Update from Chapter Chair With the hunting seasons mostly wrapped up, I am getting stir crazy dreaming about chasing gobblers in the spring turkey woods, and the NY Chapter is busy working on plans for the upcoming year. We have started putting together our policy positions supporting public land and water access and science-based wildlife management all while tracking the flurry of new legislative bills that can impact hunters and anglers. We are in the early stages of organizing a big ...

  Late last week the Trump administration fired more than 5,000 federal employees within the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service (totaling 10% of the USFS staff). The firings were done without regard for staff roles or performance, but rather targeted individuals with "probationary status" who were hired or switched federal jobs within the last year, as well as veterans hired through non-competitive processes within the last two years. This is a devastating blow to the ...

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is revising its land use plan in Nebraska, potentially opening nearly all of its 5,100 acres for sale. These parcels, primarily 40 to 80 acres each, are scattered across the western two-thirds of the state and have been federally owned since the Homestead era. BLM Field Manager Chad Krause noted that many of the parcels are not easily accessible to the public without permission from adjacent landowners, reducing its public value. The Nebraska BHA chapter ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 14, 2025  Contact:  Kaden McArthur, Government Relations Manager, mcarthur@backcountryhunters.org   As the Trump administration announces new leadership for the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, BHA underscores the critical role these agencies play    Washington, D.C.—Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), North America’s leading public lands advocacy group, is closely tracking the nominations that will shape the future of agencies ...