America is exceptional in many regards. One of the most notable of our ideals encompasses 640 million acres: our system of public lands and waters, equally owned by every citizen. “We the people own these mountains and forests, rivers, and plains. Nothing could be more American,” former Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) North America Board Chair Ryan Busse said.[1]
As with our freedoms and government, the concept of public lands was born of a desire to remove the shackles of a stifling European system in which only the wealthy or royalty could enjoy the outdoors.[2] “Public lands personify this idea we call America—which is freedom,” Ron Spomer says. “The human animal—the human spirit—is not intended to be confined to a cage.”[3] This human need for freedom and “wild public lands, waters, and wildlife” is the spark that ignited our first (2004) BHA campfire.[4]
In the words of Hal Herring (host of BHA’s Podcast & Blast), “The future of the American public lands is as important to our nation as the Bill of Rights or the Constitution itself.”[5] Hence, America’s public lands are not something to be sold off for a quick buck, as some propose.[6] They are, in the words of writer and novelist Wallace Stegner, “The best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”[7]
Aldo Leopold is known as the father of wildlife management. He argued—along with Frederick Jackson Turner and Theodore Roosevelt—that the pioneer wilderness environment “determined the character of our development … it is the very stuff America is made of. Shall we now exterminate this thing that made us American?”[8] Leopold believed that it’s vital to preserve the wildness from which we evolved.[9] “Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?”[10]
The first BHA state chapter was started in Colorado (during 2005) by David “Elkheart” Petersen (a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot).[11] In Heartsblood: Hunting, Spirituality, and Wildness in America David asks, “What good are ‘hunter’s rights’ if you find yourself one day without a place to hunt or anything to hunt for?”[12] In On The Wild Edge David adds, “In a human-made world gone horribly out of whack, nature provides the only unimpeachably, unwaveringly reliable source of sanity and hope we have.”[13]
Theodore Roosevelt biographer Douglas Brinkley said, “Everybody likes TR, because we can see that his legacy is not a Democratic legacy or a Republican one, it’s a great American legacy. I don’t think we have to be at partisan odds over clean air, clean water, and keeping our forest reserves intact. Those should just be American goals.”[14] In BHA’s Podcast & Blast Ep. 144 Hal Herring takes a deep dive with Brinkley as they consider the past, present, and future of “the public estate of the American people.”[15]
“I believe that wilderness and liberty are one in the same. I don’t think you can tear the two apart without losing both, for American liberty and our American wilderness have always been intertwined,” I wrote in a 2002 Whitetales story (“Hunting, Wilderness & Democracy”). “They are the oldest, most deeply ingrained elements of the American experience. As TR said, ‘The movement for the conservation of wildlife and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method.’”[16]
“The generation now living may very well be what which will make the irrevocable decision determining whether hunting ‘stands or falls,’” I emphasized in Whitetales.[17] Hunters, anglers, shooters, hikers, skiers, family vacationers, and Americans of all sorts use our national forests, parks, and wildlife refuges. Most Western sportsmen and women depend upon them for our days afield. Public lands define our national identity.[18] But that identity, unfortunately, is under siege.
