August 22nd, 2018 Attn: Tom BarrettNatural Resource SpecialistNorth Central Montana District Division of Oil and Gas1220 38th Street NorthGreat Falls, MT 59405406-791-7766tjbarrett@blm.gov   Dear Tom Barrett, Thank you for reviewing the following comment on the Environmental Assessment December 11 2018 Lease Sale (DOI-BLM-MT-0000-2018-0002-EA ) from the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. Our members include 2,500 Montana hunters, anglers and others who adamantly champion North ...

The ability to access quality fish and wildlife is an American birthright. The Hunting Heritage and Environmental Legacy Preservation (HELP) for Wildlife Act, S. 1514, ensures this right with the inclusion of strong provisions that make habitat restoration a policy priority. America’s 40 million hunters and anglers who contribute heavily to the $887-billion outdoor recreation economy will reap the benefits from provisions in S. 1514, such as reauthorizing the North American Wetlands ...

Almost equidistant between International Falls, Hibbing and Grand Rapids lies a wide expanse of privately owned working forestland within a patchwork of state and other public lands. The area – which comprises almost a half million acres of forest – is a critical part of Minnesota’s booming $16.7 billion annual recreational economy. The private and public timberlands here are a sustainable and healthy source of both jobs and  timber, with forest management practices that create near-perfect ...

Many people call the Tongass National Forest “America’s Salmon Forest” because so much of the pristine freshwater that feeds the vast salmon spawning grounds of Southeast Alaska originates in the high country here and is filtered through the dense coastal forests. Admiralty Island, a part of the Tongass National Forest, was designated a national monument in 1978, in part because the island – it is huge, 90 miles long and 35 wide – is sacred to the Angoon Tribe of the Tlingit people. With ...

In the mountains just east of Missoula, Montana, in and around the Lolo National Forest, lie 6,140 acres of private lands owned by a timber company that has allowed public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. The private lands are part of the Western lands “checkerboard” that dates back to the opening of the frontier, when the U.S. government awarded sections – square miles, or 640 acres – to various private companies (such as the railroads) to log and develop, while keeping ...