The Idaho Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers recognizes the importance, and the challenges, of balancing our state's water needs - for business and residential purposes, recreation, and the needs of sportsmen and wildlife. The release of the Henry's Fork Basin Study Final Report prompts our response on the various final options being proposed. We feel that some of these options balance and take into account the needs of sportsmen, wildlife and habitat better than others.The Teton ...

Good morning Idaho BHA members,I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to some legislation being considered by the Agricultural Affairs Committee next Tuesday (2/18) at 8:00 a.m. that if passed, could have a devastating impact on our big game herds. Currently, 100% of dead domestic elk must be tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD). House Bill 431 would remove this common sense measure. As written, House Bill 431 requires that only 10% of dead domestic elk- selected ...

The following Op-Ed by Brian Jennings was orginally published in the Bend Bulletin on February 2, 2014.Since 2008, the Trust for Public Land has been quietly working to transfer a privately held 101-acre parcel of land along the Crooked River Canyon to the Bureau of Land Management. The transfer, using money from the Land & Water Conservation Fund, would provide a seamless access point for outdoor enthusiasts, thus allowing greater public access to this Central Oregon treasure. For anglers, ...

The following letter was sent to the Montrose County Commission in response to a season road closure that was supported by the commission to protect wildlife habitat.2/9/14Dear Montrose County Commissioners Henderson, White and Ellis: I am writing on behalf of Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers to thank you for passing Resolution 07-2014, directing a seasonal closure of Green Mt. Rd., C77, for protection of your struggling resident sage grouse population. We are in agreement with each ...

This is meeting season—the time of year when people are scrambling around making plans for the coming year, working on budgets, politicking and strategizing. In Utah, this is the most meeting-intensive time of year, when the Utah legislature is in session.Generally speaking, most people don’t enjoy attending meetings very much. Scott Adams, the creative genius behind the comic strip, “Dilbert,” regularly lampoons the most dreaded of meetings—staff meetings--apparently having sat in on more ...