Montana is home to millions of acres of public land, yet much remains out of reach for hunters. Over 3 million acres—10% of our state and federal lands—are landlocked, surrounded by private...

On November 19, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held its final Business Meeting of the 118th Congress. The record-breaking number of bills on the docket highlights the backlog of...

In early 2022, a private landowner illegally blocked access to a popular public hunting and fishing destination in East Texas known locally as “The Cutoff”. A group of local sportsmen who hunt and...

Right now in California, anglers, spear fishers, Tribes and other saltwater stakeholders are grappling with a series of regulatory petitions that could result in reduced fishing access along...

Kali Becher Open Lands Project ManagerMissoula County200 W. BroadwayMissoula, MT 59802 May 3rd, 2023 Re: Marshall Mountain Community Forest and Mountain Park Dear Ms. Becher: I am writing on...

Fish & Game Commission voted unanimously to reject a petition that would have closed over 250 miles of nearshore fishing access in California's Central Coast. A petition before the Fish & Game...

Here in California we have a constitutional right to fish, and we have a right to access, hunt and fish the navigable waters of our state - for those waters are to be held in the public trust for...

Montanans can’t get to 3.1 million acres of our public lands. If a neighbor wants to let us walk across their land to access public lands, they should be able to do so, encouraged to do so, and...

Fifteen percent of the available big game combination licenses would be set aside for nonresidents owning a minimum of 2,500 acres under a bill designed to spread out hunting pressure and reward...

For two years without success, Rep. Marty Malone, R-Pray, has attempted to draw a landowner preference tag to shoot cow elk on his property in the Paradise Valley. In the Montana Legislature on...

Few things can motivate Montanans to stand outside for close to an hour in below-zero temperatures like rallying to protect public lands. That’s what more than 200 people from around Montana did...

On Thursday in Helena, hundreds of people braved below-zero temperatures and snow showers to “Rally for Public Lands” at the State Capitol. This was the fifth legislative session that conservation...

Nearly 500 public land advocates rallied in sub-zero temperatures on the steps of the Capitol Thursday to voice support for conservation funding and Montana’s constitutional guarantee of a clean...

A broad assortment of industry groups, conservation nonprofits, ranching families and hunting and fishing access advocates on Tuesday testified in opposition to a bill that would impose term...

Montana lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon heard testimony in favor of and against a bill that would allocate 15% of the state’s special bison hunting licenses to private landowners near Yellowstone...

The Hughes Creek Road in Ravalli County was illegally gated for decades. Landowners blocked the road with gates, threatening signs, and even machinery, essentially giving themselves exclusive...

An effort long championed by access groups to increase fines for illegally blocking public roads made its return to the Legislature on Friday with a bill that could raise fines to up to $500 per...

Just like Holland Lake, the U.S. Forest Service is at it again — trying to pull a fast one on the public by putting forward a significant proposal that would negatively impact our public lands,...

A local conservation group and the U.S. Forest Service have proposed a land exchange that would put an end to decades of confusion over where the public can access the Custer-Gallatin...

We encourage you to comment on this proposal here by the December 23rd deadline. Only those who comment on this now will be allowed to comment further as the process proceeds. The USFS will...

Hunting season is here. Many hunters— including me — will head out this weekend in search of good times and a chance at harvesting Montana’s publicly owned game. While afield I’m often reminded...

A recent vote by the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation Land Board will set aside 5,700 acres of state-managed public land in the Big Sky State. The new public land will...

The Montana Land Board has approved acquiring a new piece of land to become a Wildlife Management Area. In a four-to-one vote, the board acquired more than 5,000 acres, at the base of the Big...

The Montana Land Board on Monday approved the state’s purchase of a nearly 5,700-acre property in the Big Snowy Mountains north of Ryegate for a new wildlife management area. The board, made up...

October 14, 2022   Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Attn: Wildlife P.O. Box 200701 Helena, MT 59620-0701   Re: 2022 Elk Management Scoping Comments   Director Worsech:   The Montana Chapter of...

October 7, 2022   Chris Dowling District Ranger Flathead National Forest All Units 650 Wolfpack Way Kalispell, MT, 59901 christopher.dowling@usda.gov   Re: Proposed Holland Lake Expansion...

Last week District Court Judge Heather Perry granted a motion from a coalition of outdoor groups allowing them to intervene in a lawsuit filed by a property rights group charging Fish, Wildlife...

