Search

Backcountry Journal

Latest Issue

Previous Issues

Hunting and Angling Presidents Hunting and Angling Presidents

Hunting and Angling Presidents

Zachary Williams
    By Dalton Valette   To celebrate this year’s Presidents’ Day, let’s look at the long history of America’s heads of state who enjoyed the great outdoors. For us, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, one mustachioed man may come to mind, but there have been plenty of other hunters and anglers who’ve resided in the White House.   George Washington (1st president, 1789-1797)  Throughout his illustrious career as a surveyor, farmer, soldier, and president, Washington enjoyed a great amount of time ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal president's day
Read more
A New Home A New Home

A New Home

Zachary Williams
  By Benjamin Thomas   I grew up as a hunting kid in south-central Pennsylvania. Our small family farm felt like paradise some days, covered in wildlife from corner to corner. But it was like a walled-desert other days – no deer to be found and turkeys gobbling beyond the property line. It was home, however, and hunting and kid adventures were right beyond my backyard. Now, in my late twenties, life and work has moved me one-and-a-half hours from my old family property.  For four years I’ve ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Cracked by Steve Hawley Cracked by Steve Hawley

Cracked by Steve Hawley

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists Dams make up a fairly significant portion of the energy and agriculture infrastructure of the United States. But as they age, this cross-country framework of dams is in dire need of multi-million-to-billion-dollar renovations and is one of the main reasons the Pacific Northwest's iconic salmon and steelhead runs are in peril of extinction. Cracked - The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World by ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
Elk, Women, Horses, Yellowstone by Tory Taylor Elk, Women, Horses, Yellowstone by Tory Taylor

Elk, Women, Horses, Yellowstone by Tory Taylor

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Every once in a while, I read a book that has the power to transport me somewhere else. Writing that is so vivid and emotionally compelling that I feel as though I am there. More than once, while reading Tory Taylor’s books, I have found myself deep in the backcountry, overlooking a meadow of horses or hot on the trail of an elk, only to be startled back to reality—warm in my bed, my black lab ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
An Opening Day Tale An Opening Day Tale

An Opening Day Tale

Zachary Williams
By Leyton Hanneman and Matt Hanneman   ’Twas the night before hunting, when all through the woods,The creatures were stirring and there the bull stood.Our packs were all readied and quivers fitted with care;As we prayed that the moose would wait for us there.The calves and the fawns were all snug in their beds,While visions of rump roast danced in our heads.We arose before dawn and crept into the woods.To call in this big moose was our goal, if we could.Setting a blind, prepared for the long ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Our National Forests by Greg M. Peters Our National Forests by Greg M. Peters

Our National Forests by Greg M. Peters

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Our National Forests: Stories from America’s Most Important Public Lands takes readers on a journey through arguably America's most important public lands, our National Forests. Each chapter highlights a region, issue or story involving our national forests, which are important for any hunter, angler, conservationist or outdoor-recreator to hear. The science of growing trees, the creation of the ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
Was It Worth It? By Doug Peacock Was It Worth It? By Doug Peacock

Was It Worth It? By Doug Peacock

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Doug Peacock’s collection of stories in his most recent book, Was It Worth It?, proves his obsession with and loyalty to a life lived on the edges of civilization. Peacock is a man who went further, deeper, and spent more nights in wild places than most. He was so exceptional that Edward Abbey modeled his infamous character George Hayduke on him: a character willing to fight and die for ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
The Book of Yaak by Rick Bass The Book of Yaak by Rick Bass

The Book of Yaak by Rick Bass

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   What do we lose when we let our favorite wild places succumb to the whims of industry and development? This is the question Rick Bass explores in The Book of Yaak. In the opening pages Bass sets out to capture the heart of the Yaak Valley, a wild, remote region in northwest Montana with immense biodiversity and a critical corridor for animals moving between the Northern Rockies and the Pacific ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
Faces of BHA: Ryan Burkert Faces of BHA: Ryan Burkert

