Last month, Montana BHA board member, Anne Jolliff led an all-women's backpacking trip into an alpine lake in the Pioneer Mountains. The first of what will hopefully become an annual adventure, the weekend consisted of a five-and-a-half-mile hike in, one enjoyable night in the backcountry, and more rising rainbow trout than they could count! Around the campfire, the group shared funny stories, backcountry tips and tricks they've picked up over the years, and enjoyed delicious meals from ...

July 31, 2023   Montana FWP Wildlife Division 1420 East Sixth Avenue  Helena, MT 59620   RE: Montana BHA Comments on the 2023 Montana Statewide Elk Management Plan Draft   Mr. Northrup, Mr. McDonald and Mr. Wakeling:    On behalf of the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, we offer these comments in response to the 2023 Montana Statewide Elk Management Plan Draft.    Our Chapter consists of roughly 3,000 dues-paying members and tens of thousands of supporters in Montana. We care ...

For the third season in a row BHA’s New England Chapter is sponsoring this year’s Rhode Island youth waterfowl training & mentored hunt, organized by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Fish & Wildlife Division. Like prior years, the 2023 program will include a pre-hunt waterfowl hunting workshop & shooting range day on Sunday, October 15th followed by a mentored hunt during RI’s youth waterfowl weekend on Saturday, October 28th. “DEM's mentored hunting opportunities, ...

Nearly 20 years have passed since Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks last updated its Elk Management Plan (out for comment now). The new EMP has some good ideas, like reviewing the plan every five years, and raising elk herd objectives — now called goals — in many districts, then using three-year averages to determine if these goals are met. But some proposals are troubling. "Where (a hunting district) is chronically and significantly over the stated population size goal and is using limited ...

Fly fishing for Yellowstone cutthroat trout on the Yellowstone River or in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park is a bucket list adventure for many.  This July, eight veterans who participated in Backcountry Hunters and Anglers’ Armed Forces Initiative Fly Fishing Camp did exactly that.  The participants included current leaders and potential future leaders from Oklahoma, North Dakota, Arizona, Wyoming, California and Colorado.  Everyone left inspired and filled with a renewed ...