Stewardship in Action: Fence Removal, Field Education, and Sweat Equity  On the Thursday leading into Rende 2025, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and the Missoula BLM field office kicked off the weekend with a boots on the ground stewardship project. Twenty-five volunteers and four BLM staff headed up the Blackfoot River, just east of Missoula, to remove half a mile of old fencing along Belmont Creek.     Over coffee and a light breakfast, the BLM's Assistant Field Manager gave a ...

To celebrate this year’s Public Lands Day, Montana BHA Chapter volunteers organized a river cleanup on the Missouri River between Holter Dam and the town of Cascade. Boasting over 7,000 trout per mile, this 35-mile section is one of the most well-known stretches of river among trout anglers around the world. Consistent water temps and an excellent biomass of insects, baitfish, crustaceans, and vegetation makes this portion of the upper Missouri River a trout factory, attracting thousands of ...

Photos & video by The Herd Studios On June 29th and 30th, a group of 15 BHA volunteers and 8 US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) employees removed 3 miles of barbed wire fence from the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR) in Phillips County, Montana. The fence ran across the middle and southern end of the Rock Creek drainage just east of the Slippery Ann Elk Viewing Area. This is prime elk and mule deer habitat in the iconic Missouri Breaks! We had a great turnout for the ...

On June 29th, a dedicated team of volunteers rolled up their sleeves to breathe new life into the Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area. Our mission was to dismantle outdated fencing and restore crucial habitat for the diverse wildlife that call this area home. Armed with determination and the necessary tools, the group tackled a demanding stretch of terrain, methodically removing multiple strands of barbed wire that spanned over a quarter mile. The challenge was amplified by a particularly ...

On Sunday, seven BHA volunteers joined The Nature Conservancy and state corporate partners, Grizzly Liquor, to pull a mile of old barbed wire fence on the boundary of a Block Management Area owned by TNC.⁣ ⁣Volunteers met early Sunday morning at Grizzly Liquor for coffee and donuts before carpooling to the project location in the Blackfoot Valley. The Nature Conservancy's Western Montana Land Steward, Steve Kloetzel, shared a brief background on the landscape and project before volunteers ...