The following is testimony provided by Gene Byrnes to the Mesa County Commission regarding the need for protecting roadless tracts of wildlife habitat on public lands.  Gene joined two other BHA members to present this information on on January 27, 2014.  Gene is a retired CPW Wildlife Biologist and avid sportsman.I worked for the CDOW for 30 years as a conservation officer (game warden), game damage specialist and terrestrial wildlife biologist. I worked all over NW CO from 1972 -2002.I am ...

December 5, 2013The Honorable Sally Jewell, SecretaryDepartment of the Interior1849 C Street NWWashington D.C. 20240Dear Secretary Jewell:The conservation groups listed below are writing to you to express our concern about growing issues regarding the current and future management of greater sage-grouse on federal public lands and the impending decision whether to list the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Our organizations have extensive ...

Since in the 1980’s Montana has been the “gold standard” in terms of protecting its citizen’s rights to recreational access of the waterways within its borders. In 1984 The Montana Supreme Court held that the streambed of any river or stream that allows for recreational use can be accessed by the public, from public land, regardless of whether the waterway is “navigable” or who owns the adjacent streambed property. The Montana Stream Access Law gives the public rights to access streams and ...

By Jon Pampush, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Condon, Oregon: On January 13, The Bureau of Land Management hosted a meeting to accept a second round of comments concerning a proposed lease of BLM lands to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD). The lease would effectively transfer management of 10,000 acres of intermingled and surrounding BLM land to OPRD to enhance the size of the new Cottonwood Canyon State Park and permit development on the BLM land to serve park visitors. ...

Karl Findling could be a poster boy for public lands and our access to them. Findling has hunted and fished Oregon’s public lands for four decades and his passion for their preservation runs deep. Few people have covered as much of the state as Findling. Whether it’s the SE Desert region, Eastern Mountains, the Central Region, Cascade Mountains, or Western Oregon, Karl knows Oregon from a boots-on-the-ground perspective better than most of us. To help fuel his passion for wild backcountry, ...