Public Land Sales
People have been trying to steal our great public lands estate since Theodore Roosevelt (and others) set it aside. However, those efforts have shifted into high gear recently. In a Dec. 26, 2024, Wall Street Journal op-ed advocating for selling off public lands a Hoover Institution senior fellow said (in part): “The idea of selling huge amounts of government-owned land is not new … The prospect of largescale land sales was considered during the Reagan administration, but the political opposition was too strong.”[19]
“The amount of land owned by the National Park Service alone is larger than Italy,” the senior fellow added, and then went on to list the holdings (disposable, in his misinformed opinion) of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management. He concluded by restating his myopic intent: “The federal government owns a little more than one-fourth of the total land area of the United States. The time is long overdue to consider whether that is the best economic arrangement.”[20]
Not surprisingly, he conveniently overlooked the priceless economic (and many other) benefits of public lands and outdoor recreation. For example, the economic impact of outdoor recreation in Arizona surged to $14 billion in 2023, a 20% increase from the prior year.[21] The outdoor recreation industry is also a growing economic force in Colorado and generated $13.9 billion for the state in 2022, supporting nearly 130,000 workers who earned $6.9 billion.[22]
In 2022 outdoor recreation was an $11.7 billion industry in Minnesota, contributing seven times more to GDP than mining, quarrying, and oil/gas extraction.[23] The outdoor recreation industry is now valued at $1.2 trillion nationwide, accounting for 2.3% of the U.S. economy and 5 million jobs. The 3.6% year-over-year growth exceeded the U.S. economy as a whole, which grew at 2.9% in 2023.[24]
In addition, the EXPLORE Act was recently signed into law and represents the largest measure ever to support outdoor recreation by updating management policies and investing more money in recreational spaces.[25] This legislation was sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and reinforces the bipartisan collaboration inherent in protecting and enhancing our wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.[26]
During March 2024 Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) co-sponsored the “Public Lands in Public Hands Act,” which would ban the sale or transfer of most public lands managed by the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture (Bureau of Land Management is under Interior and the National Forests are under Agriculture). The bill also requires Congressional approval for disposals of publicly accessible federal land tracts over 300 acres and for public land tracts over five acres if accessible via a public waterway.[27]
Hornet’s Nest
Despite the many irreplaceable and sustainable economic (and other) benefits of public lands, during 2017 a misguided U.S. House Rep., Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), introduced legislation to transfer 3.3 million acres of federal land to 10 Western states. The response from hunters, anglers, hikers, climbers, campers, and millions of other Americans was swift and unapologetic. We hammered him relentlessly and only a week later Rep. Chaffetz withdrew his bill.[28]
The bill, HR 621, would have ordered the incoming Secretary of Interior to sell off our public lands heritage and it ignited a firestorm. Land Tawney, then President and CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, told the Guardian newspaper at the time, “Once that bill was introduced, the hornet’s nest was kicked.” Chaffetz got the message and promptly withdrew it.[29]
“I hear you and HR 621 dies tomorrow,” Chaffetz posted on Instagram. Tawny said BHA would not rest until the selloff of public lands was taken out of the Republican Party platform.[30] “In my 17 years of working on this stuff, I’ve never seen anyone introduce a bill and then a week later pull it back,” Tawney said (quoted in a March 2017 Star-Tribune story by Joe Albert). “The response to the Chaffetz bill was swift and unapologetic.”[31]
With the backing of tens of thousands of BHA members, Tawney’s voice was among the loudest in opposition to Chaffetz’s bill. “And that’s a BHA tradition,” Albert said. “Since the group formed around a campfire in 2004 … defending public lands has been the group’s mission.”[32] “As our primary focus, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers stands guard as the watchdog for our wild public lands, waters, and wildlife,” current BHA President and CEO Patrick Berry emphasized.[33]
“I’m not a R or D. I don’t belong to any party. Well, I do have a party; it’s the Party of Hunting Fishing and Public Access. Screw with that and I will direct the focus of my platforms your direction,” Randy Newberg (host of “Fresh Tracks,” “On Your Own Adventures,” and “Hunt Talk Radio”) stated at the time. “If that pressure surprises a politician, then they’ve mistaken me for someone who cares about their political party crap.”[34]
“With more than 23 million acres of public land, Colorado boasts some of the best hunting and fishing in the nation,” I explained in a 2017 VailDaily op-ed (“Sportsmen embrace Public Lands Day”). “To put this into perspective: Colorado’s public land acreage is equal in size to the entire state of Indiana. And a survey by the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation showed that 92 percent of Colorado hunters use public lands.”[35]
“In some neighboring states, such as Utah, extremist politicians are endeavoring to transfer ownership of federal public lands to states and/or private interests,” I added. “Speaking for sportsmen, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers president and CEO Land Tawney said, ‘This issue is our Second Amendment. Any attack on public lands is a non-starter for us.’”[36]
As Patrick, Land, and Randy make crystal clear, we are here, first and foremost, to protect public lands and waters habitat wherever, whenever, and however we can. After Rep. Chaffetz pulled his bill Tawney summed up our accomplishment, saying, “Precedent has been set and every politician is now on notice. Don’t mess with our public lands. We won this battle but … the war is far from over. Billionaires don’t like to lose.”[37] And as Land predicted, the billionaires are back.
