Curt Meine is a conservation biologist and one of America’s foremost conservation and environmental historians. He is the author of the definitive biography Aldo Leopold, His Life and Work and the voice of the outstanding Leopold documentary, Green Fire. Curt is also the co-editor of The Driftless Reader,  a collection of writings exploring the cultural and natural histories of the Upper Midwest. He is currently a senior fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation and with the Center for Humans ...

Turkey season is right around the corner. Following the success from the last few years, the Southeast Chapter is hosting our Gobblers and Garbage trash cleanup contest again this year. During the past two seasons we have seen over 7000 pounds of trash removed from our public lands by fellow BHA members who took the time to pick a little up here or there while out turkey hunting. This year we have secured some great prizes and a few new sponsors. We're pretty excited to get this event going ...

The Montana Senate rejected Andrew McKean’s application to continue his service on the Fish and Wildlife Commission by a 31-18 party-line vote, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against McKean. During the Senate Committee hearing on McKean, Sen. Flowers, D-Bozeman, asked, “what is the explanation for your ‘do not concur’? When I look at Mr. McKean's qualifications, and I looked at and considered the testimony… he seems like the ideal candidate for the Fish ...

This past deer season, my goal was to kill a deer, butcher it myself and put it in the freezer. Normally, I take my harvested deer to a processor, but I wanted to get the entire experience and have my hand in every detail. While my goal was pretty simple(my hope was to kill a doe or small buck), deer season kicked my butt early on. By the middle of November, the rut kicked in and acted as an equalizer, and I shot a heavy-bodied buck during muzzleloader season. I was nearly a mile from the ...

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Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) recently recognized Colorado BHA Central West Slope Regional Director and board member Craig Grother as BHA’s Member of the Month for February 2021. Craig’s accomplishments (detailed below) are included in BHA’s February 2021 Backcountry Beat.[1] “Colorado is in the middle of a recreation renaissance that has resulted in more people spending more time on our public lands than ever before. Colorado BHA has been paying close attention to the associated ...

News for Immediate ReleaseFeb. 26, 2021Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act includes longstanding hunter/angler priorities, conserves key Western landscapes WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives voted today in support of a mammoth package of public lands bills, the Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act (H.R. 803), advancing numerous sportsmen’s and women’s priorities and responding to ...

Montana lawmakers are considering a bill that would transfer administration of fishing access sites and wildlife management areas to the state’s parks and recreation board. The bill would also expand an annual conservation fee paid by anglers, hunters and trappers to other site users. Under Senate Bill 153, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Welborn, R-Dillon, the Montana Parks and Recreation Board, not the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, would govern management of fishing access sites and ...

    The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) released a draft strategy for 5,478 acres of endowment lands surrounding or within the city of McCall. Idaho's constitution mandates these lands be managed to secure the maximum financial return to endowment beneficiaries. The Payette Endowment Lands Strategy looks at the use classification of endowment lands within the McCall Designated Area of Impact and how they relate to current property values, county land use plans, asset management strategies ...

How nice would it be to have exclusive access to thousands of acres of public lands? Deciding who gets to hunt these lands, fish these streams, hike these trails or enjoy the solitude — that all sounds pretty great, huh? So how might one gain this privilege and authority? Well, it’s pretty easy to do in Montana right now; just put up a gate on a public road that is used to access these public lands and voila; you’re now the king. Read more here from the Daily Chronicle...