Backcountry Beat, June 2022
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Friend —
Summertime is for backcountry adventures, time spent wandering and exploring and fishing and floating with family and friends. I’m glad to take the reins this month in introducing the Backcountry Beat, as Land is out on sabbatical enjoying some hard-earned days afield and on the water, catching big fish with big bugs.
Summer is also a time of action. In June, the House voted to advance the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, which would annually invest $1.4 billion in state and tribal management agencies. The U.S. Forest Service listened to hunters and anglers, and others, and moved to conserve the Boundary Waters, America’s most-visited wilderness, by proposing a 20-year moratorium on copper-nickel mining on public lands within the watershed. And the EPA has extended its public comment window so that citizens can urge for protections for the irreplaceable habitat and great salmon fisheries of Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Go to BHA’s action center and raise your voice on all these critical conservation issues.
Hike to Hunt returns this summer, as well. Our annual member competition is focused on the physical challenge offered by our lands and waters, getting in shape for fall hunting, and raising awareness of – and funds to support – BHA’s mission.
Cleo on the Missoula trails earlier this June.
A spectacular lineup of prizes is up for grabs, and, what’s more, the 2022 Challenge is open not just to individuals but to teams as well. It’s not too late to get in on the action, so sign up now!
I’ll be stepping away from the office next week, too, venturing westward with my family. May these summer days bring action, adventure…and a reminder of what we’re all here fighting for.
Katie McKalip
Communications Director
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