July 22, 2021 FWP CommissionWildlife DivisionPO Box 200701Helena, MT 59620-0701 RE: MT-BHA Muzzleloader Season Public Comment Dear Commissioners, The Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers represents some 3,000 dues-paying Montana members who care deeply about public fish and wildlife habitat, public access and fair chase hunting and fishing practices. We are concerned about the implementation of the upcoming muzzleloader season without any basis in an evidence and science-based ...

Public land hunters in New Mexico got a boost in mid-July when the Sabinoso Wilderness Area expanded by nearly 10,000 acres. Located on the Canadian River drainage east of Las Vegas, NM, the Sabinoso is now almost 30,000 acres – a huge change from its designation in 2009, when it was not even accessible to the public. For many years the Sabinoso was hunted by local residents but largely unknown outside northeastern New Mexico. It was a substantial chunk – some 16,000 acres -- of BLM land ...

Greg Kvale and his son Pete of the Minnesota chapter took home top honors during BHA’s Wild Game Cookoff at the 10th Annual North American Rendezvous this year in Missoula, Montana. Every year the Wild Game Cookoff draws professional and amateur wild-game chefs from across the country who source regional ingredients to create dishes that celebrate the breadth of our wild public lands, waters and wildlife. This year, Greg and Pete prepared pan-seared mallard breast with wild rice pilaf and ...

WASHINGTON – Targeted species conservation would receive a major annual funding boost via the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Roy Blunt (R-MO). The bill annually directs $1.3 billion to state fish and wildlife agencies and an additional $97.5 million to tribal fish and wildlife managers for management of at-risk species under science-based wildlife action plans, all while also supporting critical ...

  Monofilament fishing line is an environmental hazard, which can cause harm by entangling wildlife, tangling and jamming boat props and polluting fisheries across the country. The strength properties we value in fishing line that help us to land those lunker bass are the same properties that require more than 600 years to break down in the environment.  It is vital that we increase the uptake of recycling of used line and commit to disposing of it correctly. Even in a landfill, discarded ...