26 minute read
CHAPTER NEWS
Standing up for shoreline access
BY MICHAEL WOODS
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I’ve always loved the beach. Some of my most memorable outdoor experiences as a youth involved fishing for striped bass from the sandy shores of Cape Cod. As time passed, I discovered new and intriguing shoreline pursuits for all seasons of the year. Clamming in the spring, crabbing in the summer, fishing the striper run in autumn and hunting waterfowl and whitetails in the winter are just a few of the activities that keep me coming back to New England’s shores. Easy access to miles of sandy beaches, rocky cliffs and tidal ponds are among the many reasons I choose to reside in Rhode Island, the Ocean State.
Access to the shore and the waters beyond has always been a top priority for Rhode Islanders. The right to fish from the shore was important enough that colonists ensured it was included in the state’s founding document, the Rhode Island Royal Charter of 1663. Nearly 200 years later, when Rhode Island drafted its first constitution, the rights of the fishery and the “privileges of the shore” were enshrined in Article 1, Section 17, and they have resided there, protected, ever since.
Even constitutionally protected rights can be challenged, though, and Rhode Islanders’ shoreline rights were called into question most recently in 2019, when an individual was arrested for trespassing at the urging of a private security guard because he committed the simple act of being on the beach below a waterfront home. The arrest was dismissed within the week, but it brought new attention to an issue Rhode Islanders have debated, argued over, challenged legally and fought to protect for generations.
Across North America the boundary between uplands and tidelands occupies a fascinating niche within the greater public access conversation, and it can be a complicated and legally
nuanced topic. The U.S. Supreme Court case Martin v. Waddell (1842) set the trajectory for how our government handles public trust resources, finding that the people themselves became sovereign at the time of the American Revolution, and resources like navigable waters, wildlife, submerged lands and their shores were entrusted to each state to manage on behalf of its people. The Supreme Court continued its interpretation in decisions like Pollard v. Hagen (1845), Hardin v. Jordan (1891), Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. Illinois (1892) and Borax Consolidated v. Los Angeles (1935). Because it is an issue of state sovereignty, the federal courts have deliberately limited their influence over our shores, and so we find ourselves with 24 different sets of standards, definitions and boundaries – one for each coastal state. If that is not complicated enough, Across North America the several states also protect specific rights boundary between uplands independent of property boundaries, and tidelands occupies a fascinating niche within like “fishing, fowling and navigation” in Massachusetts and the riparian proprietors’ right to “wharf out” into the greater public access navigable public trust waters. The conversation only conclusion one can really make is that every state is different, sometimes significantly, and it will always be that way. Following the shoreline arrest in 2019, Rhode Island’s policymakers and advocates recognized that our current standards needed further attention. The public looked towards the Rhode Island Constitution as a legal basis for their presence on the shore, but its language lacked clarity on where, exactly, enumerated rights were protected. Upland proprietors looked to the Rhode Island Supreme Court beach trespassing case State v. Ibbison (1982), which overturned Rhode Island’s historical “high water mark” in favor of the much lower “mean high tide line” as the property boundary between uplands and tidelands. Because the mean high tide line is an 18.6-year average of tidal elevations projected on a dynamic shoreline, it is neither fixed nor observable, and as
a result no Rhode Island court had ever, including in Ibbison, been able to find the accused guilty of trespassing on the beach. Neither side’s rights were secure under current standards, and so a compromise was needed.
Following the 2021 legislative session, the Rhode Island House of Representatives convened a study commission to explore such a compromise. Appointed by the house speaker, the commission was populated by representatives from both sides of the issue, as well as legal and scientific experts. While Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is not a formal commission member, we were able to deliver testimony on two separate occasions, and our message was clear – we need an observable boundary that defines where shoreline privileges “heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of the state” are protected and provide reasonable access for all to enjoy. Given our strong historical basis for shoreline access, isn’t that what Rhode Islanders are entitled to?
Ultimately the commission agreed and in March 2022 reported its findings to the full Rhode Island House of Representatives. The commission’s leaders, Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-72) and Rep. Blake Filippi (R-36), also introduced Rhode Island House Bill 8055, which made the commission’s recommendation actionable. In simple terms, their bill proposed that constitutional shoreline privileges be protected up to six feet inland of the most recent high tide line that was observable by the wash of seaweed, and that the property boundary remain at the mean high tide line. Rhode Islanders would not get back the strip of land lost due to Ibbison re-defining the property boundary, but if passed shoreline rights would be protected to their historical extent.
H8055 was widely supported and passed the state House Judiciary Committee in May and the full House by a unanimous vote in early June. But it also drew scrutiny from opponents who claimed that it would take their property without just compensation. Of course, the Study Commission had considered such challenges and deliberately avoided relocating the Ibbison property boundary for this reason. Additionally, under the status quo, the “right to exclude” that which can be considered property has proven to be unenforceable due to the dynamic, unknowable nature of the mean high tide line. Setting logic aside, the threat of lawsuits and takings claims was enough to deter the state Senate leadership from considering the issue in the short time that remained following the House’s passage and before the 2022 session adjourned in late June.
