By Nicky Ouellet - March 18, 2019 - Originally published at Montana Public Radio.   A coalition of wildlife, conservation and outdoor recreation business groups has launched an effort to find ways to fund conservation and maintenance projects on public lands. Eric Melson says the Montana Outdoor Heritage Project is trying to hear from 10,000 Montanans on what they value about the state’s public lands and outdoor recreation, and how those values should be funded. "The idea is to collect a lot ...

News for Immediate ReleaseMarch 15, 2019Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org   New plans for sage grouse habitat allow potentially harmful industrial development, undermine years of good-faith collaboration by stakeholders   MISSOULA, Mont. – New federal management plans for habitat relied upon by the greater sage grouse in 11 Western states ease restrictions on potentially harmful industrial development and undo collaborative efforts that were years in the ...

By Christian Appel and Hannah Nikonow - March 14th, 2019 - Originally Published in the Missoulian. As public land owners, we’re ecstatic and proud to see all three members of Montana’s congressional delegation step forward in strong support of the Natural Resources Management Act, S. 47, which last month cleared both the U.S. House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Sen. Jon Tester, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte all demonstrated significant leadership and a clear ...

Hunters often cite insufficient access as one of the primary factors in the decline of hunter participation. Yet the word “access” can have many different meanings. To those in the West, it can mean acquiring more public lands or opening up landlocked public lands. To hunters in the East and South, access is summed up by the commoditization of private land through hunting leases; unless you’ve got the cash, you don’t get the access. There just simply are not enough places open to the public ...

News for Immediate ReleaseMarch 12, 2019Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org   President signs S. 47, most significant conservation legislation in a decade, following strong support by Congress and advocacy by sportsmen and women   WASHINGTON – Public lands sportsmen and women are celebrating a significant victory following the president’s signing a massive package of conservation and access bills into the law of the land. Permanent reauthorization of the Land ...