Thirty-seven landowners will be awarded 47 free elk hunting tags only good on their property during this fall’s hunting season under a newly devised process, the Fish and Wildlife Commission agreed at its Wednesday meeting. In return, the landowners can pick one person to hunt while the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks will pick two others for a total of 141 public hunters. Created in 2001 and known as 454 agreements, after the bill number creating the legislation, the Elk ...

These comments were delivered on June 22nd during the Fish & Wildlife Commission meeting in Helena, MT.  Madam Chair and members of the Commission, good morning, my name is Thomas Baumeister. I am the volunteer vice-chair of the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.   Less than nine months ago we were all singing the same song – calling for a better process to manage the 454s. Look where we are today. The department listened and stepped up.  We now have a solid process in place, ...

      Ohio’s Governor DeWine just signed the Capital Budget Bill(HB 687) which allocates $515 million, the largest such investment in Ohio history, to help provide significant improvements in lodges, campgrounds, cabins, dams, trails, and natural areas, in addition to continuing the historic preservation of the Muskingum River Lock and Dam. These funds will also be used for safety-related projects, such as the repair of dams and bridges, and to fix some our historic sites in Ohio’s parks. ...

  We are teetering on the brink of what could be the greatest conservation success story of the past 50 years. The removal of four outdated and failing dams on the lower Snake River will restore the passage of millions of salmon and steelhead upstream into 5500 square miles of the most intact, coldwater spawning and rearing habitat in North America (almost all of it public land). If the dams are left in place, these same salmon and steelhead face inevitable extinction. It is a simple ...

Seven intrepid volunteers took to the road sides of Crosley FWA last Saturday for a clean up day. The crew cleaned 4.75 miles of roadsides.  The weather was great compared to the stifling heat of the week before. The Indiana chapter was glad to have our first workday at Crosley and look forward to future opportunities to partner with them.   Crosley Fish & Wildlife Area is made up of 4,288 acres of rolling hills, ponds and the Muscatatuck River. Approximately 80% of the property is wooded. ...