This is your July edition of BHA's State Policy Spotter - a high-level scan of state policy and legislation impacting our wild public lands, waters and wildlife across North America. Note - this...

On the morning of June 15th, members of the VT BHA leadership team met at Green River Reservoir. After a brief parking lot link up, we paddled to a day use site. Important issues were tackled, and...

For the last several years the New England Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers has advocated to reform Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). After first weighing in in...

This is a hands-on Tenkara Fly Fishing workshop with a day of instruction to learn basic understanding and practice techniques. Our organizers are from Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA),...

RI BHA Sponsors 2025 Youth Mentored Turkey Hunt For the second year in a row BHA’s New England Chapter is sponsoring the RI Youth Mentored Wild Turkey Hunt coordinated by The Light Foundation and...

BHA submitted online testimony in reference to two bills up for public hearing in the Connecticut General Assembly Environment Committee today (3/24/25).   Connecticut is one of the few states...

We are taking a moment before the snow melts revealing sheds, ice melts on our fishing spots and the turkeys start strutting to catch everyone up with some policy activity here in...

UPDATE - 2/13/25 Good news! House Bill 202: House Committee Vote 14-1, Inexpedient to Legislate. Fortunately, the bill’s forward progress is all but over. Today, the House Fish and Game and Marine...

Rhode Island BHA 2024 Policy Roundup Following a successful year in 2023, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ team in Rhode Island advocated more effectively than ever in 2024 to support the Ocean...

The Vermont team of the New England Chapter hosted a Pint Night at the Bear Naked Growler December 19th in Montpelier, VT. The focus of the evening was to hear from Ethan Tapper, local Vermont...

Your input is crucial to a successful 2025 New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan. Let your voice be heard and help to protect New Hampshire’s wildlife and wild places by taking the Wildlife Action...

As part of BHA’s Yardsale Auction, New England BHA is auctioning a fully outfitted Rhode Island waterfowl hunt for the winner and three hunting buddies (4 people total) that was generously donated...

On October 15, 2024, BHA’s Rhode Island Team submitted written testimony to NOAA, related to their periodic coastal management program review focused on Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Management...

On September 28th, New England BHA attended StiperFest and was represented by Aaron Townsley and Jen True from the Massachusetts Team and talked with hundreds of folks about BHA's conservation...

September is Public Lands Month and it was a perfect time to come out to Salisbury Beach State Reservation and help clean up the beach. Salisbury Beach is a unique area where the Merrimack River...

Nothing defines hunting the big woods like wool pants and coats in the classic buffalo check pattern.  Johnson Woolen Mills has been at it in Vermont for nearly two centuries.  They hosted us for...

New England BHA led two Whitetail Deer Hunting workshops on August 17 at the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine Outdoor Education Center in Augusta.  The workshops were presented in partnership with...

Non-Lead Ammunition Speaks for Itself at Maine Workshop By Rob Bryan 8/11/2024   On August 10, Rob Bryan represented the New England Chapter at a workshop presented by the Non-Lead Partnership and...

Each year fish & wildlife agencies around the country assemble teams of biologists, technicians, and volunteers to take on the important conservation work of banding waterfowl. Unlike winter...

Vermont S.258 emerged as one of the most contentious wildlife and hunting-related bills in the state's recent history. Shortly after its introduction, the Vermont Backcountry Hunters and Anglers...

Some time between late 2022 and early 2023 the Quidnessett Country Club (QCC), located near the northern end of North Kingstown RI, built a sea wall near one of the holes of their golf course. Had...

Just days before the end of the 2024 legislative session the RI General Assembly approved three wildlife bills in concurrence, each of which was supported by the New England Chapter of Backcountry...

The Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Sigurd F. Olson Award recognizes outstanding effort conserving rivers, lakes or wetland habitat. Patrick Saunders, a New England BHA Chapter Board Member, is the...

Earlier this year New England BHA’s Rhode Island Team announced that we would be sponsoring the 2024 RI Youth Mentored Wild Turkey Hunt coordinated by The Light Foundation and the Rhode Island...

It was a very successful day at the Maine Skowhegan Fence Removal Project last Sunday April 28th.  A small but feisty crew removed +1500’ of fence that was wrapped in invasive plants!  The Maine...

