Camp Grayling expansion may inhibit public land access    Earlier this year, a proposal by the Michigan National Guard to more than double the amount of public lands it already leases from the state of Michigan fast became a hot topic for conservationists in Michigan and beyond.  At its current footprint of 230 square miles, the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center is already the largest National Guard training facility in the country. The National Guard since has proposed adding an ...

Camp Grayling Expansion A recent proposal by the Michigan National Guard to more than double the amount of public lands leased from the state of Michigan is fast becoming a hot topic for conservationists in Michigan. At its current footprint of 230 square miles, the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center is the largest National Guard training facility in the country. The installation is proposing to add 162,000 acres (253 square miles) of public lands to its lease, more than doubling ...

In early 2020, the U.S. Forest Service and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers began to work together to identify projects east of the Mississippi that would be ideal for BHA volunteers to complete. During these discussions the USFS identified a project that would remove four miles of barbwire fencing in the Huron-Manistee National Forest near Glennie, Michigan. The Michigan chapter was more than happy to help on such an important project.   “We were really excited to help on this project, and it ...

BHA often touts the boots-on-the-ground, grassroots efforts of our organization and perhaps nothing embodies this more than the stewardship efforts of our college clubs. As collective owners of millions of acres of public land throughout North America it’s important that we take care of the land in the same way we care for our rifles, shotguns, and fly rods. Each year, clubs complete two work service projects in their local community. These projects build tangible field skills, leadership, ...

As we walked further upstream, the location Sam described began to materialize. He is never one to be quiet, and he had been talking about this spot all morning. As we continued the trek, I could not help but appreciate where we were and what we were doing. Surrounded by mountains, hunting brown trout with salmon flies in the back channels of the Madison River. This was a trip that we looked forward to all year that was nearly spoiled by COVID-19. We had rain and 40-degree weather for the ...