The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on future development and recreation management of the Cross Bar Special Recreation Management Area in the Panhandle from now until June 12. During the comment period, the BLM is asking to hear opinions from public land owners and other stakeholders on issues regarding the Cross Bar’s current conditions, future proposed recreation management strategies, facilities, infrastructure, access, and recreational opportunities. Cross Bar SRMA, ...

Over a week has passed since the bill-filing deadline in the 89th Texas Legislative Session, and Texas BHA has been deep in the weeds monitoring key pieces of legislation on priority issues — most notably around the control of chronic wasting disease, deer breeding, and even a short-lived attempt to abolish the state game agency responsible for regulating those issues. The BHA policy team has identified more than four dozen pieces of legislation directly relevant to our mission of protecting ...

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 ...

In early 2022, a private landowner illegally blocked access to a popular public hunting and fishing destination in East Texas known locally as “The Cutoff”. A group of local sportsmen who hunt and fish there have challenged the move in court, and Texas BHA is rallying behind them. The Cutoff, also called Creslenn Lake, spans 12 miles along the boundary for Navarro and Henderson Counties. Originally part of the Trinity River, the waterway was separated from its main channel by a levee ...

SB 1236 Recently, SB 1236 was passed by the Texas government. This new law removes the opportunity for hunters to use public riverbeds and streams for hunting as it bans using rifles and archery equipment (unless equipped with a reel and line) in public waterways. During the recent legislative session, this decision has been met with opposition from various groups, including the Texas Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. However, despite the opposition, SB 1236 was passed unanimously ...