Faces of BHA: Ryan Burkert

Zachary Williams
Faces of BHA is a regular column in Backcountry Journal, which spreads light on the incredible volunteers working behind the scenes to ensure the organization succeeds. This installment was published in the Winter 22 issue.  RYAN BURKERT Helena, Montana     Veteran Programs Lead, Armed Forces Initiative Photo by Josh Bent   “Our goal is to give veterans and service members a new mission, and that mission is conservation.”   What brought you to BHA? I discovered BHA not as a hunting and ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire AFI Comms Channel Backcountry Journal faces of bha
Read more
Faces of BHA: Catherine Danae Elser Faces of BHA: Catherine Danae Elser

Faces of BHA: Catherine Danae Elser

Zachary Williams
Faces of BHA is a regular column in Backcountry Journal, which spreads light on the incredible volunteers working behind the scenes to ensure the organization succeeds. This installment was published in the Fall 21 issue.  CATHERINE DANAE ELSER PROSPECT, PENNSYLVANIA           Pennsylvania Chapter Board   What brought you to BHA? I became aware of BHA through professionals and influencers in the hunting and fishing industry. When I researched it and got to know the mission and values, I ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal faces of bha
Read more
Echo (Living Wild with the Orions) Echo (Living Wild with the Orions)

Echo (Living Wild with the Orions)

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Echo (Living Wild with the Orions) shares the mental and physical journey of a boy learning about survival. I wouldn’t typically choose this genre but the book really captured my attention. I love the ending, but don’t worry I won’t spoil it! This book deploys a certain magnetic pull. I told my mom I would read the book after I finished the series I was reading, read the first page, and was ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter

The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Backcountry hunters and anglers are no strangers to the notion that there is something restorative -- special -- about "type 2" fun, where smiles and memories are equally dispersed between scrapes, bruises, shivers and sweats. BHA member Michael Easter's Comfort Crisis brings fascinating new clarity to this notion that we gain both qualifiable and quantifiable benefits from experiencing ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Backcountry Memories: The Ridgeline Bull Backcountry Memories: The Ridgeline Bull

Backcountry Memories: The Ridgeline Bull

Zachary Williams
  By Dominic Corsini   Ralph Waldo Emerson is often credited for saying “life is a journey, not a destination.” I cannot help but feel connected to that saying at this moment. However, this story isn’t necessarily about life itself, but more so the somewhat arduous process of planning, and then embarking on, an out-of-state backcountry hunting trip. Much like life, it’s a journey. But unlike life, this journey did have a destination. And that destination sat above 66O 30’ N. latitude (the ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Tracks: An Animal Tracking Book for Kids by Ann Schaefer, John Schaefer and Tina Howell Tracks: An Animal Tracking Book for Kids by Ann Schaefer, John Schaefer and Tina Howell

Tracks: An Animal Tracking Book for Kids by Ann Schaefer, John Schaefer and Tina Howell

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Tracks is a piece of art. I love the ways you can use it, as a quick facts book or a full-on tracking book. Both kids and adults will appreciate this book. I enjoyed it very much, and as I am 11, I can safely say that many adults would find this an amazing starter book while kids can learn many new things. The author gives a wide variety of animals that you can track. And parts, such as about a ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
Preparation for Backcountry and Wilderness Travel Preparation for Backcountry and Wilderness Travel

Preparation for Backcountry and Wilderness Travel

Zachary Williams
All photos by Matt Butler How to better prepare for all your outdoor adventures.   By Matt Butler   The outdoors have become a respite for many during the challenging times of covid and exploring your backyard has now become the travel norm. But with the increase of outdoor adventurers comes the inevitable increase in mishaps and emergency rescues, many avoidable and relating to a lack of preparation. When planning a trip into the outdoors, there are several forms of preparation that needs ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
The Island Within by Richard Nelson The Island Within by Richard Nelson

The Island Within by Richard Nelson

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   I first read Richard Nelson’s The Island Within 20 years ago. The book is an intimate testament to a person’s sense of place, revealing the spiritual awareness imbued in all things. His paean to the island also blurs the genres of non-fiction and poetry that inspire awe and reverence for all life. The place is never named, but his words take you there nevertheless. This book immediately rewired ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction by Michelle Nijhuis Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction by Michelle Nijhuis

Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction by Michelle Nijhuis

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Let me first be clear: This is not a book about despair or tragic endings. It is not a book of environmental alarmism or an impassioned call-to-action to save the wolves and the whales. It's a concise and carefully researched book about people.  Whether you're a fan of him and his music or not, Bob Dylan once said something none of us can really deny, "The only thing people really have in common ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
To Bait, or Not to Bait? To Bait, or Not to Bait?

