The Public Lands Rule could be great for conservation – we should give it a chance   The Bureau of Land Management Conservation and Landscape Health rule, commonly known as the Public Lands Rule, went into effect nationwide on June 10, 2024. Originally announced a year ago by the Department of the Interior, the intent of the rule is to address the increasing conservation needs on the 245 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) across the country. It’s hard to ...

The following letter was submitted to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission on September 12th ahead of the September 13th, 2024 ODFW Commission meeting: September 12, 2024 Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife4034 Fairview Industrial Drive SESalem, OR 97302 Dear Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission, The undersigned organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of hunters and anglers across the state of Oregon and nation, support the Oregon Department of ...

    Every year Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) celebrates National Public Lands Day as a month-long celebration.  So, what exactly is all this about and what is National Public Land Day.  In 1994 the first Public Lands Appreciation Day was organized by the Times Mirror Magazine.  That year the only public land agency to participate was the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  In the years to follow the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) would take over responsibility of ...

Nothing defines hunting the big woods like wool pants and coats in the classic buffalo check pattern.  Johnson Woolen Mills has been at it in Vermont for nearly two centuries.  They hosted us for the Vermont Northwoods Story Slam at their store Saturday, August 31st and it was a great time! They graciously donated over $1000 worth of goods for raffle and give-aways.  The main prizes were a "Hunting package" with pants, shirt, crusher hat, orange vest, gloves, socks, light weight jacket and ...

In the history of ill-advised plans and underhanded schemes to squander the public lands legacy shared by all Americans, Utah officials may have just eclipsed the rest of the bunch. In August, the State of Utah filed a lawsuit with the United States Supreme Court to wrestle 18.5 million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) away from its rightful owners, the American people. If transferred from federal jurisdiction to Utah, the state’s own track record shows ...