Update from Chapter Chair

Well, we have officially made it to the best time of the year. Fall colors, cooling temps, and lots of time in the woods and marshes chasing white-tailed deer, small game, and waterfowl. This is also the time of year when the NY Chapter is starting to look back on what we accomplished and look forward to our plan for next year. As we form those plans, I will make sure to share them here with all of you. 

One thing I know for certain is that we need to grow our membership! I would love to see us grow to be the largest BHA chapter in the country, and I really want to kick that effort off immediately.  So to that end, from now until the end of the year, we are running a NY specific membership drive. 

If you Join or Renew between 10/15 and 12/31 of this year, you will be entered to win one of two amazing packages. 

• The first package is for you mobile white-tailed deer saddle hunters. We have a Half-Line Climbing System (w/ a throwball kit) from the guys at NY Saddle Hunter.  We are also including a $500 gift card to XOP to build out the rest of your kit!
• The second package is a $250 gift card to Filson and a $250 gift card to Stone Glacier.  This should help you get some high quality outdoor gear from two great companies!

These are pretty amazing prizes, so would encourage you to Join or Renew, and also help grow our membership by telling your friends! To ensure you are entered, make sure you join through the link in this email!

Join or Renew your NY BHA Membership!

Good luck out there this season! I again want to encourage you all to please tag and follow us on social media, join us at Pint Nights and conservation stewardship events, let your legislators hear from you about proposed bills impacting hunters and anglers, and make sure your BHA membership is current! Get out there and enjoy your NY public lands and waters!

Greg Whalin - NY BHA Chapter Chair 

Thank our NY Chapter Sponsors!

I want to personally call out a huge thanks to our NY Chapter Sponsors! They have generously donated funds or items to the chapter to help us achieve our membership and fundraising goals. Please consider booking a trip, shopping with, or spending your money with our sponsors!!

They include:

• Adirondack Mountain & Stream Guide Service
• Dette Flies
• Grasse River Adventures
• Long Island Fishing Charters
• Rupp Pfalzgraf LLC 

Chapter News from October

Public Lands Pint Night at Common Roots Brewing Sponsored by OnX

We had a great time celebrating Public Lands month at the Common Roots Flagship in South Glens Falls, NY. Former NY Chapter Chair, Todd Waldron was on hand to talk about the early days of the NY Chapter among other topics.  Local members joined in and we even got a surprise visit from the Eastern Field Director, Chris Hennessey! One of our newest members, Kim Neaton, shared a story of her first ever deer hunt a couple weeks prior. It was great to see old and new together sharing stories and catching up.

Legislative / Policy Update

Legislative Updates

The legislative session for 2024 has wrapped for the year.

DEC Updates

Unit/Recreation Management Plans and Proposals - DEC regularly seeks public input as they work to manage our public lands. While they will regularly receive input from other groups, often hunters and anglers are fairly silent. It directly benefits the hunting and angling communities for you to take a look at these plans and voice your feedback directly to DEC.   They do listen to your input and in the past, our voices have resulted in wins for hunters and anglers. Current plans open for feedback include:

Region 8

• Keuka Highlands UMP and Keuka Lowlands UMP - comments open until further notice
• Great Divide Unit Management Plan (formerly Erwin UMP and Great Divide UMP) - comments open until further notice

NY BHA Call for Volunteers

We need your help!  We are looking for volunteers to help with the following efforts.

• Regional Event Coordinators - Want to help us plan gatherings for your fellow NY BHA members?  We need help with local Pint Nights as well as other NY events. 
• Policy and Legislative work - Our Policy team and newly forming Legislative team needs passionate folks to jump in and help us do the important work to protect our public lands and access for hunters and anglers!
• Mentorship work - We want to build a list of folks in the state who are open to being mentors for new hunters and anglers. We have opportunities and need for folks who can give a little all the way up to folks who want to really invest a lot.  Everything from answering questions to being a one on one coach to participating on our larger weekend long hunt camps for new hunters.
• Conservation work - We are working with DEC to have more opportunities for events to do quality habitat work on our public lands. Want to roll your sleeves up and help, we would love to have you!

If you are interested in volunteering a bit of your time and talents, please let us know by filling out and submitting this form.

How to Connect with Us

Here are a few ways you can keep in touch with the New York BHA chapter:

Stay up to date with events and blogs from New York on our BHA web page at New York Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.  

Join our Facebook group at New York BHA on Facebook. 

Follow us on Instagram New York BHA (@newyorkbha).

Contact the Chapter Board by email: [email protected]

Thank our sponsors: New York BHA Corporate Sponsors

Join us at an upcoming event: NY BHA Events

Signup to be a volunteer: NY BHA Volunteer

Last but not least, make sure your BHA membership is current and give the gift of BHA to a friend or family member!