BCJ_SPRING 17 Digital Edition

A packed house at a BHA Pint Night in Portland, Oregon.
NEVADA
The Nevada Chapter has been
confronted with challenges as well
as opportunities during the past quarter.
Members from our chapter have been
invited to many events and presentations
regarding conservation initiatives. In addition,
the BHA Nevada Chapter has been
spreading word of military expansion
proposals in Fallon, NV, and the Desert
National Wildlife Refuge. Our engagement
with the community has prompted
numerous comment letters in response to
the expansions.
We have submitted a bill draft for a Nevada
Public Lands Day. This has been chosen
as a top priority for the common agenda
group of conservation organizations.
Several of our board members were invited
to a stakeholder listening session with Rep.
Mark Amodei to discuss the proposed revision
of his land transfer bill. A wildlife
commission meeting addressing the bill
was filled with sportsmen and BHA members.
The commission voted in support of
public lands and the event gathered attention
from the media. At the hearing, the
University of Nevada BHA Chapter let
their presence be known, and members of
the school club became acquainted with
members of the state chapter.
In conclusion, we have also had two
very successful pint nights so far this year,
which introduced many new members
into our chapter. Our January pint night
was visited by Land Tawney and other
BHA members from distant locations. The
Nevada Chapter of Backcountry Hunters
& Anglers has displayed a strong presence
and voice in the legislature of Nevada.
-Ryan Hughes
NEW ENGLAND
A diverse group of current and
prospective New England BHA
members from Massachusetts, Connecticut,
New Hampshire and Maine garnered
at the home of Ben and Michelle Bailey
in Rochester, MA, on Feb. 18 for a day
that included venison stew, an informal
3-D archery shoot and lively discussion
that ranged from engagement with the locavore
food movement to Western public
lands concerns. BHA member and biologist
Tom Wansleben gave an overview of
land protection and habitat management
objectives at MassWildlife. He also identified
challenges the agency faces in the form
of unauthorized OHV use and resistance
to scientific management.
Outreach efforts continued when members
Eric Nuse and Tovar Cerulli spoke
about BHA at the Mad Dog Trout Unlimited
chapter meeting in March. Eric also
represented BHA at the Wilderness Paddlers
gathering and the Yankee Sportsman
Classic over the last couple of months.
NEBHA recently submitted comments
on the draft management plan revision for
the Nash Stream Forest in northern New
Hampshire. Several members got out on
cross-country skis to explore some of the
newly designated Katahdin Woods and
Waters National Monument.
Work continues on the development of
a habitat stewardship program, which we
hope will become a valuable tool for New
England BHA members to have more involvement
and input with their local public
lands. -Matt Breton
NEW MEXICO
The New Mexico Chapter had
a shake-up in October 2016, voting in a
new board and breathing new life into the
organization. The efforts from this new
team have culminated in a 600 percent increase
of members in New Mexico.
In January there was board meeting and
a pint night held with the best turnout to
date. At the board meeting, leaders created
new positions for different geographic
regions of the state to ensure that all members
are represented equally.
The chapter was busy in February doing
a fundraiser and membership rally at the
New Mexico Department of Game and
Fish outdoor show, as well as participating
in public lands rally at the state capitol
building in Sante Fe. -Jon Graham
NEW YORK
Chapter Chair Ron Rohrbaugh
has been making the rounds promoting
conservation, hunting and public
land access throughout New York State.
His radio interviews served Buffalo, Albany
and Utica areas, and in November he
was a guest on the MeatEater Podcast with
Steve Rinella.
The chapter recently submitted written
comments to the Adirondack Park Agency
for the Boreas Ponds state land-use
classification process in support of the
Adirondack Council and BeWildNY’s
proposal. The 20,758-acre “Boreas Tract”
was purchased by the New York Department
of Environmental Conservation last
spring from The Nature Conservancy and
is widely recognized as one of the crown
jewels of the Adirondacks.
NYBHA was recently interviewed
by Adirondack Life magazine for an article
focused on the ethics of drones, which will
appear in the April photography edition.
We recently launched the 2nd issue of our
quarterly newsletter.
A Salmon River Cleanup Day for Saturday,
May 13, is being coordinated by
board members Garrett Burback and Brett
Hebberecht.
