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 ...

Welcome to your first glimpse of BHA's Western Policy Spotter - a high-level scan of state policy and legislation impacting wild public lands, waters and wildlife across the West. Much like wading through the marsh wearing heavy waders and a bag overloaded with decoys, BHA’s chapter leaders are trudging through a few bills this legislative session that will require careful footwork and dogged persistence. While there are many mission critical bills currently in front of BHA's chapters, one ...

We are halfway through the legislative year with our representatives back in session since June 12. As usual, many measures were introduced, but very few impactful items related to public-land access actually passed. The main highlights of the first half of the session were the passage of a new budget with public-land friendly allocations, as well as the adoption of a House Concurrent Memorial (introduced by a real estate broker) calling for the sale of public land to solve Arizona’s housing ...

The following opinion article by Arizona BHA Legislative Director Jason Ceola follows the BHA's Policy Position on the need for science-based sustainably managed populations feral horse and burros. A copy of BHA's position statement on this issue can be found here (2020 North American Policy Statement: U.S. Feral Horse and Burro Management). We do not suggest that these horses be completely removed from the landscape, but that they be actively managed so their populations remain at a level ...

Some of my favorite traditions involve spending time outside with my family in the great outdoors. We make annual trips to places all over the state. We love to chase elusive trout in pristine streams and lakes, pursue squirrels in the Ponderosa pines, and listen to bugling elk serenade us to sleep. Spending that time with my family, especially my children, has shaped who I am and who my children will become. Hunting and fishing are American traditions that often are passed down from ...