FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   July 21, 2025   Contact:   media@backcountryhunters.org     WASHINGTON, D.C.—With more than 8 million acres of public lands...

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...

June 28, 2025 - 8 BHA members based out of the Whitefish/Kalispell area of the Flathead Valley, MT, volunteered their Saturday to hike, sweat and build up "conservation Karma" for the...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   May 22, 2025     Contact:   media@backcountryhunters.org    Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Stands by its Position: Corner Crossing is NOT a Crime  Iron Bar Holdings...

The Arizona Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) have come together for a handful of rewarding days of volunteer work on Perrin Ranch in Unit 10, Arizona. This effort was part of the...

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...

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers recently helped score a big win for hunter access and opportunity in Missouri that will keep hunting open during the upcoming waterfowl season at Swan Lake National...

News for Immediate ReleaseJuly 13, 2023Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Volunteer-driven partnership with private landowner and Game and Fish Commission...

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...

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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...

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...

News for Immediate ReleaseJune 9, 2022Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org  USFWS requests public input on expanded opportunities on 19 refuges, affecting 54,000...

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News for Immediate ReleaseMarch 15, 2022Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org MAPLand Act would modernize, digitize map records, increasing access opportunities for...

News for Immediate ReleaseMarch 1, 2022Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Court rules unanimously that ‘non-navigable regulation’ is unconstitutional, voids...

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is proud to announce the Aidan Long Outdoors for All Scholarship, a fund dedicated to help young people with disabilities get outdoors by providing access to adaptive...

Public wildlife management areas (WMAs) managed by the state agency are a valuable asset to Tennesseans and Tennessee’s rural economies, and Yanahli is one of the state’s most popular. Hunters...

News for Immediate ReleaseJune 15, 2021Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org   BHA Arkansas chapter led opposition by sportsmen and women to sale of Pine Tree WDA,...

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean euismod bibendum laoreet. Proin gravida dolor sit amet lacus accumsan et viverra justo commodo. Proin sodales pulvinar sic tempor....

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...

There had to be a solution. A timber company called Pope Resources – the largest landowner in the region – wanted to sell off thousands of acres of its holdings at the eastern end of Swift...

News for Immediate ReleaseJuly 10, 2018Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org MISSOULA, Mont. – Backcountry Hunters & Anglers today responded to President Trump’s...

Montana members of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers attend anti-public lands conclave featuring lawbreaking Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy PARADISE, Mont. – Backcountry Hunters & Anglers members from...

News for Immediate ReleaseNov. 10, 2017Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org  Public Access to Sabinoso Wilderness Achieved Public lands sportsmen among loudest...

News for Immediate ReleaseSept. 1, 2017Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org BHA Launches ‘Public Lands Month’ to Celebrate Great Places to Hunt and Fish National...

News for Immediate ReleaseAug. 24, 2017Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Secretary Zinke proposes ‘boundary changes’ to specific monuments, acknowledges broad...

News for Immediate ReleaseAug. 18, 2017Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org It’s Official: Oregon’s Elliott State Forest to Remain Publicly Accessible Gov. Kate...

News for Immediate ReleaseAug. 2, 2017Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org  ‘What Happened to Ryan Zinke?’ BHA Launches Ad Campaign Public lands sportsmen and women...

News for Immediate ReleaseJuly 20, 2017Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Sizable majorities in two key states – Arizona and Colorado – oppose drilling in fish...

WASHINGTON – Following Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s announcement today of recommendations that would undermine Bears Ears National Monument in Utah – reducing the size of the monument and...

MISSOULA, Mont. – Following comments by Rep. Mark Amodei that he won’t be reviving a controversial bill that would have transferred public lands in Nevada to state ownership, Backcountry Hunters &...

SALEM, Ore. – A victory for public access and hunting and fishing opportunity was achieved this afternoon when the Oregon state land board voted unanimously to keep the Elliott State Forest under...

WASHINGTON – More than 100 hunting and fishing business owners and sporting organizations sent a letter today to Congress to show their support for national monuments and the responsible use of...

MISSOULA, Mont. – Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ 2017 North American Rendezvous showcased the growing grassroots presence that is BHA and public lands sportsmen and women, drawing unprecedented...

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is commending a decision by the Oregon state legislature to consider a bill that could keep the Elliott State Forest under state...

Following increasing pressure by sportsmen and others to keep public lands under public ownership, state legislators announce decision to amend suit, which would have cost Utah taxpayers $14...

WASHINGTON – Following today’s introduction in the U.S. House of Representatives of a bipartisan resolution affirming the value of America’s public lands, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers President...

82,000-plus acres of prized fish and wildlife habitat to be privatized; public access a question mark under future ownership SALEM, Ore. – Despite widespread support from sportsmen,...

On Jan. 24, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah introduced the Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act (H.R. 622) in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 622 would eliminate federal law enforcement...

Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced decision to abandon H.R. 621, which would have seized millions of acres of public lands and waters WASHINGTON - Following pressure from Backcountry Hunters & Anglers...

WASHINGTON – As members of the Senate meet this afternoon to hold a hearing on Rep. Ryan Zinke, nominated as secretary of the Interior by the Trump administration, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers...

Public opportunities to legally fish, hunt or float Utah waterways could be decided this week SALT LAKE CITY – Years of legal uncertainty surrounding public access of Utah streams and...

Bill introduced today would permanently reauthorize popular, effective conservation program WASHINGTON – Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this morning would...

Measure recalculates costs of public lands transfers, facilitating giveaways WASHINGTON — The 115th Congress capped its first day late Tuesday with a vote to give away America’s public lands and...

Following state land board decision to postpone the Elliott’s sale, sportsmen speak up on behalf of Oregon’s oldest state forest KEIZER, Ore. – Oregon hunters and anglers are commending a decision...

The Issue:The latest phase of state lands proposed for sale by the state of Wisconsin would result in the direct loss of 1,344 acres of high quality public hunting, fishing and recreational...

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...

As a big game hunter who (like over 90% of Colorado sportsmen) hunts public lands, the recent push by some elected officials and big-industry groups to transfer our federal public lands to state...

States manage their lands to make money, not to provide opportunities for recreation. States can’t afford to manage our public lands and would be forced to either raise taxes (a nonstarter) or...

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...

MISSOULA, Mont. - In the wake of the arrest in Oregon of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada scofflaw and leader of a movement to seize public lands from the American people, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers...

MISSOULA, Mont. - The sportsmen's group Backcountry Hunters & Anglers urged cool, patient heads to prevail in the extremists' occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, valuable public...

BHA rejects proposal from congressional fringe that would gut 50-year-old conservation, access program WASHINGTON - Legislation introduced this morning would dismantle the Land and Water...

  Several months ago it came to light that traditional bow hunters are the fastest growing segment of BHA’s membership.  My own interest in shooting my long-neglected recurve bow had been...