So for now the age-old debate over Rhode Island’s shores will continue without clear guidance from the state’s General Assembly. Following this year’s elections, we’ll have a new class of representatives and senators to work with, momentum to carry forward from last year’s House passage and a growing coalition of shoreline access supporters. And Backcountry Hunters & Anglers members will continue to be involved, working to ensure our right to access Rhode Island’s shore is secured for the benefit of all.
Michael Woods is a hunter, angler, outdoorsman and public trust advocate from Saunderstown, Rhode Island. Since 2020, he has served as the chair of BHA’s New England chapter board. He received BHA’s Jim Posewitz Award for leadership in promoting ethical, responsible behavior in the hunting and fishing fields by example, leadership and education at BHA’s 2022 North American Rendezvous in Missoula, Montana.
BHA Members Roll Up Their Sleeves
– Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac
BY TIM BRASS
It is our sense of duty to reinvest in the wild places that provide the sense of awe, inspiration and renewal that drives many of us to volunteer with conservation organizations like Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. We recognize that intact tracts of healthy fish and wildlife habitat are what sustains our game populations – and that our abundant hunting and fishing opportunities are not something we can afford to take for granted.
This is why time and time again, BHA members have rolled up our sleeves to help conserve and restore the publicly accessible ridges and creeks we enjoy – from BHA’s founders working to curtail habitat degradation from illegal motorized use in Oregon in 2009 to members from across North America uniting to pack out more than 4,400 bags of waste from our public lands and waters last fall. Habitat stewardship work has always been core to BHA’s work and mission, and now we’re doing more than ever. Every year our annual membership survey shows we have thousands of BHA members interested in volunteering on stewardship projects.
Today, thanks to significant contributions from dedicated BHA volunteer leaders and staff, as well as dedicated public land management agency staff, we have substantially expanded our stewardship work at a scale and level of impact that is making a real difference. Here’s a glimpse at what these burgeoning partnerships have looked like thus far:
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – BHA’s partnership with NFWF recently grew with funding awarded for wildlife habitat improvement projects on public lands in California and Colorado. In California, we will undertake a restoration initiative for habitat and fire-scarred lands in the Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area, a critical winter range for mule deer and a premium deer hunting zone that burned in several recent wildfires. This work will be implemented in coordination with Nevada Department of Wildlife and California Department of Fish & Wildlife, various NGOs, the Washoe Tribe and Sagebrush in Prisons Project, run through the Federal Correctional Institution. In Colorado, a new, dedicated full-time Colorado stewardship coordinator will work directly with volunteers and partners to remove 30-40 miles of obsolete fencing on public lands, which is currently serving as a barrier to wildlife migration within the winter range of North America’s largest elk herd. • Bureau of Land Management – BHA and our chapter leaders are building on a successful 2021-2022 partnership with BLM and their wildlife division staff to successfully carry out 17 new volunteer-supported wildlife habitat restoration work projects across the West, ranging from restoring habitat degraded by illegal motorized use in Alaska to adding markers to nearly 50 miles of fence in Oregon to minimize sage grouse fence collisions. • National Forest Foundation – In 2020, NFF contributed funding to support implementation of BHA’s fence removal/
modification project on the Kiowa National Grassland in New Mexico through which volunteers helped improve habitat for pronghorn by improving 29 miles of fencelines on public land. This funding also included support for an ongoing project in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho, where BHA staff, volunteers and contractors have effectively cleared and re-opened miles of previously inaccessible trails deep within the wilderness. • State fish and wildlife agencies – From timber-stand improvement and brush-clearing projects on the El Dorado Wildlife Area in Kansas to cleanup events at the Deer Creek State Wildlife Area in Ohio, BHA chapters have continued to build on existing partnerships with state agencies through a wide range of stewardship projects.
These are just a few of the many ways BHA chapters have been working to build on existing partnerships with our public land managers across North America. And the opportunities to do more for your public lands are endless. To grab a shovel and get involved in a stewardship project near you, check out BHA’s event page at backcountryhunters.org/events or, if you have a public land project in mind that you would like to help organize, drop your chapter a note at admin@backcountryhunters.org
Tim Brass is BHA’s state policy & field operations director and lives in Longmont, Colorado, with his wife, Megan, and their 6-year-old daughter, Linden.