Something (Bad) For Everyone
In a November 2024 BHA Blog post (“The Great Betrayal: America’s Public Lands Legacy is Under Siege”) Patrick Berry explains that throughout our history land barons and developers have endeavored to swipe public lands right out from underneath us. “Now these long-time swindlers have a growing roster of accomplices in the form of politicians who have zero shame cutting Americans out of our own public lands legacy,” he wrote.[38]
“The most insidious of threats at our doorstep is the State of Utah’s lawsuit filed in August with the U.S. Supreme Court to seize a staggering 18.5 million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),” Berry said. “Shockingly, elected officials in 14 states—along with a variety of self-serving trade groups and other anti-public land interests—have since jumped on board with legal support.”[39]
“So, what is the real objective here? The ultimate goal for commandeering publicly owned lands is to sell them, sub-divide them, or lease them to private interests,” Patrick added. “These are our lands we’re talking about, yours and mine. These are publicly owned assets passed down by generations of Americans, and cherished by hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts in every corner of this country.”[40]
“This is a lose-lose situation for states and all Americans for which these lands are held in the public trust,” said Joel Webster, chief conservation officer for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). “There have been several efforts over the past four decades to sell or transfer federal lands. None have been successful, and all have been unpopular. States simply do not have the resources to manage the vast acres that make up federal lands.”[41]
In an April 2017 Greeley Tribune op-ed I quoted Petersen’s Hunting editor-in-chief Mike Schoby, who said: “The real reason politicians lobby to get their hands on federal lands is not to better manage it for hunters (don’t kid yourself: your hunting opportunities are not even on their radar), but to rape and pillage it before selling it off to wealthy corporations that donate heavily to their campaigns.” For the most part, these efforts have been thwarted so far, but bad ideas never die.[42]
Perhaps the epitome of bad ideas is the 920-page manifesto that is “Project 2025,” which includes something (bad) for everyone, including hunters, anglers, and anyone who recreates on our great public lands estate. Like many Colorado elk (and other) hunters, I depend on public lands for hunting, hiking, camping, canoeing, and outdoor recreation in general. More importantly, wildlife species like deer, ducks, grouse, turkeys, and dozens more need that habitat for their survival.[43]
“Stories about ‘Project 2025’ have been circulating in the news, but what many hunters and anglers may not realize are the vast implications it would have for the conservation of our nation’s public lands and waters,” BHA Government Relations Manager Kaden McArthur explained. “This presidential transition document—organized by the Heritage Foundation—establishes policy recommendations for a conservative president in 2025.”[44]
“Outlined in Project 2025 are a suite of recommendations for our public lands and waters that would directly reverse policy priorities that BHA has advocated for,” McArthur added. “These include rolling back the conservation status for more than 50 million acres of public lands; dismantling the America the Beautiful initiative to conserve 30% of our lands and waters by 2030; restricting the use of the Land and Water Conservation Fund; and targeting bedrock conservation laws such as the Antiquities Act.”[45]
The Great Equalizer
As Jim Harrison wrote in The Beast God Forgot to Invent, “The danger of civilization, of course, is that you will piss away your life on nonsense.” And in the words of former BHA North American Board member T. Edward Nickens: “BHA is here to make sure that we’re not the Americans who pissed away the greatest heritage of public lands the world has ever known.”[46]
“Backcountry Hunters & Anglers was (and is) inspired by the political activism of Theodore Roosevelt, the Land Ethic of Aldo Leopold, the hunting ethics of David Petersen, and the fiery oratory of Hal Herring.”[47] Hence, BHA stands up for what it says it’s for no matter where the political chips fall. In the words of former BHA North American Board Chair Ryan Busse, “We don’t kowtow to one political side or the other. That simple approach is pretty refreshing for some people.”[48]
“We’re a conservation group of hunters,” Land Tawney said. “At the end of the day we want to make sure you have access to your public land, and that there is fish and wildlife habitat when you get there.” Unlike many groups that are species-specific, BHA has grown based on its core philosophy of advocating on behalf of public lands. “The majority of hunters hunt on public land; it’s the great equalizer,” Tawney emphasized.[49]
“In a flurry of unknowns,” Patrick Berry said, “one thing is certain: As nonpartisan advocates, BHA will remain unwavering in our commitment to defend our wild public lands, waters, and wildlife, regardless of who holds elected office.”[50] Although we are on the cusp of some potentially epic, if not desperate, public lands battles, that’s what BHA was built for. Public lands are not a left or right issue, they’re an American issue.