A plan that's over two years in the making is in its final step. Shodair Children's Hospital was given an almost 6,000-acre plot of land in the Snowy Mountains several years ago. They were given...

In a unanimous vote, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission on Thursday approved the purchase of 5,677 acres in the foothills of the Big Snowy Mountains, north of Ryegate. The measure must...

August 17, 2022   Rick Northrup Wildlife Habitat Bureau Chief FLP Program Mgr. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks 1420 East 6th Avenue PO Box 200701 Helena, MT 59620   Re: Upper Thompson Conservation...

August 16, 2022 Lisa Timchak - Forest Supervisor420 Barrett StreetDillon, MT 59725Lisa.timchak@usda.gov RE: Point of Rocks Acquisition On behalf of our roughly 3,000-dues paying members in the Big...

Benefits to anadromous fish like steelhead trout, game species and species of special concern make the Thomas Creek parcels a valuable candidate for addition to the Mendocino National Forest's...

Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) is a forest products company that owns 2.3 million acres of land across California, Oregon and Washington. They are the largest private land owner in California...

The California Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers urges the California Fish & Game Commission to adopt the regulation change proposed by the city of Lompoc to modify the Vandenberg State...

West Virginia Backcountry Hunters and Anglers needs you to stand up for our public lands! A series of bills have been introduced for a comprehensive motorized recreation program on our public...

A major victory for public lands hunting access was notched last week in the Arkansas Capitol as the attempted sale of the Pine Tree Research Station was closed down. "To put it succinctly,...

On Sunday, September 30th the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), one of our country’s most successful outdoor conservation tools, is set to expire and BHA needs you to take action to prevent...

Wisconsin is one of America’s great outdoor states, with one of the nation’s highest rates of participation in hunting, fishing, wildlife watching and outdoor sports. The state abounds in outdoor...

Almost equidistant between International Falls, Hibbing and Grand Rapids lies a wide expanse of privately owned working forestland within a patchwork of state and other public lands. The area –...

The John Day River is born of the snows in the high Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon and flows northwest to the Columbia River through some of America’s most isolated and intact sagebrush...

Many people call the Tongass National Forest “America’s Salmon Forest” because so much of the pristine freshwater that feeds the vast salmon spawning grounds of Southeast Alaska originates in the...

While the acquisition of the 160 acres at Whitewater Bay on Admiralty Island was a tremendous win for public access and public land management, crucial gaps remain in the Admiralty Island National...

In the mountains just east of Missoula, Montana, in and around the Lolo National Forest, lie 6,140 acres of private lands owned by a timber company that has allowed public access for hunting,...

If there is one single project in the Rocky Mountain West that achieves every possible goal of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, it must be the acquisition of lands that guarantee access to...

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is crucial to the future of public lands, public access and the booming recreational economy of Colorado. Near the community of Montrose, a seemingly minor...

If a single landscape can embody the true wonder of the Land of Enchantment, it is the Valles Caldera National Preserve, in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico. The caldera is the...

The Brule-St. Croix Legacy Forest is a working landscape of the American heartland, 67,205 acres of forest and water with a long history of logging, snowmobiling, hunting and fishing, far from...

The Rensselaer Plateau in eastern New York state holds the state’s fifth largest stretch of forestland, surprising in its vastness of more than 100,000 acres. Wildlife abounds, with game species...

The Hood River Forest and Fish Conservation Project is a plan to conserve 19,772 acres of working forestlands in Hood River County, Oregon, one of the fastest growing counties in the state. The...

Idaho BHA co-signed a letter to the North Fork Ranger District of the Salmon-Challis National Forest (SCNF) regarding the Hoodoo Airstrip Maintenance Project.  The Hoodoo airstrip is an existing...

The Pennsylvania Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is a nonprofit group that seeks to ensure preservation of Pennsylvania’s outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting,...

Each year, America’s 40 million hunters and anglers contribute $200 billion to the national economy, and support millions of American jobs. Hunting and fishing aren’t mere pastimes, they are...

The state of Colorado currently provides public hunting and fishing access on a mere 20 percent of its state trust lands, or approximately 480,000 of 3 million acres. This represents the lowest...

Oregon’s 82,500-acre Elliott State Forest is well known by sportsmen and women for the coveted public access it provides to high quality hunting and fishing. Roosevelt elk, blacktail deer and...

This week, Idaho BHA member Derek Farr (pictured) will be traveling to Washington DC to express support for the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). LWCF is a critical source of funding for...