Close ties to fly fishing industry, expertise in wildlife biology and public lands management define two new BHA board members MISSOULA, Mont. - Ben Bulis and Ted Koch have joined the national board of directors of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, bringing close ties to the fly fishing industry and expertise in wildlife biology and public lands management to the leadership of the rapidly growing sportsmen's group. Bulis is president and CEO of the American Fly Fishing Trade Association, the ...

Popular merchandise line celebrates outdoor lifestyle, raises funds for backcountry conservation MISSOULA, Mont. — Demand for the newest t-shirt design by Hunt To Eat, the hunter-branded clothing company, is soaring, and backcountry conservation is benefitting as a result. The Backcountry Hunters & Anglers-Hunt To Eat partnership launched formally earlier this year. Hunt To Eat wanted to support BHA, but its conservation budget is slim. Inspired by BHA’s work, the company developed the ...

MISSOULA, Mont. – Backcountry Hunters & Anglers today praised an announcement by the U.S. Department of the Interior that one of the last remaining oil-and-gas drilling leases in the Badger-Two Medicine area of the Lewis & Clark National Forest will be cancelled. The region lies between the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Glacier National Park. BHA board member Ryan Busse, a Kalispell resident, issued the following statement: “The Badger-Two Medicine ranks high among Montana’s most beautiful ...

MISSOULA, Mont. - Backcountry Hunters & Anglers' 2016 North American Rendezvous was one for the record books, shattering records for attendance, funds raised for conservation and positive energy generated by backcountry enthusiasts - and signaling that 2016 will continue to be marked by unprecedented growth and accomplishment for the 12-year-old sportsmen's group.More than 5,000 outdoor enthusiasts traveled from all parts of the United States and Canada to attend the annual gathering, which ...

As a big game hunter who (like over 90% of Colorado sportsmen) hunts public lands, the recent push by some elected officials and big-industry groups to transfer our federal public lands to state ownership, or to sell them off outright to private interests, is more than a little troubling. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that long ago (during the Bush administration years) that similar shenanigans were taking place: former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) introduced a bill requiring the federal ...

MISSOULA, Mont. - In the wake of the arrest in Oregon of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada scofflaw and leader of a movement to seize public lands from the American people, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers President and CEO Land Tawney issued the following statement: "The American people can take satisfaction in knowing that justice is being served to those who would steal or misappropriate our public lands and waters. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers thanks federal law enforcement personnel for arresting ...

Following the arrests of armed militants who had been occupying Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers President and CEO Land Tawney issued the following statement: "Backcountry Hunters & Anglers cannot support the tactics and objectives of the militants in Oregon. We regret the loss of life associated with the arrests; however, the individuals arrested, along with anyone else who participated in the seizure of Malheur, must be held accountable to the fullest extent ...

MISSOULA, Mont. - The sportsmen's group Backcountry Hunters & Anglers urged cool, patient heads to prevail in the extremists' occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, valuable public lands fish and wildlife habitat located in Oregon. "National wildlife refuges like Malheur are a treasure shared by all Americans," stated BHA President and CEO Land Tawney. "The actions being perpetrated by extremists in Oregon are the misguided actions of a fringe element - and should be condemned ...

BHA rejects proposal from congressional fringe that would gut 50-year-old conservation, access program WASHINGTON - Legislation introduced this morning would dismantle the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a keystone federal program that has enabled conservation and enhanced public access to millions of acres over its 50-year history, drawing heavy criticism from Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, which dismissed the proposal as a nonstarter. The bill, introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop from Utah, ...

SALEM, Ore. – Proponents of fair chase hunting are celebrating a success in the Beaver State as the Oregon Senate advances legislation that would ban the use of drones for hunting and scouting. “The sportsman’s voice is ringing loud and clear in the Oregon legislature,” said Ed Putnam, co-chair of the Oregon chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “This bill speaks to the core of who we are as sportsmen, and we commend the legislature’s willingness to consider it.” BHA’s Oregon chapter ...