BCJ_SUMMER18 Digital Edition

The Minnesota Chapter hosted the first-ever Public Lands Day at the Capitol in Saint Paul on April 25.
Pint Nights in Duluth, Red Wing and
Montevideo, as well as around the Twin
Cities, generated new members and interest
across the state. Our chapter is now
nearly 700 strong! On the legislative front,
the Minnesota chapter is reviewing the
recent auditor’s report on chronic wasting
disease. Of note, this analysis includes a
look at the risks posed to our wild herds
from cervid farms and the transport of captive
deer. We have signed on to a letter to
voice our concerns to secretaries Zinke and
Perdue about their recent decision to reinstate
the foreign-owned, sulfide-mining
leases near our Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness, and we ask that they suspend
all leasing activities until a thorough
environmental impact study is conducted.
On June 15 from 5-7 p.m. we will be
hosting a Pint Night in Brainerd at Roundhouse
Brewery. In addition, on July 14, we
will hold our second annual Backcountry
Brewfest in Hudson, Wisc. Also, on July
26, we will be tabling at the MeatEater
Live Event with Steve Rinella and friends
in Burnsville, Minn. at the Ames Center
at 7:30 p.m. with a Pint Night to follow.
Finally, we will be helping host the Full
Draw Film Tour event in Fargo with the
new North Dakota BHA Chapter! Be on
the lookout for more details. Follow our
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages,
or reach out to minnesota@backcountryhunters.org
with questions or if you want
to get more involved. Go, Fight, Win!
-Aaron Hebeisen
MISSOURI
The Missouri chapter humbly joined
the ranks of official BHA chapters at Rendezvous
in April. We got started back in
November 2017, when Ty Stubblefield
held a kickoff call with prospective chapter
leaders. During that call, a board was
established and we got to work on taking
the steps towards becoming official. Your
Missouri BHA board is made up of the
following people: Brett Thorne (chair),
Cody Cass (co-chair/secretary), Ryan Price
(treasurer), Jack Gibson, Josh Lane, Bryce
McDaniel, Frank Petraglia, Ryan Pigg and
Zac Treat. We are all proud to live in the
great state of Missouri, and we look forward
to broadening BHA’s footprint.
In addition to furthering BHA’s mission,
we have identified the following issues
critical to Missouri’s hunters and anglers:
1) Taxes/funding – more specifically
protecting the one-eighth percent of the
state’s sales tax that is dedicated to funding
the Missouri Department of Conservation,
2) Missouri State Parks – reopening
the four parks that were recently closed,
3) Chronic Wasting Disease – increasing
hunter awareness, and 4) Land/stream access
– ensuring Missourians always have
access to hunting and fishing.
Earlier this year, we held two Pint
Nights and participated in Conservation
Day at the capitol. On June 14 from 6-9
p.m. we are hosting a STL Pint Night at
Alpha Brewing Company. In addtion, on
June 23, we are hosting a volunteer day at
Bennett Springs State Park. On July 14, we
will be hosting a trap shoot at KCTA in
Kansas City from 12-3 p.m. and a sporting
clays event at St. Louis Skeet and Trap
on July 21 from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Finally,
we are partnering with the QDMA
and MDC to host a CWD Symposium at
Powder Valley Nature Center on August
20 from 6-8:30 p.m. Two speakers will
be presenting and are available for Q&A.
For more information, please visit us on
Facebook (Missouri Backcountry Hunters
& Anglers), Instagram and Twitter (@Missouri_BHA).
-Cody Cass
MONTANA
This spring we hosted meetings from
Glasgow to Columbia Falls, a public lands
rally in Bozeman and our first Pint Night
in Butte. The third annual storytelling
event Tales from the Backcountry in Bozeman
and the Beers, Bands & Public Lands
in Missoula were both awesome events.
Montana BHA is lucky to have talented
and dedicated volunteers and we want to
thank each one of you.
We are part of a working group in Dillon
made up of public state and federal
land managers, sportsmen and women,
concerned citizens and local landowners.
The goal of this group is to address issues
surrounding wildlife populations, hunter
numbers/pressure, access, motorized travel
and hunter ethics. We are excited to be
part of this conversation and to build relationships.
If you want to learn more or
help, please email us at montana@backcountryhunters.org.
We continue to keep a close watch on
public access issues in the Crazy Mountains.
While we are encouraged by a proposed
trail relocation that may alleviate
contested access on the west side, we are
waiting to review the final trail relocation
proposal from the Forest Service before
committing support. We remain unwavering
in our dedication to open legal public
trails in the Crazy Mountains. We will
pursue all means of opening access if current
proposals fail or do not satisfy the full
benefit of the public lands sportsman.
We filled all open volunteer spots on
two backcountry trail projects in the Badger-Two
Medicine and the Cabinet Mountains.
We are participating in the Cube
Iron Cataract Coalition, which is a collaborative
effort in Sanders County working
to promote quiet recreation, backcountry
values and public land conservation. We
have contributed to the Montana Hunter
Advancement Program, whose mission
is to provide advanced hunter education
that increases hunter competence, ethical
hunting behavior, private land access and
knowledge of agriculture and land stewardship.
