Vermont, like many other states, is realizing that outdoor recreation is big business and is trying to leverage this sector to encourage economic growth. At the same time there are efforts afoot to update Act 250, the Vermont statute that regulates land use. One issue that overlaps both of these topics is policy around the development of new trails and trail systems. On one hand the state and businesses are trying to stimulate the economy, in part, by quickly establishing new trail systems ...

For many sportsmen and women, the Great Lakes is more than just a body of water that contains some amazing hunting and fishing opportunities. The Great Lakes are a piece of the Midwestern soul. Countless generations of the sporting community have made lifelong memories on those vast bodies of water — each memory, each story is passed on to the next generation until they generate their own stories to be told to the sportsmen and women who follow them. The inherent value of the Great Lakes ...

Stephen came home from a BHA fundraiser, happy to tell me he had bid and won a guided elk hunt. I didn’t know right away that I would be going with him as the hunter.  He told me later that the hunt was for a military veteran or a first time hunter; Stephen wanted me to go as a first time hunter.  I grew up around hunting, whitetail, goose, duck and pheasant, but had never participated myself. I’m not certain why. Perhaps because hunting was so available, I took it for granted, or because we ...

Wild Steelhead Coalition Board Member and longtime BHA member Josh Mills celebrates at the new access point Salmon and steelhead populations from California to Alaska are on the decline, with a number of species being listed as threatened or endangered. With the trend of diminishing returns, opportunities to sportfish for these iconic species are also waning. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and its members are concerned with current recovery efforts and the fact that the status quo will not ...

It's open season on blue laws in several states across the East Coast, and the Capital Region Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is firmly behind the most recent legislation in Maryland to allow Sunday hunting on lands across the state. HB 173 gives Maryland's Department of Natural Resources the authority to expand Sunday hunting opportunities in many parts fo the state while retaining some restrictions for suburban communities. Maryland's legislators need to hear that hunters support ...