The Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers recently appointed Lewis French as an Assistant Regional Director for the Central West Slope Group. Lew was born in Long Island, New York, and raised in West Newbury, Vermont. “I started hunting at age 12 protecting our vegetable garden from wood chucks,” Lew said. “No one in my family hunted but there was a vintage copy of ‘Camping and Woodcraft’ by Horace Kephart in the house that I read many times.” He attended college at the ...

I spent a portion of my childhood pursuing adventures on lands and waters within what is now known as the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument; however, the history of the land and its cultural significance to the people of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation can be traced far beyond that. The Berryessa Snow Mountain region is the crown jewel of Northern California’s wild Inner Coast Range. These public lands stretch nearly 100 miles from the shores of Lake Berryessa to the flanks of Snow ...

On Thursday, February 22, hundreds of hunters and anglers gathered on the steps of the State Capitol in Helena, Montana. Huddled around propane heaters amid subzero temperatures, we’d come to protest a slew of newly-introduced bills that threaten the state’s hard-won culture of fair-minded access to hunting, fishing, and public lands. If passed, the legislative measures would restrict entry to public lands, siphon money away from critical conservation programs, threaten the state’s cherished ...

This 2023 Legislative Session, H.B. 208 “Criminal Trespass Amendments” was passed. Sponsored by Rep. Scott Chew, H.B.208 assigns a defined penalty for wading and walking on stream beds and banks of non-navigable waterways that flow through privately owned property by authorizing law enforcement to issue a class B misdemeanor for offenses. Currently, this type of activity is already characterized by existing law as trespassing. However, there are no specific criminal repercussions specified ...

News for Immediate ReleaseMarch 8, 2023Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Ruby Mountains Protection Act would conserve 340,000-plus acres home to mule deer, sage grouse, Lahontan cutthroat trout WASHINGTON – More than 340,000 acres of public lands and waters in northeast Nevada’s Ruby Mountains would be conserved under legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate today. The Ruby Mountains Protection Act would prohibit oil and gas leasing on more than 300,000 ...