82,000-plus acres of prized fish and wildlife habitat to be privatized; public access a question mark under future ownership SALEM, Ore. – Despite widespread support from sportsmen, conservationists and the public at large to work cooperatively on options to keep the Elliott State Forest publicly accessible, the state of Oregon moved forward on Tuesday with a plan to privatize the Elliott, Oregon’s oldest state forest and a destination for generations of hunters, anglers and other outdoor ...

Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced decision to abandon H.R. 621, which would have seized millions of acres of public lands and waters WASHINGTON - Following pressure from Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and numerous other sportsmen's interests and businesses, Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced last night his decision to abandon H.R. 621, legislation that would have mandated the sale of more than 3 million acres of public lands in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, ...

Measure recalculates costs of public lands transfers, facilitating giveaways WASHINGTON — The 115th Congress capped its first day late Tuesday with a vote to give away America’s public lands and waters, recalculating the costs of public lands transfers and easing current restrictions for shifting their oversight to individual states or private interests. Passed largely along party lines by the U.S. House of Representatives as part of a rules package, the provision would designate any ...

Following state land board decision to postpone the Elliott’s sale, sportsmen speak up on behalf of Oregon’s oldest state forest KEIZER, Ore. – Oregon hunters and anglers are commending a decision by state officials to postpone the sale of the Elliott State Forest to a private-tribal partnership and to seek proposals to keep Oregon’s oldest state forest publicly accessible and under state ownership. At its meeting last week, the Oregon state land board encountered strong opposition by ...

MISSOULA, Mont. – In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Rep. Ryan Zinke as U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers President and CEO Land Tawney issued the following statement: “Congressman Zinke understands the importance of public lands and balancing management of these important resources with energy development and other uses. As Montana’s lone representative in the House of Representatives, Mr. Zinke has showed himself to be receptive to the ...

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ growing influence is winning recognition from both within the sportsmen’s community and outside it. On Friday, Oct. 14, BHA was presented with the 2016 Nonprofit Leadership Award at the 2nd annual SHIFT conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The SHIFT Awards recognize individuals, initiatives or organizations that make significant and influential contributions to conservation through human-powered outdoor recreation. Some of the most successful on-the-ground work ...