BCJ_SUMMER17 Digital Edition

another anti-public lands bill, S.B. 280;
planning to participate in a stakeholder
discussion with the Michigan Department
of Natural Resources on implementation
of a law allowing ORVs on more state
forest roads; and planning to table at the
Total Archery Challenge and the Compton
Traditional Bowhunters Rendezvous
in June. The chapter will also have at least
three members competing in the Pennsylvania
Train To Hunt Challenge.
In the media this year, Michigan BHA
was represented by Jason Meekhof on the
Take Aim Podcast, Drew YoungeDyke on
the Shootin’ The Bull Podcast and Drew
Kolhopfer on The Push Archery Podcast,
as well as regular podcasts hosted by Michigan
BHA members Mark Kenyon (Wired
to Hunt) and Kevin Vistisen (The Deer
Hunter Podcast). -Drew YoungeDyke
MINNESOTA
In April, Minnesota BHA was
well represented at the North American
Rendezvous, with 10 members making the
drive out to Missoula. Members attending
included Lukas Leaf, who showed his culinary
mastery at the Field To Table Dinner,
along with Jamie Carlson and Mark
Norquist, who took 2 nd place in the BHA
Camp Chef Cookoff, making a knockout
Canadian goose pastrami sandwich and
smoked whitefish salad, that blew away a
panel of celebrity judges.
Back in Minnesota, our No. 1 issue is
protecting the Boundary Waters watershed
from proposed sulfide-ore copper/nickel
mining. Public comments on withdrawing
public lands surrounding the Boundary
Waters from such mining are being
accepted by the U.S. Forest Service until
Aug. 11. We also expect there will be at
least two additional public hearings – one
in northeastern Minnesota and another
in the Twin Cities. More information to
follow.
With the help of Minnesota BHA and
other conservation organizations, H.F.
143, or the “no net gain” of state lands bill,
was defeated 6-4 in the Minnesota House.
We are also proud to announce that no
other anti-public lands or detrimental fish
and game bills were passed during this session,
even though many were introduced.
MN BHA has also created three committees
and appointed chairs, who will
focus member efforts on chapter priority
issues: 1) Ben Peña, Hunting/Fishing
Mentorship Committee 2) Ashley Peters,
Legislative committee 3) Brian Hallberg,
Boundary Waters Committee. The chapter
also hosted a Pint Night at Gluek’s bar/
restaurant in Minneapolis on June 7, and
will be teaming up with Wisconsin BHA
to host a Midwest Backcountry Brewfest
on July 29 at Lakefront Park in Hudson,
WI.
The fifth annual Minnesota Backcountry
Hunters & Anglers Rendezvous is
scheduled for Aug. 4–6. We’ll be setting
up camp at a group campsite in Wild River
State Park on the St. Croix River. -Aaron
Hebeisen
MONTANA
We’re excited to announce and
host, in partnership with the Bob Marshall
Wilderness Foundation, a backcountry
work project in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
During the first week of September,
eight lucky BHA members will pack and
hike into the backcountry of the Bob Marshall
Wilderness to help with trail maintenance.
MT BHA Region 1 Conservation
Director Frank Vitale and his string of
mules will be packing tools, food and some
personal gear into the wilderness. After a
day of fun work on the trails, participants
will be able to relax by campfires and try
their luck fishing the Sun River.
Region 4 Board Member Doug Krings
successfully hosted our chapter’s yearly
campout in the Little Belt Mountains.
With the help of other members, they
pulled off another fun session of “Backcountry
Olympics,” and Region 2 came
home with the Golden Antler, as per usual.
We made a donation to the Bridger
Bowmen archery club located in Bozeman.
The Bridger Bowmen host bow shoots and
donates proceeds to conservation organizations.
We’re working with the Yellowstone
County Bear Hunters Association
and Montana FWP to do a bear spray
giveaway this summer. BHA members
are hosting screenings across the state of a
documentary called “The Durfees,” which
highlights a fight by BHA members to
save public lands from transfer into private
hands. The documentary was produced by
BHA members Elliott Woods and Greg
Cairns, with the support of the Montana
Chapter. -John B. Sullivan III
NEVADA
The Nevada Chapter has been
busy at work protecting our access to public
lands and expanding our membership
reach. The state legislative session concluded
on June 5, and overall, it was a positive
one for wildlife and public lands advocates.
Our Nevada Chapter was instrumental in
the passage of S.B. 413, which creates a
Nevada Public Lands Day, complete with
language about the values of public lands
and the danger in large-scale transfer to
state or private ownership. In addition, we
worked with other wildlife groups in stopping
efforts to diminish the sportsmen’s
voice on the state wildlife commission
and to modernize our state off-highway
vehicle program to ensure better compliance.