During the 2021 BHA North American Rendezvous at Fort Missoula, in Montana, one of the highlights was Hal Herring, BHA’s 2016 Ted Trueblood Award recipient. Hal inspired and reminded us (via a cautionary tale) about what we’ve gained and could very well lose (see 2021 Rendezvous “Campfire Stories” link) without the constant sacrifice and vigilance of public landowners/patriots across the country and continent.[51]
“Hope is not a strategy, but without it we’d be lost. It’s the spark that helps feed our appetite for tackling change and taking calculated risks,” I wrote in a 2020 BHA Blog (“Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History”). “When mixed with equal parts Teddy Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold and Crown Royal, you have a combustible combination for conservation, the recipe that helped transform BHA’s founding campfire into a forest fire. Where does hope live? It lives in our burning desire to make a difference, to be the voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.”[52]
My friend David “Elkheart” Petersen’s friend and mentor, the late Edward Abbey (the godfather of environmental activism) was quoted in a September 2024 TED talk saying: “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.”[53] And for me the antidote to despair and pathway to hope is to take action. To get involved (and Take Action on Key BHA Issues) visit: https://www.backcountryhunters.org/take_action#/
Paraphrasing one of my fellow, former BHA North American Board members (Jay Banta): Thank you for always being front and center in “the fight.” Every cause needs “unwavering warriors” and you always answer the “clarion call to battle.”[54] Jay is spot on: We run toward challenges, not away from them. We don’t back down, we double down! It’s now or never.[55]
David Lien is co-chair of the Colorado BHA chapter, a former Air Force missile launch officer, and author.[56] In 2014 he was recognized by Field & Stream as a “Hero of Conservation.”[57] During 2019 he was the recipient of BHA’s Mike Beagle-Chairman’s Award “for outstanding effort on behalf of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.”[58]
Additional/Related Information
-David A. Lien Facebook post (11/29/24). “A good year with significant challenges ahead: ‘We don’t back down, we double down.’” https://www.facebook.com/reel/396419420219118
-David A. Lien. “Project 2025 proponents underestimate our resolve: Manifesto for new administration is taking aim at our public lands.” Colorado Newsline: 11/24/24.
-Patrick Berry, BHA President and CEO. “The Great Betrayal: America’s Public Lands Legacy is Under Siege.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/19/24.
-David A. Lien. “Local View: Project 2025 is taking aim at our public lands.” Duluth News Tribune: 11/13/24.
-Ryan Callaghan, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Board Chairman. “A Public Land Virus We Can’t Seem to Shake.” MeatEater: 11/7/24.
-Thomas Plank. “Elected Officials in 15 States Oppose Public Lands, Condemned by Grassroots Network of Hunters and Anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/4/24.
-Joel Webster. “TRCP Opposes the Blanket Sale or Transfer of Federal Land to States.” TRCP: 10/31/24.
