Backcountry Blog

A blog about issues affecting the backcountry, secret tim brass spots (maybe) and hunting and fishing in wild places by traditional means. If you are interested in posting something to the blog, please email your submission to the Blog Manager. Also, to help spread the word about BHA, please feel free to “like” or “share” entries via the integrated facebook links below each entry.

CO BHA Hosts Tovar Cerulli, Author of the Mindful Carnivore

The following is a guest post from BHA member Tovar Cerulli, author of The Mindful Carnivore. CO BHA will be hosting a discussion of his book in Boulder on May 30 and in Denver on June 3 (details below).

striped bass 2 During my decade as a vegan, I found hunting nearly incomprehensible. Why on earth would someone voluntarily participate in such a pursuit, heading to woods or fields armed with the intent to kill a wild animal?

After a decade as a hunter, my understandings have shifted. Hunting calls me to the woods, into the quiet of many a frosty November dawn where I sit, watching for birds and listening for deer. Hunting brings me face to face with mortality, with the fact that my life is sustained by death, whether through predation or agriculture. When my luck is good, hunting stocks our freezer with healthy, free-range meat, destined for stews in winter and salads in summer.

Hunting also reminds me that we are not merely on the earth, but of it. And it reminds of me our responsibility to care for the world of which we are part.

Help Protect Bristol Bay

todd scenic compressed As you may have heard the next chapter in the Bristol Bay Pebble Mine dilemma is unfolding and we need you (and your friends) to take a minute to provide comments on the proposal. Here’s what’s at stake in Bristol Bay…

Bristol Bay’s wild rivers, wetlands and frontier land supports the world’s largest remaining wild salmon fishery, 35 fish species (all 5 species of Pacific Salmon) and 46% of the global abundance of wild sockeye
Wild, undisturbed wildlife habitat for moose, caribou, bear and large populations of migratory waterfowl
The subsistence way of life for Alaska Native villages is alive and well in Bristol Bay and wild harvested fish and wildlife accounts for 80% of the protein consumed in the region
14,000 Jobs that depend on the Sportfishing, Hunting, Outdoor recreation, Commercial fishing, Subsistence lifestyle that Bristol Bay supports

A Perspective on BHA, Conservation and Hunting

Longtime Oregon BHA Member Mathew Grady shares his thoughts on the need for BHA, hunting and the conservation of wild lands.

Mattew Grady PB150145 It has been a long time since I put words to paper regarding my passion for wild lands. However, my mind has never stopped working on the problem of Nature’s devalued status in our society, nor has my heart stopped breaking from the seemingly relentless destruction of wild places in the name of this or that political or financial objective. For a while, I have felt ‘alone’ in my concern. There is an essay in this blog regarding stewardship of lands, in which the author states that he often sways between wanting to save the world, and wanting to savor it. Long ago, a younger, idealistic and seemingly boundlessly energetic version of myself lost heart and stopped trying to save the world in order to focus almost exclusively on savoring it. Wilderness, especially then, has been a refuge for me, as it has for so many others. It was the antidote to the sense of being alone that trying to save the world had given me. My thought was “better love it while you can because it will be gone soon.”

Idaho BHA at the Eastern Idaho Fly Tying Expo

Idaho BHA Co-Chair Bruce Smithhammer shares his experience at the Eastern Idaho Fly Tying Expo, April 19-20 in Idaho Falls.

As Idaho BHA membership continues to grow, we are taking our message to new venues and reaching out to more and more hunters and anglers about the backcountry we care about. With this in mind, BHA recently had a booth for two days at the Eastern Idaho Fly Tying Expo in Idaho Falls. The event draws fly tying talent and many interested anglers from the broader region - including Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

Honestly, we weren't really sure what kind of reaction we would receive, since this was our first time at this event. The response was surprisingly positive! Steve Walker (ID BHA Board) Ken Theis (Utah BHA State Coordinator), Jared Grover (ID BHA Contractor) and myself had a great time meeting new people and discussing the fantastic backcountry opportunities that the region has to offer.

Hunting & Fishing: A Vital Connection between People and Nature

Oregon pack works Yesterday, in an address to the National Parks Conservation Association newly appointed Secretary of Interior Sally Jewel exclaimed that "There is a growing disconnect between people and nature, and this group understands we need to do something about that.” We couldn’t agree more, Secretary Jewel.

As hunters and anglers who celebrate the great American tradition of testing personal boundaries amid the solitude of the wilds, we certainly understand the threats that a growing reliance on motors and technology is having on our opportunities to honorably connect with nature. This is in fact is Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ call to duty.

Whether we’re standing-up for backcountry habitat in Utah’s Bookcliff Mountains, speaking-up against motorized vehicle overuse and abuse, or working to protect Alaska’s fish factory from dangerous development proposals, we’re working to ensure that others have the same opportunities to hunt and fish our wild public lands as we’ve enjoyed. But we cannot do it alone.

Our Mission

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers seeks to ensure America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands and waters.