An effort long championed by access groups to increase fines for illegally blocking public roads made its return to the Legislature on Friday with a bill that could raise fines to up to $500 per day. Rep. Paul Green, R-Hardin, brought House Bill 486 to the House Transportation Committee. The bill would amend Montana law on encroachments, such as a gate, fence or other obstruction, on public rights of way. The law would allow an individual to file a petition with the county to have the ...

A Republican lawmaker from Libby on Wednesday spoke on behalf of a bill that seeks to strike the existing water quality standard for selenium in Lake Koocanusa and double the limit. Selenium is a chemical element entering Lake Koocanusa, a reservoir shared by British Columbia and Montana, from Canadian mining company Teck Coal. Even in small quantities, selenium can hamper reproductive success in fish. Selenium toxicity can also lead to spinal and facial deformities in fish.  Opposing the ...

Show us a resident hunter who doesn't think there are too many out-of-state hunters in Montana. We’ll wait. Truth is, this sentiment isn’t just from anecdotal observations from packed trailheads and crowded public lands. According to Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 29 percent of the total hunters in Montana last year don’t even live here. That’s almost one in three. Read more from the Montana Standard here...

The Brightline West high speed rail project plans to connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas along Interstate 15 and would have created a massive barrier to movement for desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, desert tortoise, desert kit fox and many more species. An unlikely coalition that BHA joined was able to successfully advocate for three wildlife crossings to be included in the project. We don’t all see eye to eye on many issues but it’s always refreshing to see groups put aside their differences ...

IDAHO AND NEVADA CHAPTER COORDINATOR Chapter Coordinator – Idaho and Nevada  Organizational Profile:  Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is a North American nonprofit organization with chapters throughout Canada and the United States. BHA seeks to ensure North America’s outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.  Now, more than ever before, we need wild lands: places that offer solitude and ...