-Chris Wood. “This could be the most pressing threat to public lands yet.” Trout Unlimited: 10/7/24.
-TED (9/30/24). “A Bold Plan to Rewild the Earth—at Massive Scale | Kristine McDivitt Tompkins | TED.”
-National Geographic (3/9/23). “Wild Life | Official Trailer | National Geographic.”
-Kylee Burleigh. “BHA Podcast & Blast, Ep. #189: Utah Wants Your Public Lands.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/17/24.
-Caitlin Curry. “Hunters Cannot Dismiss the Magnitude of Utah’s Public Lands Lawsuit.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/16/24.
-Patrick Berry. “Keep Public Land Out of Utah’s Greedy Hands.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/4/24.
-David A. Lien. “Local View: Project 2025 puts public lands, democracy in peril.” Duluth News Tribune: 8/7/24.
-David A. Lien. “Project 2025 puts public lands in peril: Plan for a second Trump administration threatens wildlife habitat in Colorado.” Colorado Newsline: 8/2/24.
-A September 2024 Newsweek story (“Project 2025’s Unpopularity Continues to Grow”) references a NBC News poll that shows “57 percent of voters view Project 2025 as unfavorable, with only 4 percent seeing it as favorable.”[59]
-Kaden McArthur. “What Project 2025 Means for Public Lands and Waters.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/15/24.
-Kylee Burleigh. “Bonus Episode: Public Lands In Public Hands.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/27/24.
-David A. Lien. “Guest opinion: Selling off our public lands is a bad idea that won’t die.” VailDaily: 1/29/23.
-David A. Lien. “Bad ideas never die.” Aspen Daily News: 1/25/23.
-“2021 Rendezvous Recap-Campfire Stories: Hal Herring.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/1/21.
-Christopher Neill. “Finding Common Ground On The Environment.” The Falmouth Enterprise: 2/28/20.
-David A. Lien. “Sportsmen embrace Public Lands Day.” VailDaily: 5/19/17.
-Ryan Busse, former Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Board Chair. “The House Places No Value on an America Treasure—Its Public Lands.” The New York Times: 1/17/17.
-Randy Newberg and TRCP. “Scrubbing out public land transfer myths.” TRCP: 6/11/16.
-To Take Action Visit: https://www.utahisnotforsale.org/take_action
-To learn more visit: https://www.utahisnotforsale.org/
-For more about the ongoing efforts by some legislators in Congress (and others) to privatize our public lands estate see the “Bad Ideas” section in this 2023 BHA Blog: “A Hunter-Angler (Hell-Raisin’ & Habitat Savin’) Guide To Winning: Colorado BHA Examples (Browns Canyon & Camp Hale).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 10/23/23.
Patron Saints & Wilderness Warriors
-“The Patron Saints of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/12/24.
-“Stalking Wildness: BHA’s Wilderness Warriors.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 2/13/24.
-“The Jim Posewitz Digital Library: Required Reading For Conservationists.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/3/20.
-Ben Long’s Hunter & Angler Field Guide to Raising Hell.
-David “Elkheart” Petersen (founder of the first BHA state chapter, here in Colorado, and a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) books. Also see his “On the Wild Edge” documentary at: https://youtu.be/-IE58L4bqEA
-“Our job today and tomorrow is the same as it’s always been—to be good, to be wise, to stand up for what’s right, to resist what is wrong and evil. Nothing changes that. Nothing exempts us from that. Nothing prevents us from doing that.” -From the Daily Stoic
Founded by Mike Beagle, a former U.S. Army field artillery officer, and formed around an Oregon campfire, in 2004, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our nation’s wild public lands, waters and wildlife. With members spread out across all 50 states and 13 Canadian provinces and territories—including chapters in 49 states, two Canadian provinces and one territory, and Washington, D.C.—BHA brings an authentic, informed, boots-on-the-ground voice to the conservation of public lands. The Colorado BHA chapter was founded by David “Elkheart” Petersen (a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) in 2005 (the first official BHA chapter)[60]
[1] Ryan Busse, former Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Board Chair. “The House Places No Value on an America Treasure—Its Public Lands.” The New York Times: 1/17/17.