To Bait, or Not to Bait?

Zachary Williams
  This article, produced by Orion, originally appeared in the Spring 2021 issue of Backcountry Journal. Join BHA, support your public lands and waters and get four issues a year of Backcountry Journal in your mailbox, and unlimited digital access to current and back issues.   BY JAN DIZARD AND PHIL T. SENG Few topics create as much furor around the campfire or the hunt club as the use of baiting in hunting. What’s the big deal? It’s not clear exactly when humans began manipulating the ...
Media Backcountry Journal Fair Chase Backcountry Journal
Read more
A Dream in Polar Fog by Yuri Rytkheu A Dream in Polar Fog by Yuri Rytkheu

A Dream in Polar Fog by Yuri Rytkheu

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Written by Indigenous writer Yuri Rytkheu, A Dream in Polar Fog tells the story of a white man who through unfortunate circumstance finds himself forced to live among the Chukotka Native people of coastal Russia. Accepted by their people, he eventually learns their culture and ways of life. Alongside this is the story of a people whose entire existence is tied to the natural world – an existence ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Reactivated Reactivated

Reactivated

Zachary Williams
BY LUKE FRONTCZAK   The morning had been perfect – clear skies with a long narrow blanket of fog covering the valley floor below my hillside perch, which turned pink as the sun came up. Five seconds before beginning the trek back to camp, a little motion caught my eye as I put on my backpack. Pulling up my binos, antlers filled my vision. My butt involuntarily fell to the ground, and I felt my heart shift from fifth gear into second. After five years of hunting Washington state, this was the ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal r3
Read more
The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko

The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   If you have spent any time in the landscape of the American West you understand the significance of rivers and water in the sculpting of our actions, experiences and thoughts. While this book’s tale is centered around an incredible account of one single ride down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, it is just an excuse to tell the epic tale of the river itself – a book of history ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
A Shape in the Dark by Bjorn Dihle A Shape in the Dark by Bjorn Dihle

A Shape in the Dark by Bjorn Dihle

Zachary Williams
  This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Author Bjorn Dihle is, among many other things, a BHA member, Backcountry Journal contributor and an ardent defender of wild places – especially the Tongass National Forest surrounding his Southeast Alaska home. A Shape in the Dark is a look at the long and complex relationship between humans and brown bears ranging from the journals of Lewis and Clark and accounts of Indigenous peoples all ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Zachary Williams
  This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Outwardly, Braiding Sweetgrass appears to be a book about plants, viewed through Dr. Kimmerer’s own tandem lens of her degree in botany and Anishinaabe traditional environmental knowledge. Indeed, she weaves these different ways of seeing the world together as tenderly as she describes the eponymous braiding of sweetgrass, but I’d be doing us all a disservice to imply this book is just a ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
An Archer's Inner Life by Dave Sigurslid An Archer's Inner Life by Dave Sigurslid

An Archer's Inner Life by Dave Sigurslid

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists In great part the appeal of public lands is that they provide a space for us to commune with the primeval. Though your HOA may frown on you shooting a Zwickey at the forkhorn browsing your hostas, the manager of your closest wildlife area likely has no such qualms. An Archer’s Inner Life is a profound exploration of the yearning to return in some small way to life closer to the bone. Sigurslid’s ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   North Americans unfortunately have a long history of ecological harm. We also have the great propensity to recognize mistakes and work to fix them. Dan Egan's “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes” takes us on one such journey. The story of the Great Lakes is a rollercoaster ride of disastrous mistakes and our attempts to fix them.The Great Lakes are a resource unmatched anywhere else on ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal required reading
Read more
Fall 2020 Issue of Backcountry Journal Fall 2020 Issue of Backcountry Journal

