Photo: Matt Hartsky, from our 2020 Public Lands and Waters Photo Contest   This article first appeared in the Summer 2021 issue of Backcountry Journal. Join BHA to get 4 issues a year right in your mailbox.    BY TIM BRASS Never before have BHA chapters been so engaged at state and provincial legislatures throughout North America. While the volume and range of bills we’ve engaged on has increased dramatically, our focus has remained on advancing policy that expands public access and ...

  BY JOEL GAY It’s not easy for resident hunters to draw an elk tag in New Mexico, even for kids. As in many states, demand for tags far outstrips supply. But that’s only part of the equation. New Mexico also has the most liberal private land elk hunting program in the U.S. In recent years, up to half – HALF! – of all available elk tags have been given to landowners to sell to the highest bidder. Whatever is left goes into the big game draw. And even then, residents’ share of the draw is ...