BCJ_WINTER18 Digital Edition

SOUTHEAST CHAPTER
The Southeast Chapter continued
to experience membership growth
throughout the fall across social media
platforms and new memberships, including
a month-long membership drive resulting
in an increase of almost 25 percent.
After the Ridgeland, Miss. pint night,
our members made the most of our local
public lands, racoon hunting on the Homochitto
National Forest near Brookhaven,
Miss. Coon hunting at night on public
lands is a favorite pastime within the
Southeast region, and we are looking forward
to additional opportunities to highlight
this unique experience.
We were happy to host Land Tawney
in Louisiana recently, bringing him up to
speed on the Catahoula Lake access issues
currently brewing there. Catahoula Lake
is under threat via legal jockeying to steal
the public’s access to a lake that has historically
been in public hands dating back to
the 1800s. A group of landowners formed
a class action lawsuit, arguing in court to
reclassify the body of water from a lake to
a river. In an unprecedented and legally
unjustifiable move, the district court judge
ruled in favor of reclassifying the body of
water from a lake to a river. BHA has submitted
a friendly motion to the court, addressing
our concerns of the reclassification
and its implications for sportsmen and the
irreplaceable habitat. This position marks
BHA’s first stance on behalf of sportsmen
in Louisiana, a state that is wrestling with
several legal issues that threaten its strong
hunting and fishing culture.
Finally we would like to highlight the
exceptional service of Chad Rischar, a
Southeast Chapter board member, to the
veteran community in Florida through the
Operation Outdoor Freedom program.
Chad has organized and hosted nine events
since 2015, including both deer and turkey
hunts.Well done, Chad! -Jeffrey Jones
SOUTH DAKOTA
Private landowner groups have
petitioned to close some of South
Dakota’s non-meandered waters, which
was denied at the latest SDGFP commission
meeting. A big thank you to those
who responded to the action alerts and to
the South Dakota Wildlife Federation for
sending their lawyer to testify at the hearing.
We are excited about an upcoming
video project on non-meandered waters
30 | BACKCOUNTRY JOURNAL WINTER 2018
that will be used to educate and promote
keeping these waters public.
Mark your calendars our Total Archery
Challenge BHA After-Party set for Saturday,
June 23. You can expect raffles, awesome
giveaways, live music, good food and
more! This party has quickly become our
No. 1 fundraiser. Some project ideas in the
works include a youth scholarship for a
SD conservation camp and adopting several
Forest Service trails to include BHA
signage at the trail heads.
Look for a pint nights after the first of
the year. -Ashley and Jesse Kurtenbach
UTAH
The Utah BHA Chapter has been
engaged this quarter to promote
greater awareness for what the organization
stands for here in Utah. We encourage
local members to apply for regional
board positions as we are losing several
key individuals who have been active in
chapter leadership. The chapter is hosting
a wild game potluck dinner for our annual
Christmas party at the Mountain Dell
Golf Course. We are also gauging interest
in hosting a “Beer, Deer and Gear” event
to swap stories, gear and suds with fellow
members and the general public. Finally,
BHA Utah attended a recreation hotspots
meeting where the Utah Department of
Transportation, Utah Transit Authority,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Save Our
Canyons, and former Salt Lake City Mayor
Ralph Becker were present, among others,
to discuss public lands usage in the central
Wasatch Mountains. As a chapter, we want
to make sure that sportsmen’s interests are
discussed in the planning process.
Our chapter is also excited to announce
two new local collaborations. The first will
provide both physical and monetary support
to a local youth who is working on a
“Hornaday Award” in the Boy Scouts of
America. This award was created to recognize
those who have made significant
contributions to conservation; only 1,100
awards have been given since its inception
80 years ago. This scout is coordinating
with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
to plant 1,000 shrubs to help re-establish
native vegetation on winter range
in the Timpanogos Wildlife Management
Area outside Provo, Utah. The Utah BHA
chapter has committed $500 to help fund
the project and will provide manpower for
the planting event. -Michael Scott
WASHINGTON
The Washington chapter board
and our members enjoyed a busy fall pursuing
elk, deer, salmon, ducks, chanterelle
mushrooms and other bounty the Pacific
Northwest offers during the autumn
months.
While the Evergreen State may not
boast the hunter success of the Rockies or
Midwest, few places match the diversity
of environments and outdoor opportunities
found in our region. From chasing
mule deer in the sage steppe and blacktails
in the craggy Cascades, to bugling with
Roosevelt elk in the rainforest and catching
salmon, crab and squid within sight of
Seattle, our state offers a lifetime of adventures
for those willing to work for them. If
recent photos and trip reports are any indication,
Washington BHA members made
the most of it this season.
Our board made a few organizational
changes recently as well, with Andres
Orams stepping down from the Western
Washington co-chair position due to family
obligations. Thank you for your leadership,
Andres! Board Secretary Max Cole
was nominated to fill the opening. As Max
recently ran a 30-mile mountain race and
killed a six-point bull with his bow in the
same trip, we’re confident his tenacity and
organizational skills will be valuable assets
as co-chair. Bart George remains our Eastern
Washington co-chair.
Education Committee Chair Aaron
Hansen and board member Brian O’Dell
co-hosted a free clinic on hunting public
lands at Joint Base Lewis-McChord along
with the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife, and we look forward to future
opportunities to engage with servicemen
and women in our area. Board and
chapter members are hosting pint nights
on the Olympic Peninsula and in the Vancouver
and Bellingham areas. Stay tuned
to our Washington Chapter of Backcountry
Hunters & Anglers Facebook group
for details on these and other upcoming
events. -Chase Gunnell