Colorado BHA strongly supports SB 25-049, the Continue Habitat Stamp Program bill currently before the Colorado General Assembly. Since the inception of the Habitat Stamp in 2006, the Colorado Wildlife Habitat Program has invested more than $205.2 million by securing conservation easements on over 300,000 acres, public access via easement on over 156,000 acres, Colorado Parks & Wildlife fee title acquisition on 35,000 acres, and river bank access along 393 miles of river bank. SB 25-049 would make the program permanent rather than being subject to periodic sunsets. Colorado BHA testified at the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing where this bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee by a 6-1 vote.

NEW MEXICO

New Mexico's current reality is an underfunded department and a broken game commission. For these reasons, NM BHA supports SB5 which includes game commission reform, license fee increases and game department modernization.

NM BHA has been closely monitoring SB 5 as it moves through the legislature, providing feedback to committee members on key issues important to hunters and anglers across the state. BHA’s advocacy efforts have helped to ensure:

• A guaranteed seat for a "hunter and angler" on the commission.
• Language included that the entire commission should possess knowledge of hunting and fishing, in addition to requiring NM residency for commissioners.
• Successfully addressing concerns over disproportionately high fee increases for trappers to ensure fair adjustments in line with the other fee increases included in the bill.

SB 5 has passed the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Conservation Committee. As SB 5 continues through the legislative process, NM BHA will remain engaged, ensuring balanced and thoughtful recommendations that uphold the values of the hunting and angling community.

OREGON

Oregon BHA supports HB 2978 and improved connectivity for wildlife 

HB 2978 is an essential investment in Oregonians’ collective future, strengthening collaboration between the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. HB 2978 would help reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and keep motorists and wildlife safer by proactively identifying and addressing high-collision zones and offering improved data collection and targeted infrastructure (e.g., underpasses, overpasses). HB 2978 would also help protect habitat connectivity by maintaining viable migration routes and winter ranges critical for healthy herds and ecosystems. By focusing on projects that restore or enhance connectivity, Oregonian’s can ensure that Oregon’s iconic big game species—and many other wildlife—continue to thrive. Oregon BHA testified in support of this bill during a hearing on 2/5/25.

View the written testimony submitted by the Chapter.

Oregon BHA opposes Curry County Commissioner's attempts to assume management authority over all public forest lands

The Curry County Board of Commissioners is advancing a proposal to "assume its Constitutional management authority over all public forest lands" in the County and plans to do so in part, by "invoking the inherent police powers of the state." This legally dubious scheme is part of a broader movement across the West to assert control over federal public lands through an ill-advised interpretation of the 10th amendment - a dangerous assertion that BHA has long pushed back against.

Take action using the link below and if you live in Southwest Oregon, show up in person to voice your opposition 4:00pm, February 18th at 94235 Moore Street, Gold Beach Oregon, 97444 (annex building).

TAKE ACTION

WYOMING

Wyoming BHA is on a roll and has helped to kill several bad bills already this session with many of them targeting our shared public lands.

Wyoming BHA strongly opposed SJR 2 (Dead) which demanded the transfer of federal public lands in Wyoming to state control. This resolution is part of a broader movement across the West to assert state control over public lands, threatening to undermine access to hunting and fishing opportunities, while burdening the state with the financial obligation of managing millions of acres of land - or privatizing it. 

Wyoming BHA also opposed SF 105 (Dead) which sought to restrict private property sales and transfers to the federal government without legislative consent. Senate File 105 would have created unnecessary barriers to the management and conservation of Wyoming’s public lands, threatening critical wildlife habitat and recreational access, while also imposing burdensome oversight on property owners, restricting the flexibility needed for effective land management and conservation efforts.

Wyoming BHA strongly opposes HB 118 which would prohibit “net gains” of federal land in Wyoming. This bill violates private property rights and hinders the government's ability to create contiguous wildlife corridors, enhance habitats, or remedy fragmented landscapes that threaten the survival of species like elk, mule deer, and other game animals. HB 118 has already passed the House, so Wyoming BHA urges residents to contact senators to stop this bill before it becomes law.

If you live in Wyoming, TAKE ACTION to tell your senator that you oppose these anti-public lands bills.

Read more about these bills and the broader move to remove and restrict federal public lands across the west in this coverage from Outdoor Life.

More bills that Wyoming BHA opposes: 

Wyoming BHA opposed and testified against HB 109 (dead). HB 109 would have suspended hunting/fishing/trapping licenses if the license holder was convicted of hunting trespass and would have set a problematic precedent for restricting a constitutional right to hunt and fish in Wyoming.

SF 118, which would have authorized the transfer or sale of landowner elk, deer, and antelope licenses, was tabled by the bill sponsor and will not be heard in committee. BHA strongly opposed SF 118 and immediately mobilized grassroots opposition alongside our partners to push back against the privatization of public wildlife. Representatives from the state’s hunting community, including BHA's Wyoming chapter co-chair Buzz Hettick, met with the bill’s sponsor, co-sponsors and Wyoming Game & Fish to better understand the sponsor’s reasons for introducing the bill. The dialogue was productive, and emblematic of how we can come together in Wyoming to resolve differences and seek outcomes that benefit as many people as possible.

A massive number of BHA members and supporters took action to voice their opposition to SF 118. THANK YOU!

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers supports fair chase hunting; therefore, Wyoming BHA elevated the following for support:

Wyoming BHA supported House Bill 0331, as it helps protect the principles of fair chase hunting by prohibiting the use of motor vehicles to harass, injure, or kill predatory animals on public lands as a legal method of take. This isn't hunting and it's not an ethical pursuit of wildlife. HB 0331 sought to maintain the integrity of the hunting experience while supporting responsible wildlife management but it narrowly failed to make it out of committee and will likely be back in the future.