[2] Ryan Busse, former Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Board Chair. “The House Places No Value on an America Treasure—Its Public Lands.” The New York Times: 1/17/17.
[3] Ron Spomer is a hunting writer, conservationist, and photographer.
[4] “Looking back, looking forward: A brief history of BHA.” https://www.backcountryhunters.org/about
[5] Will Bostwick. “The New Documentary ‘Public Trust’ Is a Call to Action: By highlighting three potent public-lands battles, the film asks audiences to take a stand in a political moment that threatens the future of American conservation.” Outside: 2/19/20; https://www.backcountryhunters.org/bha_podcast
[6] Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. “The World’s Biggest Landlord Is Washington.” The Wall Street Journal: 12/26/24, p. A15.
[7] David A. Lien. “Guest opinion: Selling off our public lands is a bad idea that won’t die.” VailDaily: 1/29/23.
[8] Daniel J. Philippon. Conserving Words. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 2004, p. 184.
[9] Rachel Carley. Wilderness A to Z. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001, p. 188.
[10] David A. Lien. “Death of a Deer Hunter.” Whitetales: Fall 2000, p. 41.
[11] David A. Lien. “Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/30/20.
[12] David Petersen. Heartsblood: Hunting, Spirituality, and Wildness in America. Durango, Colorado: Raven’s Eye Press, 2000, p. 230.
[13] David Petersen. On The Wild Edge. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2005, p. 70.
[14] Johnathan Hiskes. “Teddy Roosevelt and the search for new ‘wilderness warriors.’” Grist: 8/21/09; Travis Bradford. “BHA Podcast & Blast, Ep. 144: Author and Historian Douglas Brinkley.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/8/22.
[15] Travis Bradford. “BHA Podcast & Blast, Ep. 144: Author and Historian Douglas Brinkley.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/8/22.
[16] David A. Lien. “Hunting, Wilderness & Democracy.” Whitetales: Winter 2002, p. 22.
[17] David A. Lien. “Hunting, Wilderness & Democracy.” Whitetales: Winter 2002, p. 34.
[18] Ryan Busse, former Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Board Chair. “The House Places No Value on an America Treasure—Its Public Lands.” The New York Times: 1/17/17.
[19] Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. “The World’s Biggest Landlord Is Washington.” The Wall Street Journal: 12/26/24, p. A15.
[20] Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. “The World’s Biggest Landlord Is Washington.” The Wall Street Journal: 12/26/24, p. A15.
[21] Jessica Boehm and John Frank. “Arizona's outdoor recreation industry worth $14 billion.” Axios: 12/23/24.
[22] Jason Blevins. “A second Trump presidency could create big shifts in Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy.” The Colorado Sun: 11/16/24.
[23] David A. Lien. “Local View: Project 2025 is taking aim at our public lands.” Duluth News Tribune: 11/13/24.
[24] Jessica Boehm and John Frank. “Arizona's outdoor recreation industry worth $14 billion.” Axios: 12/23/24.
[25] Jessica Boehm and John Frank. “Arizona's outdoor recreation industry worth $14 billion.” Axios: 12/23/24.
[26] Nadia Marji. “In Final Days, Congress Sends Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation Legislation to President’s Desk.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 12/23/24.
[27] Kylee Burleigh. “Bonus Episode: Public Lands In Public Hands.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/27/24.
[28] Christopher Neill. “Finding Common Ground On The Environment.” The Falmouth Enterprise: 2/28/20.
[29] Christopher Neill. “Finding Common Ground On The Environment.” The Falmouth Enterprise: 2/28/20.
[30] Christopher Neill. “Finding Common Ground On The Environment.” The Falmouth Enterprise: 2/28/20.
[31] Joe Albert. “Backcountry Hunters & Anglers gladly takes advocacy label, too (National group, with a Minnesota chapter, puts land protection at its center.” Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minn.) Star-Tribune: 3/2/17.
