News for Immediate ReleaseJuly 22, 2016Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Enhanced access would benefit public lands sportsmen on 13 refuges in nine states, including new hunting opportunities in Colorado and Michigan WASHINGTON - New hunting and angling opportunities on national wildlife refuges provide increased public access for sportsmen during a time when access is shrinking, said Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, commending a decision by the U.S. Fish and ...

The Wisconsin Chapter of BHA was formed in March and has hit the ground running to tackle issues of conservation, public lands and waters access, and raising awareness of the chapter’s creation. We worked with the outdoor editor in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and published an article on the chapter’s formation. On May 11th we held a happy hour in Milwaukee to bring members together and plan to hold similar events in the future throughout the state. We are working with the WI DNR to assist ...

July 13, 2016 To Whom It May Concern: Please accept this letter as public comment pertaining to the DRAFT 2016-2026 Statewide Trails Strategic Plan on behalf of Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), as well as our extensive membership. We applaud your efforts to gain widespread feedback in advance of development of this plan. But to ensure you are aware, a technical glitch prohibited some of those attempting to call the conference line to participate in early discussions. As such, we ...

A HUNTER HEADS OUT EARLY ONE MORNING to visit a favorite duck blind on public property, only to find a new gate across a public road. Two elk hunters drive toward public land in the Missouri River Breaks and run into a locked gate across a road they’d traveled freely for years. Fly fishermen arrive at a bridge over a famous trout stream and find the route to the water barred by No Trespassing signs and electric fences. Welcome to the New West.All of these events took place in Montana. The ...

The following comments were submitted in regards to the Shoshone National Forest Travel Management Plan on behalf of Wyoming BHA. Please accept our comments on the draft Shoshone National Forest Travel Plan document. We appreciate the Forest Service recognizing the Shoshone National Forest (SNF) as a “backcountry forest.” We also appreciate that there no additional routes planned in the Wiggins Roadless Area. We urge the SNF to maintain its existing route system, and enforce the regulations ...