as often as you can. And who knows, maybe we will bump into you along the way.

Here is to your journey in the uplands and each season to come.

-A.J. DeRosa | Founder

Our Motto

To expose the uplands to the world, to capture defining moments, to push our passion and culture forward, to bring our community closer, to make us feel. These are your stories.

Our Habitat and Scientific Management Commitment

Project Upland donates over $50,000 in advertisement space to conservation and habitat non-profits each year to help grow their reach and funding. On top of that, we encourage all employees to dedicate their time and skills to these organizations to help enhance their efforts. Currently, Project Upland Media Group employees dedicate over 40 hours a month to various non-profits and lobbying efforts for habitat.

We also offer both financial and consulting resources to professional organizations that focus on scientific management, research, and educational growth.

In the way of editorial, we seek to bring quality journalism to highlight major habitat policy and issues across the United States, from the latest legislation on state and federal levels to the ongoing challenges of climate change and habitat loss.

We seek to work with both nationally recognized organizations and local organizations and encourage those groups and volunteers to reach out at info@projectupland.com to find out how to apply for upcoming advertisement space, consulting services, and other available resources.

Current Non-Profits with Allocated Resources
Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever
The National Quail Symposium
The North American Grouse Partnership
National Wild Turkey Federation
Backcountry Hunter’s and Angler’s
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Minority Outdoor Alliance
Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society
Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society
Chukar Chasers Foundation

Committed to Sustainable Materials

Project Upland Media Group is committed to the use of sustainable paper materials as our primary source of printing and shipping to help grow habitat creation. We avoid the use of plastic in our internal shipping materials from boxes to paper mailers. Our magazine is printed on Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) paper as part of our continued effort to both support and grow knowledge on the importance of working forests.

For more information reach us at info@projectupland.com

Project Upland Advertisement Policies

Project Upland Media Group is committed to our community’s experience as well as our editorial independence; we have strict policies to maintain the ethos of our brand by limiting advertising opportunities to those that will genuinely benefit our audience. We do not sell customer data or mailing lists under any circumstances. Any potential advertiser must have a direct connection with upland hunting. We have a strict policy against advertorial content and do not offer solicited reviews. As such, we generally do not attend writer or media events hosted by advertisers, but in exchange we offer an open-door policy for current or potential advertisers to be hosted by Project Upland staff on a wild bird hunt as an opportunity to show their product in action. We currently do not accept advertisements for hunting preserves, breeders, dog trainers, hunting lodges, or hunting guides. Project Upland Media Group does not take sponsors or offer exclusive brand agreements. Project Upland staff uses gear based on personal preferences and we have a policy against any form of pro staff sponsorship of our owners or employees. For advertisers who align with our ethos and who aim to bring value to the upland community in a meaningful way, we welcome the opportunity to work together.

For more information reach us at info@projectupland.com

The People of Project Upland
A.J. DeRosa

Creative Director + Founder of Project Upland

Jennifer Wapenski Online Editor
Jennifer Wapenski

Managing Partner/Director of Operations

Managing editor Gabriela Zaldumbide
Gabriela Zaldumbide

Managing Editor

Josh Powell

Art Director

Craig Koshyk

Editor-in-Chief of Hunting Dog Confidential

Kevin Erdvig

Lead Filmmaker

Adam Regier

Filmmaker/Photographer

Rebecca Mereness

Copy Editor

Our Vision

Project Upland exists to unite the bird hunting community around the shared goals of celebrating our tradition while advocating for sustainable habitat and bird populations. Using the power of visual arts, digital communications, and written content, Project Upland strives to capture the essence of upland bird hunting and the diverse community of passionate hunters.

PRINT PUBLICATIONS + BOOKS
PODCAST SERIES
FILMS
AUDIO BOOKS
  • Woodcock Shooting by Edmund Davis
  • The Upland Shooting Life by George Bird Evans (Coming Soon)
  • New England Grouse Shooting by William Harden Foster (Coming Soon)
  • The Setter by Edward Laverack
SOCIAL MEDIA
ASSOCIATED WORK