[32] Joe Albert. “Backcountry Hunters & Anglers gladly takes advocacy label, too (National group, with a Minnesota chapter, puts land protection at its center.” Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minn.) Star-Tribune: 3/2/17.
[33] Patrick Berry, BHA President & CEO. “Building a Community.” Backcountry Journal: Fall 2024, p. 3.
[35] David A. Lien. “Sportsmen embrace Public Lands Day.” Vail Daily: 5/19/17.
[36] David A. Lien. “Sportsmen embrace Public Lands Day.” Vail Daily: 5/19/17.
[37] Land Tawney, former BHA President and CEO. “H.R. 621.” Facebook: 2/2/17.
[38] Patrick Berry. “The Great Betrayal: America’s Public Lands Legacy is Under Siege.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/19/24.
[39] Patrick Berry. “The Great Betrayal: America’s Public Lands Legacy is Under Siege.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/19/24.
[40] Patrick Berry. “The Great Betrayal: America’s Public Lands Legacy is Under Siege.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/19/24.
[41] Joel Webster, Chief Conservation Officer. “TRCP Opposes the Blanket Sale or Transfer of Federal Land to States.” TRCP: 10/31/24.
[42] David A. Lien. “Bad ideas never die.” Aspen Daily News: 1/25/23; David A. Lien. “Antiquities Act protects hunting and angling on public lands.” Greeley Tribune: 4/26/17.
[43] David A. Lien. “Project 2025 proponents underestimate our resolve: Manifesto for new administration is taking aim at our public lands.” Colorado Newsline: 11/24/24.
[44] Kaden McArthur. “What Project 2025 Means for Public Lands and Waters.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/15/24.
[45] Kaden McArthur. “What Project 2025 Means for Public Lands and Waters.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/15/24.
[46] Backcountry Hunters & Angers Headquarters. “Rendezvous Recap.” Backcountry Journal: Summer 2018, p. 12.
[47] David A. Lien. “Conservation (& Conciliation).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/15/21.
[48] Martin Kidston. “Missoula-based Backcountry Hunters & Anglers expands to 39 states, 2 provinces: In 2013, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers had around 1,200 members and two or three staff members. It now has 32 staff members and over 33,000 members.” Missoula Current: 3/11/19.
[49] Joe Albert. “Backcountry Hunters & Anglers gladly takes advocacy label, too (National group, with a Minnesota chapter, puts land protection at its center.” Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minn.) Star-Tribune: 3/2/17.
[50] Patrick Berry. “The Great Betrayal: America’s Public Lands Legacy is Under Siege.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/19/24.
[51] David A. Lien. “Conservation (& Conciliation).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/15/21; “2021 Rendezvous Recap-Campfire Stories: Hal Herring.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/1/21.
[52] David A. Lien. “Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/30/20.
[53] TED (9/30/24). “A Bold Plan to Rewild the Earth—at Massive Scale | Kristine McDivitt Tompkins | TED.”
[54] Jay Banta is the former manager of the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge and is an active sportsman living in southern Utah; Also see: Jay Banta. “Sportsmen work with leaders in Washington to stand up for habitat.” The Salt Lake Tribune: 3/12/11.
[55] David A. Lien Facebook post (11/29/24). “A good year with significant challenges ahead: ‘We don’t back down, we double down.’” https://www.facebook.com/reel/396419420219118
[56] David A. Lien. “A Higher Calling.” Association of Air Force Missileers (AAFM) Newsletter: March 2011, p. 4.
[57] Editors. “Heroes of Conservation: Safeguarding Winter Elk Range.” Field & Stream: July 2014, p. 29.
[58] https://www.backcountryhunters.org/co_bha_award_winners
[59] Natalie Venegas. “Project 2025's Unpopularity Continues to Grow: New Poll.” Newsweek: 9/22/24.
[60] David A. Lien. “Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/30/20.