The Connecticut team of the New England Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers joined Joe Ross, arborist and founder of eattheplanet.org, and Amy Demers, founder of CT Foraging Club, for a...

The Vermont team of the New England Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers held a Maintenance Day at Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area  on April 13th, removing brush and trees on the West...

On April 8th, 2024, the Vermont team submitted a comment to the US Forest Service on the Telephone Gap Integrated Resource Project (Telephone Gap IRP). The Green Mountain National Forest is part...

4/5/24 The US Forest Service is seeking public comment on a project called the Telephone Gap Integrated Resource Project (Telephone Gap IRP). The scope of the project is broad and it includes a...

  Thanks to pressure from the hunting and angling community, which was generated from New England BHA and other key Vermont Sporting groups, lawmakers made significant amendments to S.258 before...

For the first time, BHA’s New England Chapter is sponsoring the RI Youth Mentored Wild Turkey Hunt coordinated by The Light Foundation and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s...

2/17/2024 The Vermont Legislative session is in full swing and bills that will have a major impact on our ability to hunt, fish, and trap are up for discussion.  The Senate Committee on Natural...

There’s no way around it – as hunting seasons wind down in the Northeast we tend to hang on to the fleeting opportunities that remain to pursue wildlife on our public lands & waters, before we...

On Saturday February 10th, and on the heels of the Small Game Hunting Course the New England Chapter partnered with MassWildlife to present, as part of their Learn to Hunt Program, over a dozen...

The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) and the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) are leading  Move Forward Together Vermont a large-scale planning...

The New England Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is looking for a few Maine members with energy and a commitment to the future of hunting and fishing.  Are you willing to donate some...

On Tuesday February 6th RI’s House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will meet at the Rise of the House to hold public hearings on several bills, including two wildlife bills that...

Last April BHA’s Rhode Island team participated in a preliminary determination hearing before the Jamestown Harbor Commission related to two CRMC aquaculture applications, 2023-02-080 and...

  As 2023-24 hunting seasons wind down, New England BHA’s Board is making plans for the upcoming year. During the weekend of January 27th the NEBHA Board held its annual meeting, where we...

This Tuesday, October 24th, RI’s Coastal Resources Management Council will meet to consider Application 2023-04-094, in which RI’s Department of Transportation outlines plans to rebuild the bike...

Earlier this year Massachusetts Representative Michael Day (D-Middlesex) introduced HD4420 – An Act to Modernize Firearm Laws. This piece of legislation, which was both complicated and extensive,...

In collaboration with the University of New Hampshire's Wildlife Management and Modeling Lab (WMML) and New Hampshire Fish and Game, the New England Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA)...

The Archery Deer Hunting Season Extension: Massachusetts BHA's Call for Change In the heart of Massachusetts, an important discussion has emerged surrounding the proposed extension of the archery...

For nearly twenty years, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers has sought to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting. A vision for backcountry conservation and...

For the last several years BHA’s New England Chapter has played a leading role in the organization’s advocacy efforts to recover and protect Atlantic Striped Bass, which have been supported by...

 The Warden is Watching By Spencer Como     Last January, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Armed Force Initiative held a leadership camp outside the Parker River Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts....

Take Action  TAKE ACTION NOW Protecting Shoreline Access is a top priority for the Rhode Island BHA team in 2023. Alongside a growing coalition of shoreline access advocates and organizations,...

Next week ASMFC Commissioners from up and down the east coast will convene in Arlington, VA for the Commission’s Winter Meeting. As part of this meeting, ASMFC’s Striped Bass Board is scheduled to...

  AFI Director Trevor Hubbs has been hitting the podcast network on a speaking tour for a few months garnering support for the program and building sponsor relationships.   For a list of Podcast...

Take Action Now! For the past few months, we have been excited to share that MassWildlife will be moving forward on several of our regulatory priorities. These include ending hunting hour...

This is one of those times where we can look back and realize in very specific terms that we CAN make a difference for the resources we care so much about when we engage in the processes that...

In early May the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will convene for their spring meeting, at which time we’re expected to see their Atlantic Striped Bass Board finalize Amendment...

The Massachusetts State Leadership Team was disappointed to learn that S.507, An Act Addressing Noise Issues of Migratory GameHunters Near Coastal Dwellings, accompanied with S.508, An Act...