Fall 2020 Issue of Backcountry Journal

Zachary Williams
The Indiana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA), the voice for our public lands in the Hoosier state, is excited to announce a new volunteer partnership with the U.S. Forest Service in the Hoosier National Forest. Located in southern Indiana’s hill country, the Hoosier National Forest consists of 204,000 acres of hardwood forests, streams, and backcountry trails. Known to outdoor enthusiasts as simply “the Hoosier,” this forest is Indiana’s largest public-land holding, ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal Journal Issue
Read more
The Lochsa Story by Bud Moore The Lochsa Story by Bud Moore

The Lochsa Story by Bud Moore

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists    Every book's reading starts with a set of expectations and hopes. I picked up a copy of The Lochsa Story because it took place nearly in my backyard, a place I spend more time than any other; my hope was to learn a little more about my favorite wild country – the one I hope to one day have my ashes scattered in. It seemed almost required that I read it. But what I ended up gaining from the book ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
A Fine and Pleasant Misery by Patrick F. McManus A Fine and Pleasant Misery by Patrick F. McManus

A Fine and Pleasant Misery by Patrick F. McManus

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists There is a time for reflection, philosophy and politics. And there is a time to lighten up. The cure for solemn self-importance is Pat McManus. No one can wring more laughs out of a hunting, fishing or camping trip than the Idaho-born journalism professor who cranked out essays month after month for Field & Stream and Outdoor Life magazines. His essays are nostalgic and farcical. Their wry jokes, ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains by Dan Flores American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains by Dan Flores

American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains by Dan Flores

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Dan Flores is a gifted storyteller and chronicler of the history of the Great Plains and wildlife of the American West. American Serengeti describes a magnitude of life on the great plains that will send your imagination spiraling. He captures its true identity, helping the reader understand the history of the wildlife that calls it home and how we have shaped the landscape and wildlife ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

Zachary Williams
  This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   A River Runs Through It is a memoir of Maclean's adventures as a young man in the mountainous western Montana backcountry. Heralded as a classical American story, Maclean describes fly fishing on the Big Blackfoot River and working in the woods for the U.S. Forest Service. I originally read A River Runs Through It while fly fishing on an alpine backpacking trip in western Wyoming. After a day ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
A Hunter’s Heart: Honest Essays on Blood Sport by David Petersen A Hunter’s Heart: Honest Essays on Blood Sport by David Petersen

A Hunter’s Heart: Honest Essays on Blood Sport by David Petersen

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Approximately 10 years ago I picked up this book after a reading a magazine interview with the author, David Petersen, in which he nobly described hunters as the type of hunter we all strive to be – thoughtful, hardworking and conservation-minded.  This book includes a carefully selected ensemble of personal essays that dive deep into the motivations and ethics of hunters from different walks of ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood by Paul Greenberg American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood by Paul Greenberg

American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood by Paul Greenberg

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   I’ve read both of Greenberg’s popular books: American Catch and Four Fish. What I like best about American Catch is that it deals not only with the problem of conservation but also the issue of what we eat. The book discusses everything from New York oysters and the destruction of their habitat to the topic of salmon in Alaska and the Pebble Mine and Bristol Bay debacle. American Catch is an ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
American Sportsmen and the Origins of Conservation by John F. Reiger American Sportsmen and the Origins of Conservation by John F. Reiger

American Sportsmen and the Origins of Conservation by John F. Reiger

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Reiger’s American Sportsmen is an expanded look into the entwined history of sportsmen, ethics and policy that shaped what we now know as conservation and sustainable management.  Many sportsmen and women, and even historians, are quick to stop at George Bird Grinnell and Theodore Roosevelt – obvious pillars in the Progressive era of the late 1800s and early 1900s – when mapping the lineage of ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   A professor assigned my class Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” the book credited with launching the modern environmental movement, my senior year of college. I hadn’t heard much about the classic then, but I was intrigued enough by Carson’s concern for the future, and the promise of a good grade. I quickly understood why it is a critical read for conservationists and how it popularized the field ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
The Only Cutthroat Fly You will Ever Need The Only Cutthroat Fly You will Ever Need

