A 2020 Field Report from BHA

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BACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS AND ANGLERS IS AN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO THE STEWARDSHIP OF OUR PUBLIC LANDS. HERE, JOHN GALE OF BHA OFFERS A LOOK AT THEIR MISSION, SOME OF THE YEAR’S MOST IMPORTANT INITIATIVES, AND HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED.

Perhaps it’s the symphony of sounds and scents – freshly split pine, that first wisp of smoke and the unmistakable pop and crackle as wood gives way to flame. Part of that magic is the way that campfires bring people together. As if drawn in by the siren call of the wild promising food, fellowship and reconnection, people have gathered around fires since people and fires have existed.

 

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Backcountry Hunters & Anglers was formed by visionary leaders who gathered around an Oregon campfire in 2004. Whether it was magic, fate or serendipity, that fire, under a quilt of stars like a banner across the Cascade Mountains, was the beginning of something special for hunters, anglers and wildlife conservation.

As the fastest growing conservation organization in North America, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife. We seek to ensure North America’s outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting through education and work on behalf of fish, wildlife and wild places. With over 400,000 members and supporters, BHA is increasingly drawing support from sportsmen and women across the continent who share our commitment to fair chase and the ethical pursuit of wild fish and game.

Whether it was magic, fate or serendipity, that fire, under a quilt of stars like a banner across the Cascade Mountains, was the beginning of something special for hunters, anglers and wildlife conservation.

We also take pride in representing the next generation of nature resource stewards with our 2020 membership survey indicating that nearly 70 percent of our membership is aged 45 or younger. Additionally, we are incredibly diverse politically, with 28 percent identifying as Independent, 23 percent Republican, 18 percent Democrat, 6 percent Libertarian and 1 percent Green.

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With 86 percent of BHA’s membership spending more than half their time afield on our public lands and waters and 35 percent of sportsmen and women in our ranks depending on wild game or wildly harvested food for at least half their diets, BHA members understand that the continuation of the very things we love – hunting, fishing, wildlife, wild places and wild food – depend upon our ability to move forward together and develop collaborative partnerships committed to the stewardship of our natural resources.

As an innovative organization committed to an entrepreneurial conservation approach, we uniquely represent the challenge, solitude and adventure that only the backcountry can provide. By promoting science-based management policies and habitat protection, BHA is working to marshal and unify all voices across North American to ensure that robust populations of fish and wildlife have access to clean water and intact landscapes.

Access and Opportunity

Access has emerged as a priority issue for American hunters and anglers, and lack of access is cited by sportsmen and women as the No. 1 reason why we stop pursuing our passions.

The concepts of access and opportunity extend well beyond physical barriers. Well-monied interests are invested in dismantling the North American Model in favor of practices that benefit only those who can pay for these privileges. BHA is committed to amplifying the voices of our chapters to influence policies that not only address the physical issue of access but also prioritize conservation of key lands and waters, protection of valuable habitat, implementation of responsible land management policies, and resistance to the privatization of public lands, waters and wildlife.

Our outdoor heritage is guided by the public lands legacy established by President Theodore Roosevelt and foresighted visionaries who understood the importance of taking action both for the sake of the resource and for the benefit of the generations that follow ours. That spirit of stewardship, along with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the Public Trust Doctrine, make the United States unique. They set our country apart by declaring that fish and wildlife belong to each and every citizen – and we all have equal opportunities to access and enjoy them.

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Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is committed to advancing legislative and administrative efforts to secure public access to quality hunting and fishing on our public lands and waters. Places that have become isolated, landlocked without legal easement or entangled in ownership disputes demand our collective advocacy. Currently, more than 9.5 million acres of public lands in the West are landlocked – surrounded by private lands – and inaccessible. Fortunately, we have an opportunity in Congress to improve access and help federal land management agencies develop plans to secure access to landlocked public lands.

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is committed to advancing legislative and administrative efforts to secure public access to quality hunting and fishing on our public lands and waters. Places that have become isolated, landlocked without legal easement or entangled in ownership disputes demand our collective advocacy. Currently, more than 9.5 million acres of public lands in the West are landlocked – surrounded by private lands – and inaccessible. Fortunately, we have an opportunity in Congress to improve access and help federal land management agencies develop plans to secure access to landlocked public lands.

