FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 21, 2025   Contact:  media@backcountryhunters.org   Public Lands Victory: BHA Applauds Removal of Public Land Sale Amendment from House Budget Reconciliation Bill  Grassroots pressure from hunters and anglers leads to withdrawal of controversial proposal from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which still includes provisions threatening iconic public lands and waters.    MISSOULA, Mont. — Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), North America’s leading public lands ...

Spring cleanup is in full swing, early season warm weather created perfect conditions for a public land pack out at the Jean M. Booker Conservation Area in Monson, Massachusetts. The Booker Properties are made up of three separate parcels totaling 129 acres owned by the town of Monson, with a conservation restriction held by Opacum Land Trust. The properties are open passive recreation such as walking, hiking, mountain biking, nature viewing, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, hunting and ...

“[David Joy]is a man who sees his homeplace clearly and who writes like his hand was touched by God.” — The New York Times Novelist and essayist David Joy is a tall, lean and red-bearded denizen of the hollers, mountain tops and ridges of Jackson County, North Carolina. He is an obsessive turkey, deer and squirrel hunter, a fisherman who wrote his first published book on fly fishing but who is equally at home running live baits for big flathead catfish on Piedmont rivers. He is on the ...

Michigan BHA goes to Washington DC In early April, Mike Donovan, Chapter Board member, participated in a “DC Fly-In” to talk to our Legislators about the importance of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to Michigan’s hunters, anglers, and other recreationists.   A bipartisan creation in the 1960s, the LWCF is primarily funded by revenues from federal offshore oil and gas leases.  Much like Michigan’s own Natural Resources Trust Fund (created in the 1970s), political leaders and ...

Update from Chapter Chair Hey all, I hope all you turkey hunters have had some success chasing spring gobblers. If not, I hope you at least have enjoyed some time in nature!  This month, I want to highlight a few important messages. First, as I am sure many of you know, our federal public lands are under attack, with not only a proposal to sell off 500,000 acres, but also proposals to fast track mining and drilling on such pristine places as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Now is the time to ...