By Don Rank HARRISBURG, PA, July 9, 2025 – This morning, at a small ceremony near the state capital, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law House Bill 1431. At last the ban on Sunday hunting has been lifted in Pennsylvania – a hard-earned victory for which Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and its Pennsylvania Chapter should take pride. History The inability to hunt on Sundays in Pennsylvania dates to the days when Ulysses S. Grant was president. Back then, it was one of many “Blue ...

This is your July edition of BHA's State Policy Spotter - a high-level scan of state policy and legislation impacting our wild public lands, waters and wildlife across North America. Note - this is not a comprehensive list of legislation or issues that chapters are working on, but rather a spotlight in the moment of what is moving. There are many more bills and issues BHA's chapters are grappling with so be sure to check out individual chapter pages for more news and ...

TAKE ACTION NOW!  A rare opportunity has presented itself during this legislative session for recreational anglers in North Carolina to support a ban on inshore, bottom-disturbing trawlers from our vital marine habitats. North Carolina is the only remaining state where this destructive commercial fishing method is still permitted. The state Senate is expected to vote THIS AFTERNOON (6/18/25) on HB 442, and the House of Representatives just a day or two later, so there is no time to delay ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2025  Contact: media@backcountryhunters.org    MISSOULA, Mont. — Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) is rebuking a sweeping new proposal released by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would force the sale of up to 3 million acres of public lands under the guise of a solution to the housing crisis. This proposal—led by committee chair Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)—would apply to public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest ...

At sunset on Saturday, a small and enthusiastic group of BHA volunteers joined up with CDFW's Region 6 sheep biologists at the foot of the Marble Mountains in the Mojave for the annual desert bighorn sheep survey. After camping through a windy night, everyone woke to a mercifully overcast morning. Three teams, each led by one of the scientists, were off not long after dawn, and everyone was at their first glassing location shortly after 6 a.m. It didn't take us long to find sheep as we ...