Senators. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Angus King (I-ME) and Representatives Russ Fulcher (R-ID) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) introduced bicameral legislation, the Modernizing Access to Our Public Land (MAPLand) Act. The legislation will provide public land management agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation and Corps of Engineers, with $33.5 million through fiscal year 2023 to modernize map records from paper to a standard, online database.

The MAPLand Act also requires public land management agencies to collect data on accessible public lands so that this information can be made available to hunters, anglers and other outdoor recreationists. This new wealth of information allows hunters and anglers to discover new opportunities on our public lands and waters all while boosting our nation’s annual $778 billion outdoor recreation economy.

Join BHA in encouraging your lawmakers to cosponsor the MAPLand Act and standardize the way we access mapping data on our public lands and waters.

You can also learn more by reading this great blog from our friends at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

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Wild Places

We aren’t adding any new untrammeled lands and waters on the map so we have a responsibility to protect the pristine nature of existing wild places for future generations.

BHA and our partners that make up Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters represent a coalition of hunters and anglers united in support of protecting public lands and waters upstream of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness currently threatened by misguided mining proposals. The Boundary Waters, America’s most-visited wilderness area, lies within the Superior National Forest, first recognized by Theodore Roosevelt, and contains 20 percent of the fresh water in the entire National Forest System.

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The Boundary Waters and the contiguous Voyageurs National Park are home to almost half of Minnesota’s native fish species, and lakes in Minnesota contain the United States’ second-largest lake trout population. Contamination of the South Kawishiwi River and the surrounding area jeopardizes not only the cold, clean water for which the area is known but also ongoing efforts to conserve species iconic to the region.

Studies show a high likelihood of forest fragmentation from mining development, disrupting wildlife migration and habitat use. The Boundary Waters is mostly made up of forest on thin soils and granite bedrock; therefore, acid mine drainage, a byproduct of copper-nickel mining, would impact lowland forest and surrounding rivers, creeks and wetlands.

Fortunately, we have an opportunity to ensure that the Boundary Waters stays pristine. The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act (H.R. 5598), introduced by Reps. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Francis Rooney (R-FL), is critical legislation that would create a permanent mineral withdrawal of 234,328 acres of public lands in the watershed surrounding the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from copper-nickel mining development and mineral leasing. Drafted in response to the outcry from hunters, anglers and others over the proposed sulfide-ore copper mine, the bill would maintain the pristine ecological quality and unparalleled hunting and fishing opportunities of the Boundary Waters watershed.

H.R. 5598 does nothing to stop existing mining, protects existing jobs, and sets rules whereby future mining, logging, and wilderness travel can coexist. Minnesota’s Iron Range has a rich history of iron mining – not copper-nickel mining. BHA has not advocated against iron mining in Minnesota. We advocate for resource development in areas that have low impacts to fish and wildlife habitat and contribute to a robust economy.

BHA President and CEO Land Tawney was invited to testify before Congress as a witness in support of this vital legislation. In his testimony, Tawney reinforced, “Perhaps nowhere else in America better represents the idea that some places are too important to risk. …There has never been a copper/sulfide mine that hasn’t leached contaminants. Never. Mineral development of this fragile and dynamic landscape doesn’t make sense. Not now. Not ever.”

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The House Committee on Natural Resources recently scheduled a committee mark-up for H.R. 5598, a critical first step in advancing the bill and a signal from the House that the Boundary Waters are a priority. A legislative package of lands bills may come together after the election in the waning days, or “lame duck” session of the 116th Congress. With your help, H.R. 5598 could be included.

As a wilderness advocate and conservation visionary, Sigurd Olson knew wild lands and waters would never be guaranteed without the dedication of hunters, anglers and all advocates working together. While the ink has long dried on the following words, they seem remarkably relevant today:

Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.