The VT State Team of BHA recently submitted comments to Senator Leahy, with copies to other state and federal decision makers, in support of a federal appropriation to add to United States Fish...

Thanks to the hard work of the Massachusetts State Leadership Team and BHA’s Massachusetts membership, with the help of hunters, anglers, as well as other hunting and fishing organizations, we...

The New England Chapter of BHA has introduced legislation in the RI General Assembly that if passed would protect Rhode Island’s wildlife, and in particular our wild deer. Introduced by Rep. Scott...

With the Rhode Island legislative session in full swing and DEM’s hunting & fishing annual regulatory process right around the corner we’ve been working hard to ensure the voices of hunters and...

Welcome to the inaugural edition of a quarterly update from Maine Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. Our goal is to provide highlights of current news on the policy front, preview coming events and...

­2021 was the first year of the biennial session of the Legislature and a busy one for the Maine BHA policy team. In addition to the big $40 million Land for Maine’s Future win, volunteers worked...

Earlier this year the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers New York and New England Chapters submitted comments on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Public Information Document for...

2021 has been an interesting year, and while we did not host in-person events during the first half of the year the New England BHA team was hard at work standing up for the interests of hunters...

 The New England Chapter’s New Hampshire State Leadership Team recently submitted final comments on Bear Brook State Park’s revised management plan.  At nearly 10,000 acres, Bear Brook State Park...

In April of 2020, two Little Compton brothers applied for a lease to establish a commercial oyster growing operation in the tidal waters adjacent to Sapowet Marsh Wildlife Management Area in...

Rhode Island’s Constitution, Article 1 Section 17 states: “The People shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all rights of fishery, and the privileges of the shore, to which they have been...

In the first two months of 2021, the Maine BHA team identified over 75 bills introduced to the Legislature that could impact hunting and fishing, land conservation, and public access.  As of March...

The New England Chapter of BHA recently introduced language in the Rhode Island General Assembly to prohibit captive hunting in Rhode Island. Introduced by Rep. Scott Slater (D – District...

There's something in the water in Vermont. This month, BHA added the University of Vermont to their roster of college clubs, the third in the state joining St. Michael's College and Castleton...

Today, the House passed the Great American Outdoors Act with a 310-107 vote. It now makes its way to the President's desk for a final signature. BHA members across the U.S. made their voices...

By Joshua Hardt On a bone-biting cold March 7, turkey hunting seemed like it was eons away.  I drove to the Hubbardton Battlefield, a stunning series of meadows that stare directly down the...

  In New Hampshire, the New England chapter partnered with the Monadnock Conservancy to celebrate the protection of the Cunningham Pond Conservation Area, in Peterborough. BHA members provided...

For the second year in a row, bills intended to prohibit captive hunting in Rhode Island have been introduced in the General Assembly. H 7305, introduced by Representative McNamara and company,...

February 15, 2020, Brandon, VT- Vermont members of BHA, along with a few new friends, met to celebrate public lands at Red Clover Ale Co. There were tales of turkeys, tracking bucks, big brown...

On Saturday September 28 the New England Chapter of BHA partnered with the USFS and the USFWS staff on the Green Mountain National Forest and the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge for...

BHA-NE members partnered with other organizations on a riverbank restoration project on the East Branch of the Passumpsic River, a Learn to Turkey Hunt weekend, a Full Draw Film Tour event, the...

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible disease that is deadly to all members of the deer family, including whitetail and mule deer, moose, elk, and caribou. Currently, the disease is...

By now you have probably noticed the days getting longer, the sun getting warmer and the birds getting louder. Some fishing seasons are already open, and others will be opening soon.  Spring...

Thanks for being part of the fastest growing conservation organization in the country! Your efforts are paying off- the U.S. Senate just passed S.47, now we need the U.S. House to...

Connecticut hunters and anglers have long enjoyed the privilege of practicing their craft in the public lands and waters of their home state. The State Forests, Wildlife Management Areas, State...

Connecticut: A number of inquiries about membership came from Connecticut this spring. Board member Matthew McKenzie has met with one individual, Andy Billip, and together they are planning a...

Board member Matt McKenzie of Connecticut submitted a letter on behalf of the chapter in support of the proposed Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge in New England. The plan would protect...