The Only Cutthroat Fly You will Ever Need

Zachary Williams
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of Backcountry Journal. Join BHA, support your public lands and waters and get four issues a year of Backcountry Journal in your mailbox, and unlimited digital access to current and back issues.   By Zack Williams There is something uniquely public about cutthroat trout. They reside almost entirely in wild, mountainous rivers of the West – undammed, wild, free places – the vast majority of these flowing through public land from ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Grinnell: America’s Environmental Pioneer and His Restless Drive to Save the West by John Taliaferro Grinnell: America’s Environmental Pioneer and His Restless Drive to Save the West by John Taliaferro

Grinnell: America’s Environmental Pioneer and His Restless Drive to Save the West by John Taliaferro

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   I’ve read a handful of books in the past couple years that I think should belong in the Backcountry Hunters library, but the one that stands out most and should be required reading for all conservationists and hunters is John Taliaferro’s recent biography, Grinnell: America’s Environmental Pioneer and His Restless Drive to Save the West. I really wasn’t too familiar with George Bird Grinnell ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Zachary Williams
  This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   When I think of Desert Solitaire I remember a little riverside camp I scraped out of the grass and brush by the Colorado, not far from Moab, Utah, near the mouth of a canyon that’s since been re-named Grandstaff. I was a year out of college and living on public lands: national forests in South Dakota and Wyoming, national monuments in Arizona, BLM lands in Utah, for seasons at a time. Edward ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
That Wild Country by Mark Kenyon That Wild Country by Mark Kenyon

That Wild Country by Mark Kenyon

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists  If we’ve learned anything from history, it’s that public lands will always need advocates. Since the beginning, there have been unremitting attempts to privatize our lands for the short-term benefit of a few. In order to be an effective advocate, it’s important to understand how we got where we are today, collective owners of 640 million acres of public lands. Mark Kenyon takes us on a journey ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
Bloodties: Nature, Culture, and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote Bloodties: Nature, Culture, and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote

Bloodties: Nature, Culture, and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote

Zachary Williams
  This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists    In Bloodties, Kerasote brings the reader along with him on three journeys, and each involves hunting but from vastly different viewpoints, motivations and outcomes. His time is spent with natives on the ice edge in Greenland, Westerners in pursuit of rams in Siberia and on a journey home to hunt elk in Wyoming. Each is a story about people and how they interact with one another, the critters ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon by Steven Rinella American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon by Steven Rinella

American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon by Steven Rinella

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists    Long before he was “The Meateater,” Steven Rinella was just another hunter dreaming of a premium tag and the next adventure. One of his early works, American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon, is the story of receiving one such tag and the ensuing journey. This book is the perfect blend of hunting, adventure, conservation, science and history. Starting with the unearthing of a bison skull by ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (NEW Edition!) A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (NEW Edition!)

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (NEW Edition!)

Zachary Williams
This title is part of BHA's Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading for Conservationists   Published posthumously in 1949, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac is as close to a bible for conservationists as any work can be. In it he discusses things like a “land ethic,” which simply says: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” He reflects on predator control in service of better ...
Media Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal
Read more
2020 Coloring Contest Results 2020 Coloring Contest Results

2020 Coloring Contest Results

Zachary Williams
Thank you to everyone who participated in our coloring contest from the Winter 20 issue of Backcountry Journal. Everyone did a fantastic job! Choosing only two winners was an extremely difficult proposition but here they are, along with honorable mentions.  A special thank you to Rep Your Water for sponsoring this contest and providing the artwork. Below are a few selected entries:  Winner: Gabriel Langenhan, 8 years old, Washington   Runner-up: Athena Blanco, 9 years old, ...
Media Backcountry Journal Backcountry Journal
Read more
Spring 2020 Kid's Crossword Answers Spring 2020 Kid's Crossword Answers