In other good news, after facing an
overwhelming amount of opposition (led
by the Nevada Chapter of BHA), Nevada
Rep. Mark Amodei publicly announced
he would not reintroduce H.R. 1484, a
bill that sought to transfer the majority
of public lands in Nevada to state control.
This announcement came after months of
pressure from sportsmen and women from
across the state. Great work, everyone!
On the membership front, we have continued
to hold monthly pint nights with
our partners at IMBIB Brewing. The owners
of IMBIB share a passion for Nevada’s
public lands and hunting traditions, and
have showed their strong support for the
chapter by donating a portion of the proceeds
of pint nights and offering a pint
to any new member who signs up at the
event. Our monthly pint nights have also
allowed us to develop a partnership with
our new University of Nevada, Reno collegiate
club. We look forward to what these
passionate and enthusiastic students will
bring to the defense of Nevada’s public
lands. Attendance has been steadily growing
with 10-15 new people at each event.
Following our busy legislative session,
we’re now looking at dates for a Full Draw
Film Tour and getting other activities organized
before we get into hunting season.
-Kyle Davis
NEW YORK
Like moths to a flame, NY BHA
continues to attract enthusiastic and
skilled members from around the state.
Along with the national BHA trend, our
chapter’s membership has more than quadrupled
in the last nine months and we
continue to gain recognition as a respected
conservation organization. Throughout
The Michigan Chapter held a fun and successful pint night in Kalamazoo after the Traditional Bowhunters Expo.
the spring, we had a number of noteworthy
events.
We staffed a booth at the NY Sportsmen’s
Day in Albany on March 15, which
was hosted by the Congressional Sportsmen’s
Foundation and sponsored by NY
Sen. Joe Griffo and Assembly Member Aileen
Gunther.
Todd Waldron attended the BHA Legislative
Fly-In meetings in Washington,
D.C. on April 24-26, and met with key
staffers from Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand’s
offices, as well as with Rep. Elise
Stefanik.
Our first annual Spring Rendezvous,
held at the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum
in Livingston Manor, was a terrific success.
We kicked off the rendezvous with a
board meeting on Friday night and then
rolled into a Saturday pig roast, attended
by more than 40 members. Highlights included
fly-casting lessons by BHA members
Cosmo Genova and Eric Mastroberti
and a raffle/silent auction, which netted
enough funds to pay for the rendezvous
and still replenish our bank account! Many
thanks to all who were able to attend and
especially to John Armistead, Drew Perez,
Jack Wilson, Todd Waldron, Dave Colavito
and Ron Rohrbaugh for helping to organize
the event.
On May 13, NY BHA members organized
a clean-up and restoration on the
Salmon River. The project was a coordinated
effort by the Lake Ontario Tributary
Anglers Council and NY BHA. Volunteers
removed two truckloads of trash from
six miles of river and at 10 public parking
areas. In addition, the group planted
4,900 willow trees near tributaries to help
prevent erosion and provide shade to help
regulate water temperatures. -Ron Rohrbaugh,
Garrett Burback, Todd Waldron
OREGON
The news was, shall I say, unexpected.
The voices of public lands
advocates, many of whom are Oregon
Chapter members, were heard loud and
clear. This was evident by the unanimous
vote of the Oregon State Land Board to
remove the Elliott State Forest from the
open market. This decision is a huge win
for public land owners and public land
critters, but the hard work has just begun.
In order for the Elliott to remain the biological
jewel it is and has always been, all
sides must work together to formulate a
management strategy that will ensure its
health for generations to come. Oregon
BHA and its members are committed and
ready to step up to the table to help generate
a management strategy based on science,
not emotion, that will ensure a truly
healthy ecosystem.
Fighting for our public lands and waters
is a lot of hard work. Oregon BHA
took some time this past June to celebrate
our public lands and those who continue
to fight for them. The first annual Beer,
Bands and Public Lands Brewfest was held
in Bend’s historic Drake Park. Seeing so
many public land owners come together
for an issue we can all agree on was marvelous.
Our federally managed public lands
are managed for multiple use, and bringing
together all user groups is the greatest
way to ensure victory over the ill informed
scheme of state transfer. On behalf of Oregon
BHA, I want to personally thank all of
those who volunteered and those who attended
the event. Your participation made
the day an overwhelming success, and I
cannot wait until we do it all over again
next year! -Ian Isaacson
PENNSYLVANIA
In April, Co-Chair Jeff Sample
participated in a D.C. Fly-In
with members of BHA national and state
chapter representatives to discuss issues of
concern with our respective representatives
and senators. In all, Pennsylvania was
one of 10 states represented by this BHA
contingent. Jeff also attended a briefing
by the Outdoor Industry Association at
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