The Public Lands Rule could be great for conservation – we should give it a chance   The Bureau of Land Management Conservation and Landscape Health rule, commonly known as the Public Lands Rule, went into effect nationwide on June 10, 2024. Originally announced a year ago by the Department of the Interior, the intent of the rule is to address the increasing conservation needs on the 245 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) across the country. It’s hard to ...

February 15, 2024   Senator Van T. Burtenshaw Chair, Senate Resources & Environment Committee P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720-0081   Chairman Burtenshaw:   The Idaho Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (“BHA”) respectfully opposes Senate Bill 1340, which would direct the Fish and Game Commission to provide the opportunity to any outfitter who harvests a wolf to purchase an additional moose, bighorn sheep, or mountain goat tag. Moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goat tags are highly ...

Senator Doug OkuniewiczChair, Senate Transportation Committee P.O. Box 83720Boise, ID 83720-0081 Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 Chairman Okuniewicz: The Idaho Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (“ID BHA”) supports Senate Bill 1258, which would promote public access in Idaho by requiring that when counties decommission any highway or public right of way that has been fairly adjudicated to provide public access to federal or state public lands or waters, an equivalent access route must ...

The Chapter was busy with public comment periods this spring, sending in comments on a range of issues impacting our public lands, waters and wildlife. The BLM has continued to demonstrate the effectiveness of LWCF dollars in action, proposing the acquisition of two parcels in the Boise Foothills which would help to conserve critical winter range and habitat connectivity. We submitted comments in favor of the BLM acquiring both these parcels, and appreciate their actions in making great use ...

I can still remember the first time I tried to understand the process of applying for deer tags in California’s Big Game Drawing. Not coming from a hunting family I had no idea what preference points were, and realizing that California has a “modified” preference point system only confused me further. I had to read the California Big Game Hunting Digest three times before it began to crystalize into something resembling the English language. So if you’re unfamiliar with the system and find ...