Spring 2020 Kid's Crossword Answers

Zachary Williams
Here are the answers to the Kid's Crossword, located on page 17 of the Spring 2020 issue of Backcountry Journal. Not a member yet? Subscribe HERE and get four issues of Backcountry Journal to your door!    *Note: Neve Dyer, age 12, from Alberta, informed us that the answer to 7 down, Canada's national bird, is not the Canada Goose but grey jay. We apologize for this error and will be submitting a grievance with Google! Thank you, Neve, for informing us of this error. -Zack Williams, editor.  
Media Backcountry Journal Backcountry Journal spring 2020
Read more
Fishing through the Apocalypse with Matt Miller Fishing through the Apocalypse with Matt Miller

Fishing through the Apocalypse with Matt Miller

Zachary Williams
This story originally appeared in the Fall 2019 issue of Backcountry Journal By Hal Herring For author Matt Miller of Boise, Idaho, life is too short to be a fishing purist. His work as a writer on the environment and conservation takes him across the United States, and he fishes wherever he goes, for whatever is there, with whatever method, be it throwing carp heads under a big bobber for monster alligator gar, trying to net cisco on the freezing shores of Bear Lake in Utah, tossing ...
Media Podcasts Backcountry Journal Backcountry Journal Podcast
Read more
Continued ... An Interview With Hal Herring Continued ... An Interview With Hal Herring

Continued ... An Interview With Hal Herring

Zachary Williams
Photo by Tim Peterson   This is the continuation of our conversation with Hal Herring, host of BHA's Podcast & Blast, from the Winter 2020 issue of Backcountry Journal. For more of this interview with Hal and loads more great content, join BHA to get the current and every new issue of Backcountry Journal in your mailbox.   Those that read your writing, or follow you on social media, know that you are extremely motivated about protecting our public lands, waters and wildlife – the BHA ...
Media Podcasts Backcountry Journal Backcountry Journal Podcast Winter 2020
Read more
Inside the Fall 2019 Issue of BHA's Backcountry Journal Inside the Fall 2019 Issue of BHA's Backcountry Journal

Inside the Fall 2019 Issue of BHA's Backcountry Journal

Zachary Williams
Full digital issues of the Backcountry Journal are available to BHA members. Check out a preview below, or click here to join BHA. Already a member? Click here to log in. News for Immediate ReleaseSept. 26, 2019Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org  The newest issue of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ magazine is available today MISSOULA, Mont. – The fall issue of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ quarterly magazine, Backcountry ...
Media Press Releases Backcountry Journal the campfire Backcountry Journal press releases Journal Issue fall 2019
Read more
Navigating Rendezvous 2019 Navigating Rendezvous 2019

Navigating Rendezvous 2019

Zachary Williams
Above: The 2018 Hike to Hunt kickoff. by Josh Mills So you’re going to Rendezvous, huh? Get excited. You’re about to be part of the biggest public lands party you’ve ever seen. Your mind is about to be blown, you’ll meet countless likeminded people – who come from a vast array of backgrounds – united in the spirit of fair chase and public lands and waters activism. Saddle up, partners; it’s a wild ride.Advice from navigating the past three Rendezvous: Introduce yourself to anyone and ...
Media Backcountry Journal rendezvous Backcountry Journal
Read more
Are Big Racks Ethical? Are Big Racks Ethical?

Are Big Racks Ethical?

Zachary Williams
Above: In 2016 the BHA North American board passed a policy statement in support of policies which aim to prohibit new captive cervid canned hunting operations. As concerns around the spread of CWD from captive cervid operations mount throughout the country, BHA chapters are drawing on this statement to advance policies that put meaningful limits on such operations. Photo by Lynn Bystrom   by Jan Dizard   Orion and BHA share a commitment to face clearly the many ethical and related ...
Media Backcountry Journal Fair Chase Backcountry Journal orion Spring 2019
Read more

About Backcountry Journal

Backcountry Journal is the quarterly membership magazine of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. Each issue covers conservations issues, BHA news and exciting hunting and fishing stories from your wild public lands, waters and wildlife across North America.

Click here for the Backcountry Journal’s Submission Guidelines.

Become a Member

Support your public lands and waters and get four issues a year of Backcountry Journal in your mailbox, and unlimited digital access to current and back issues.

JOIN BHA

Featured Content from Backcountry Journal