Utah Coordinator Ken Theis

Click here to email Ken or phone (435) 881 - 4336.

Welcome to the inaugural, Utah BHA newsletter!!!

1. First off I’d like to say thank you to our members who took the time and effort to send an email to Secretary Salazar and call Congressman Rob Bishop’s DC office last week.

On October 26th, the BLM released its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) recommending the withdrawal of one million acres from new uranium mining around the Grand Canyon.

The public has 30 days to comment before Secretary Salazar issues his final recommendation.

On Nov. 3, the House Subcommittee on Parks, Forests, and Public Lands (which Bishop chairs), will hold a hearing on a bill in an attempt to block the moratorium. If you have not contacted Congressman Bishop’s DC office yet to voice your objection please do so. Call Congressman Rob Bishop’s DC office at 202-225-0453 and voice your support of the moratorium on new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.

You can read the full FEIS at:

http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/mining/timeout/feis.html

2. Since this is your newsletter I’d like to help our members start sharing hunting success stories with one another. This may or may not translate to harvesting an animal. It might mean a long walk in gorgeous fall weather with some outstanding scenery along with family and friends. Please send me some photos of your time in the field this fall And don’t forget photos of late fall trout and other fishing trips.

3. One of the issues facing Utah BHA members has to do with losing funding for the Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). A very popular LWCF-funded hunting area that was recently touted by Secretary Salazar is the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/outdoors/52774829-117/lake-river-utah-jordan.html.csp

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (BRMBR) can be found west of Brigham City in northern Utah, where the Bear River flows into the northeast arm of the Great Salt Lake. Founded in 1928, the refuge is one of the oldest projects and protects the marshes at the mouth of the Bear River. These marshes make up the largest freshwater component of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.

In the last seven days over 2295 different birds have been tracked at the refuge. With 2206 of those being Tundra Swans.

For you birders, as of Oct. 19, 2011, all wetland huntable units on the Refuge are at full, targeted water levels.

If funding for the LWCF is gutted by the Congress vital support for this project and its education and conservation programs will be impacted.

Please voice your strong support of the LWCF and the many opportunities it provides for our families whether they hunt or not.

4. Another way for BHA to provide positive input to our Congressional Delegation is to send them videos of our members and their families enjoying any of Utah’s LWCF projects. Use the video function of your phone (if available), to videotape a 30-55 second video of you and your family enjoying any one of Utah’s many LWCF areas. For a partial list of LWCF areas in Utah, go to http://x.co/amJ1. Other areas include Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Antelope Island State Park, and Bear Lake State Park. For a more complete list of LWCF-funded projects in Utah, please contact me and I can email it to you.

Address the delegation member by name, (i.e. Senator Hatch and Lee, Congressman Bishop, Chaffetz and Matheson) and tell them why this area is so important to you, your family and future generations.

I look forward to receiving your hunt photos and videos for our federal delegation.

Thanks for being a member of Utah’s BHA and helping us protect wildlife habitat.