FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2025  Contact: media@backcountryhunters.org    MISSOULA, Mont. — Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) is rebuking a sweeping new proposal released by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would force the sale of up to 3 million acres of public lands under the guise of a solution to the housing crisis. This proposal—led by committee chair Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)—would apply to public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan. 21, 2025 Contact:  Kaden McArthur, Director of Policy and Government Relations, mcarthur@backcountryhunters.org   President Trump’s Day One Actions Include Assault on Alaska Public Lands  Executive order threatens conservation of more than 50 million acres of iconic wild landscapes  Washington, D.C. — Following his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, President Donald Trump signed numerous executive orders, among them an order strongly ...

News for Immediate ReleaseJan. 25, 2023Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Roadless Areas in the Tongass National Forest offer irreplaceable big game habitat, host valuable salmon fisheries WASHINGTON – Unique backcountry fish and wildlife habitat in America’s largest national forest, the Tongass in Alaska, will once again be conserved under a rule finalized today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This afternoon’s announcement by the USDA is the latest ...

MISSOULA, Mont. – Backcountry roadless lands in the Tongass National Forest, a public lands crown jewel in southeast Alaska, will see conservation safeguards restored and new measures put in place under a U.S. Department of Agriculture approach to boost the region’s economy, support local communities and conserve priceless natural resources. USDA’s Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy will end large-scale old-growth timber sales in the Tongass, focusing management practices instead on ...

News for Immediate ReleaseJan. 21, 2021Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Biden administration orders temporary moratorium on oil and gas development in the refuge, heeding the call of hunters and anglers, outdoor businesses, others MISSOULA, Mont. – The wildlife-rich coastal plain within Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been temporarily placed off-limits to oil and gas development under an executive order issued last night by the Biden ...

News for Immediate ReleaseDec. 7, 2020Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org The entities sent a letter to leaders in Congress and the administration urging them to conserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska MISSOULA, Mont. – As a controversial plan to open sensitive fish and wildlife habitat within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge advances, a cadre of outdoor-focused businesses and groups is uniting in support of the ...

News for Immediate ReleaseOct. 16, 2019Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Prime big game habitat and fisheries left vulnerable as administration exempts Tongass National Forest from management under National Roadless Rule MISSOULA, Mont. – Fish and wildlife-rich backcountry areas in the Tongass National Forest, America’s largest, will be opened to logging, road construction and industrial development under a proposal being advanced by the U.S. Department of ...