-John Sullivan III
NEW ENGLAND
Our first New England BHA Rendezvous
is planned for Aug. 10-12 at Steve
Powell (Swan Island) WMA in Richmond,
Maine. Check out the events section of
our chapter webpage for full details!
In Maine, we are evaluating changes to
development rules for unorganized townships
that could result in significantly
greater development in remote areas of the
North Woods. The chapter is also weighing
in on management plan revisions for
the Bureau of Parks and Lands Northern
Aroostook Unit and Seboomook Unit. We
will be submitting testimony on a major
proposal for J.D. Irving Lands in the Fish
River Region that would couple rezoning
for development with significant areas of
permanent conservation restrictions.
Four members from Massachusetts (Ted
Schwartz, Louis Pesquera, Chris Olive and
David Larson) participated in a meeting
on the extension of archery seasons in
zones 10-14, emphasizing the benefit of
increased opportunity to be in the woods.
We will be at the R100 3D Shoot in Sturbridge,
Mass. on June 22-24, so stop by to
say hello!
Our efforts in Vermont have led to invitations
to a number of meetings where
we get to speak on behalf of BHA. These
include the Forest Roundtable Meeting,
several Green Mountain National Forest
projects, Camel’s Hump Management,
Conservation Design Summit, F&W Big
Game 10-Year Planning Meeting and a
land ethics conference. Mark your calendars
for a moose presentation and biathlon
rifle shoot in Craftsbury, Vt. on June 28.
A Connecticut bill, SJ 35, that prevents
the sale of public lands without a hearing,
passed the House and will appear on statewide
ballots this November. We officially
supported this bill and are thrilled that it
passed. We are planning Pint Nights for
mid-summer and early fall in central and
southern Connecticut, and we continue to
have (approximately) monthly 3D archery
events. In Rhode Island, we completed a
public lands improvement project conducted
in cooperation with the RIDEM,
removing invasive plants to improve the
health of natural forage trees. The New
Hampshire group is inquiring about the
stocking of non-native fish in native brook
trout habitat within White Mountain National
Forest.
Contact us if you want more info or to
step up and help out! -Matt Breton
NEW MEXICO
The New Mexico chapter has been
building momentum, with more irons in
the fire on policy and habitat improvement
work than ever before, and members
are requesting Pint Nights across the state.
In April we sent out a series of questions
to candidates for governor, commissioner
of public lands, U.S. House and Senate to
help voters understand positions on issues
from wildlife and public lands management
to the future of the state’s multi-billion
dollar outdoor recreation industry.
More than 30 candidates ran for those
seats in the primary elections on June 5,
and many of them answered our questionnaire
prior to the election. Visit the New
Mexico BHA issues section of our website
to read and share the questionnaire with
fellow voters or to see what you might do
in your own state.
We are also kicking off a project with
the New Mexico Department of Game &
Fish to inventory previous water development
projects (trick tanks, dirt tanks, etc.)
and help them prioritize maintenance and
repair operations. As we all know, water
is critical to the health and well being of
many game and non-game species. To lend
a hand in creating better habitat, email us
at newmexico@backcountryhunters.org.
We have also made sure the public land
hunters’ voice is heard by commenting on
proposed NMDGF rule changes impacting
bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope,
javelina, Persian ibex, oryx and Barbary
sheep. From roads to rivers, we have a
watchful eye on access, with stream access
being the focus of a major upcoming
member education campaign.
Keep an eye on chapter emails and our
Facebook page for info on pressing policy
issues, work projects and social events. If
any of our New Mexico members come
across an access issue in your area, please
reach out. -Joel Gay
NEW YORK
The New York chapter has been active
on many fronts. In March, the board
hosted several Pint Nights, including two
incredibly well attended events in Brooklyn
and Ithaca. Our Catskill Rendezvous
at the end of April had a great turnout.
Many members left with awesome raffle
prizes, including a stunning, hand-built
canoe from Adirondack Canoe Company,
a pair of Kenetrek boots, two turkey hunting
packages and a Stone Glacier pack. We
were elated to have Chris Hennessey and
Rob Parkins of the BHA staff join us and
share in the festivities.
Rendezvous was also a great opportunity
for the board and officers to sketch
out a path to continue promoting membership
growth and engagement and become
a driving force for conservation
policy in New York and the east. We also
learned that Ron Rohrbaugh will be stepping
down as chair, as he and his family
embark on new professional and entrepreneurial
opportunities in Pennsylvania. The
Pennsylvania chapter will certainly gain an
incredible asset in Ron’s vast wisdom and
breadth of experience. Todd Waldron, previous
vice chair, was unanimously voted in
as the new chair by the board. If you know
Todd, you know that the chapter could
not be in more capable hands.
In addition to growing our ranks and increasing
our influence, we have been getting
our hands dirty and our boots on the
ground. Members and officers have been
participating in and organizing cleanups
and conservation projects across the state,
including our own contribution to the
#accessourwaters campaign, with cleanups
on the Delaware River, Salmon River and
in the Finger Lakes.
New York BHA looks forward to working
with other chapters, conservation organizations
and agencies as we spread the
public lands message eastward. If you are a
NY BHA member who would like to get
more involved, please reach out to us as we
strive to become a more effective and influential
chapter together. -Cosmo Genova
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