FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2025  Contact: media@backcountryhunters.org    MISSOULA, Mont. — Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) is rebuking a sweeping new proposal released by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would force the sale of up to 3 million acres of public lands under the guise of a solution to the housing crisis. This proposal—led by committee chair Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)—would apply to public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 12, 2025  Contact:  Kaden McArthur, Director of Policy & Government Relations, mcarthur@backcountryhunters.org    New Legislation Would Safeguard 58,000 Acres, 74 Miles of Public Lands and Waters in Oregon   Landscapes included in newly-reintroduced Smith River National Recreation Area Expansion Act provide habitat for salmon, trout, deer, elk, and bear, among other wildlife    Washington, D.C. – A vast expanse of national forest lands, free-flowing rivers, ...

News for Immediate ReleaseAug. 18, 2017Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org It’s Official: Oregon’s Elliott State Forest to Remain Publicly Accessible Gov. Kate Brown signs into law measure continuing state ownership of Oregon’s oldest state forest; work now shifts to decoupling Elliott from common school fund, addressing financial components of transfer   SALEM, Ore. – The Elliott State Forest will remain publicly accessible to hunters, anglers and other ...

PORTLAND, Ore. – A bill that would conserve more than 100,000 acres in Douglas County, Oregon, took another step forward today as it passed out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Act would permanently safeguard parts of the Steamboat Creek basin, which contains some of the best wild steelhead spawning areas in the Pacific Northwest. The bill is named in honor of Frank Moore, a World War II veteran, ...

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is commending a decision by the Oregon state legislature to consider a bill that could keep the Elliott State Forest under state ownership, averting the need to sell the 82,500-acre Elliott and securing the valuable fish and wildlife habitat and outdoor opportunities found in Oregon’s oldest state forest. Senate Bill 847 would provide the state of Oregon the mechanism to transfer ownership of the Elliott State Forest from the ...

WASHINGTON – Approximately 100,000 acres of Oregon public lands backcountry – including riparian wildlife habitat and a unique steelhead fishery – will be permanently conserved if legislation introduced today in Congress becomes law, announced Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. The Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Sanctuary Act, sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, would permanently safeguard the Steamboat Creek basin, a tributary of the North ...

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 ...

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 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 ...