In Olson’s book, Open Horizons, he said, The world needs metals and men need work, but they also must have wilderness and beauty, and in the years to come will need it even more. I thought of the broad, beautiful America we had found and our dream of freedom and opportunity and wondered. Could man in his new civilization afford to lose again and again to progress? Did we have the right to deprive future generations of what we have known? What would the future bring?”

Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.

Take a stand for the Boundary Waters and ask your Members of Congress to support the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act (H.R. 5598). Taking action now may be one of the best things we can all do to celebrate Public Lands Day and keep this watershed clean, healthy and full of quality hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities.

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Grassroots Leadership

The heart and soul of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is our grassroots leaders and boots-on-the-ground conservation approach. From our growing chapter presence across North America to BHA’s Armed Forces Initiative, Collegiate Club Program, and our Hunting for Sustainability programs, our efforts are rooted locally to ensure our outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands and waters.

September is Public Lands Month and our friends at C.C. Filson are stepping up with our grassroots team. What better way to celebrate Public Lands Month than honing your backcountry knowledge with fellow public land owners from across North America? Join BHA and Filson for a packed schedule of demonstrations and seminars on topics ranging from bird dog nutrition to public lands whitetail hunting.

This is your chance to pick up valuable tips from outdoor experts. Speakers include Jared Gortsema and James Zandstra of Bowga Hunting, Courtney Bastian of The Bird Dog Babe podcast, and BHA South Dakota all-star Ashley Kurtenbach, among many others. With a lineup of a dozen events on wide-ranging topics, there’s something to be learned for everyone.
Sign up here for these FREE events! At each event, Filson will give away a custom dry duffle and wool cap to a lucky attendee.

Our grassroots force is also using Public Lands Month to help take on the task of keeping our public lands and waters clean and open to recreation, The 2020 Public Land Pack Out is here, and we need your help to make it a roaring success. Last year, BHA members packed out a stunning 600 bags worth of trash from fishing access sites, shooting ranges, wildlife management areas and other areas on which hunters and anglers depend for access and opportunity. This year, we’re gunning for 1,000 bags of trash packed out in the month of September. So far our Armed Forces Initiative crew is crushing it with the Fort Bragg team, BHA’s first officially sanctioned AFI club on a military installation, packing out 200 bags of trash. Find a cleanup event near you here.

Vote Public Lands and Waters

Outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing, is a $778 billion industry in the United States, supporting jobs and economic development in rural communities. But for many sportsmen and women, hunting and fishing are more than a pastime – they are a passion and way of life. Hunters and anglers care deeply about fish and wildlife, habitat and the public lands and waters we have used for generations. We also have a long track record of civic engagement. For all these reasons, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is encouraging our members and supporters to Vote Public Lands and Waters.

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BHA chapters across the U.S. are asking the tough questions of candidates from all parties to elevate issues that rarely get attention on the campaign trail. Sign up now and take the pledge to be notified if candidates in your state are responding to our questionnaires and committing to defend our hunting and fishing traditions should they take office.

Do you need to register to vote? Head to Vote Public Lands and Waters, register now and find your nearest polling location!

Want to demonstrate your civic pride and encourage other voters? Check out all the great items in the Vote Public Lands and Waters store.

In times that feel increasingly divided and politically polarized, our public lands and waters stand out as great equalizers that put politics aside in favor of comradery, elevate fish and wildlife over division, and create opportunities for everyone to find solace in an increasingly complex and stressful world. The heart of our democracy is the power of the vote and this year, perhaps we should focus our priorities away from campaign rhetoric and instead Vote Public Lands and Waters. It is critical to our outdoor heritage that the leaders we elect to office champion our wild public lands, waters and wildlife and be dedicated to ensuring the future of this unique legacy.

In honor of public lands day, I’ll come back to the campfire, as outdoorsmen and women always do, by leaving you with some parting words from Sigurd Olson:

In years of roaming the wilds, my campfires seem like glowing beads in a long chain of experience. Some of the beads glow more than the others, and when I blow on them ever so softly, they burst into flame. When that happens, I recapture the scenes themselves, pick them out of the almost forgotten limbo of the past and make them live.