NYBHA’s spring meeting will be held
at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum
in Livingston Manor, starting at 10
a.m. on Saturday, April 29. RSVP details
to follow soon. A huge thanks to NY BHA
Board Member John Armistead for coordinating
this event. -Todd Waldron
OREGON
A thunderous rumble bellowed
out from the halls in Salem, OR,
home to our state capital where the new
state legislative session brought us three
bills aimed at the transfer of federal public
land: HB 2365, HJM 2 and SJM 4. The
Oregon Chapter was ready.
Oregon BHA believes the continued attack
on our public land is appalling and
our locally elected officials pushing this
agenda can no longer hide in the shadows.
Our chapter of dedicated members
has been working tirelessly to fight against
these attempts to defraud the hardworking
Oregon taxpayers of their wild lands and
waters.
Our 2017 calendar is chock-full of local
events, volunteer opportunities and
fundraisers, all aimed to aide in this fight.
Headlined by our first annual Beer, Bands
& Public Lands Celebration to be held on
Saturday, June 10 in Bend’s historic Drake
Park.
Through hard work, education and that
kick-ass Oregonian attitude, this chapter
will continue the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt,
Gifford Pinchot and others who had
the foresight to create our federal public
land system, the greatest gift ever given.
Our chapter grows stronger each and every
day and the remarkable people who make
up our membership only make this possible.
Make sure to check out our events calendar
on the Oregon page of the website,
like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram
@oregon_bha for announcements
and updates. -Ian Isaacson
PENNSYLVANIA
In January, Pennsylvania BHA
members were active in voicing
their opposition to the efforts of the U.S.
Forest Service to introduce mountain
biking into the Tracy Ridge region of the
Allegheny National Forest, the only federal
forest holding within the Keystone
State. Tracy Ridge is one of several areas
that have been proposed for wilderness
designation to bring the number of acres
of designated wilderness in the ANF in
line with the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Currently the popular Tracy Ridge and
surrounding forest is open to foot traffic
only. In December, Co-Chair Jeff Sample
was interviewed by three radio stations
that broadcast in the southern tier of the
state as part of BHA’s radio tour. Topics
included the mountain biking issue in
the ANF, resource extraction on state and
federal lands used by PA sportsmen and
women, and recent bills introduced to
increase commercial development in state
parks, particularly within southwestern
PA. There are plans to man a BHA booth
at the Total Archery Challenge in Seven
Springs near Pittsburg, June 2-4. We also
hope to host a few BHA brewfests around
the state this summer, as our membership
has been growing at a very fast pace, with a
large number of members stepping up and
asking to get involved! -Jeff Sample
TEXAS
Texas Chapter leadership has
made good progress in continuing
to fill board positions, and we’ve been
recruiting members from across the state
to lead our public outreach activities. We
still fall short in a few places where we’d
like representation, so if anyone is interested
in becoming involved, let us know! As
our chapter faces unique challenges, we’ve
also continued to fine-tune our leadership
structure to be as effective as possible.
Our public outreach efforts began afresh
in March. We started with a pint night at
the Busted Sandal Brewery in San Antonio
on March 10. That same weekend, we
manned a table at the Texas Fly Fishing &
Brew Festival in Plano. This event attracted
sportsmen from across Texas and beyond,
and was a great opportunity to introduce
attendees to BHA. Other public outreach
activities included promotional booths at
the Cabela’s Spring Great Outdoor Days
Celebration (Buda) and the Rinehart
R100 archery competition at Cinnamon
Creek (Roanoke).
We’re happy to report the recent publication
of our first newsletter, which can
be found on the Texas Chapter page of the
BHA website. We envision this to become
a quarterly publication dispersed directly
to BHA members in Texas, and also posted
on our website. Finally, our chapter
responded to the emergency rule enacted
by the Texas Department of Agriculture
allowing the use of warfarin-containing
toxic baits to control wild hog populations
in Texas. Sportsmen in Texas have extreme
reservations about the pesticide and its
implications, and our chapter released a
position statement opposing the rule on
grounds of public safety, environmental
and non-target impacts, and ethical considerations,
and we asked Texas Department
of Agriculture to immediately rescind
the order.
Planning is in the works for an array of
summer activities. If anyone is interested
in becoming involved, feel free to reach
out. To stay up to date with our activities,
events and other information relevant to
Texas sportsmen, find us on Facebook
(Texas Hunters & Anglers), Twitter (@
tx_bha)s and Instagram (@texas_bha).
-Michael Panasci
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