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 ...

The time to resolve a moral crisis is not when your finger is stroking the trigger. I found that out the hard way.   It was my second hunting trip with my grandfather.  The first time, I had somehow managed to avoid actually shooting, letting him and my dad tradeoff until we were out of ammo.  My grandfather was having none of that this time.  I knew that he didn’t dare say anything, but his presence over my shoulder was clearer than words.   Take the shot. Squeeze the trigger. The ...

Thank you to everyone who submitted a comment on the Gooseberry Creek/ Narrows Reservoir Project. BHA Utah, along with several local partners Trout Unlimited, Utah Rivers Council, and Western Rivers Flyfisher, are excited to report that the Bureau of Reclamation's Final Environmental Impact Statement (BORs FEIS) "did not have the information necessary to make a permit decision." Consequently, "the permit application has been administratively withdrawn pending the issuance of a draft ...