AFI Year in Review

It’s been an incredible year for the Armed Forces Initiative.  I cannot thank all our volunteer leaders both new and seasoned for everything they have done in 2022 for the Military community and for conservation. There’s much yet to do together and 2023 planning is looking like it’s going to be a great year but right now I want to focus on all the great events, camps, cleanups, and Policy Initiatives the Armed Forces Initiative took on in 2022.

Commanders Intent:

-Instill within the Military Community, a knowledge of conservation practices and theory, a love of wild places, and a desire to elevate Americas public wild lands as fundamental components of American Freedom.

• 1700 members of the Military community introduces to the backcountry in 2022
• 102 events hosted in 35 states and on 26 Active-duty Installations including
  • Florida Deep Sea fishing
  • Great lakes Duck Hunt
  • Minnesota Ice fishing
  • South Dakota Pheasant hunt
  • North Carolina Duck hunts
  • North Carolina Whitetail Hunt
  • Montana Antelope Hunt
  • New Mexico Antelope hunt
  • New Mexico Trout fishing
  • Washington Grouse hunting
  • California beach fishing
  • Colorado Elk Hunting
  • New England Turkey Hunting
• 9,800 BHA AFI Members across the U.S. and Canada (a 476% increase since 2021)
  • Opening 20+ States to AFI
  • 18 New Installations

Conservation Achievements:

• 63 Miles of trails cleared in the Bob Marshall Wilderness
• 12 miles of trail cleared in the Kenai NWR
• 12 Bighorn Sheep guzzler projects installed
• 15 miles of Chesapeake Bay watershed cleanups
• 3 Fort Bragg Drop zones habitat restoration for Quail and Turkeys

Policy Achievements:

• Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act
  • Joined VOAG Veterans Outdoor Advocacy group to represent Veterans interests in the outdoors in Washington
    • https://www.voag.org/voag-coalition
  • Veterans In Parks Act
    • https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/veterans-get-free-passes-to-public-lands/
  • Camp Hale Designation
    • https://gearjunkie.com/outdoor/camp-hale-continental-divide-national-monument

It truly has been an amazing year for the Armed Forces Initiative.  We have a year end video in production now to be completed in Jan 2023 that can be distributed to all, stay tuned for that release.

Remember Public Lands =Freedom