The following article originally appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal on February 2, 2013
http://cjonline.com/news/2013-02-02/wolf-killed-kansas-first-more-century
THE BACKCOUNTRY Hunters and Anglers organization — a national non-profit sportsmen conservation outfit dedicated to ensuring opportunities to hunt and fish on wild public lands and waters — is organizing a chapter to work on behalf of Kansas’ remaining wild spaces.
Led by BHA member Daniel Schapaugh, a Kansas native who values the escape that intact tracts of publicly accessible land provide, BHA will be the first Kansas-based sportsmen organization dedicated to protecting wild country in the state.
By building on existing opportunities for non-motorized hunting and angling, BHA is working to ensure that future generations of sportsmen have places that are quiet and wild enough to get “lost.”
In western states, where BHA has been actively advocating for protection of large tracts of roadless, public land, state chapters and individual members have been instrumental in protecting thousands of acres of fish and wildlife habitat from development and motorized disturbance.
Schapaugh hopes to replicate BHA’s success in Kansas.
“I know there are plenty of sportsmen who share a passion for wild lands and waters. It’s just a matter of finding those willing to speak up and join an effort that will benefit sportsmen, wildlife and the lands that both depend on.”
Anyone interested in being involved in BHA should go online at www.backcountryhunters.org or contact Schapaugh at [email protected].
About Caitlin Thompson