Idaho chapter members clear trail in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness with help from grant funds, courtesy of the Idaho Fish and AD1104798_S22_BHA_PFG_AD_3.5x4.75.indd - AD1104834 Game and the National Forest Foundation. Photos: Ace Hess. Trim: 3.5” x 4.75”
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Chapter News & Updates
ALBERTA
• The chapter hosted its 2nd Annual Rendezvous at Alford Lake Conservation Center, July 29-31 – members from across the province came to take workshops, fish, paddle, shoot guns and bows, cook wild game and eat together. • The chapter held a workshop on indigenizing the North American
Model of Wildlife Conservation, featuring Mateen Hessami. • We continue to press the provincial government on the Coal Policy to protect the Eastern Slopes, as well as to repair hundreds of miles of disturbances created during exploration activities. • The chapter organized a spot and stalk bear hunt in Northern Alberta with active and veteran members of the Canadian Armed Forces through the Armed Forces Initiative.
ARIZONA
• The Arizona chapter was recently recognized by the Arizona Wildlife
Federation as Conservation Organization Partner of the Year for outstanding organizational contributions to wildlife conservation and public lands advocacy. • Zackory Berft has joined the Arizona team as the Region 2 director. • The chapter continues to stand with our conservation partner organizations to help protect the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas by working to advance the Grand Canyon Protection Act.
ARMED FORCES INITIATIVE
• The Armed Forces Initiative career event, a six-part series focused on helping veterans and transitioning service members find career options in the outdoor industry, was a huge success! • The turkey camp in Montana in May was a successful in identifying new AFI leaders across North America, and a few birds were even harvested. • AFI was honored as one of six outdoor industry entities selected by
Veterans Affairs to provide additional comments and conduct interviews for the Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act and Veterans Compact Bill that the VA is executing.
• The chapter responded to controversial changes to moose and caribou hunting regulations in Region 7B by engaging government and elected officials to express opposition and seek reasoning behind the decision and why designated consultation processes weren’t used. • BC chapter leadership met in Kelowna in June for a strategic planning session. • Members are engaging across the province with public land cleanups, pint nights, mentorship hunts, a camera trapping research project and a fly casting course.
CALIFORNIA
• The chapter held its first work party dedicated to the restoration of
Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area. Volunteers collected bitterbrush seeds for propagation and worked with a Washoe Tribe representative to identify culturally significant flora. • Held events including pier fishing and a conservation trivia day, deer biology webinar with CDFW, sheep surveying with partner organizations, restoration of wildlife-friendly fencing with BLM and pint nights in Mammoth and L.A. • Commented in support of a petition to restore historic fishing access to
Surf Beach, located within the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
CAPITAL REGION
• The Capital chapter donated $1,500 to become a sponsor for the 6th
Annual Old Dominion One Shot Turkey Hunt in Virginia. • Teamed up with some great local and national sponsors to host the 2022 Muster in the Mountains and Conservation Dinner & Auction. • The Capital chapter signed alongside other BHA chapters to support necessary comment changes for Amendment 7 of the Atlantic Striped
Bass Interstate Fishery Management Plan.
COLLEGIATE PROGRAM
• We awarded our third year of the scholarship at the University of
Louisville to Angela Zuniga. Angela is a transfer student pursuing her bachelor’s degree in political science and law in public policy. She will work with Col. Mike Abell and the rest of the Kentucky BHA crew over the next year to complete work on public lands and waters in order to receive the full extent of her scholarship.
COLORADO
• Chapter Co-Chair Don Holmstrom is leading the stream access initiative and was interviewed by the New York Times regarding the Hill v. Warsewa case, which is set to be heard by the Colorado Supreme
Court. • New leaders: Bryan Gwinn (sssistant legislative liaison); Blake Mamich (Southwest Colo. assistant regional director); Chris Parmeter (Gunnison Valley group ARD); Phil Armstrong (Roaring Fork/Eagle Valleys group ARD). ARD Brittany Parker is BHA’s new stewardship coordinator. • The chapter held its 13th annual Rendezvous in the San Isabel National Forest west of Salida.
FLORIDA
• The Florida chapter hosted its first youth archery workshop and 3D tournament in Delray Beach, with the support of grant funding from the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida. • The chapter hosted its second annual scouting workshop in Jupiter, with around 75 attendees, focused on identifying game sign and teaching folks, either new to hunting or new to Florida, how deer and hogs move through South Florida’s wetland and upland habitats. • The Florida chapter will be bringing back its annual series of small game hunts across the state and will announce dates soon. • The Georgia chapter has been busy trying to persuade the state to protect Pine Log Wildlife Management Area, a more than 14,000-acre property that is currently for sale. • The chapter is also starting a river access awareness campaign highlighting some of the restrictive aspects of the Georgia law.
IDAHO
• Staff and volunteers with the Idaho chapter worked with outfitters in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to clear 16 miles of remote trail. The crew flew into a dirt airstrip and were supported by pack stock, covering over 40 miles on foot. • Volunteers with the chapter have been busy hosting events this summer, including Idaho’s first AFI pint night, film fests and a fish fest. • The chapter is coordinating efforts with volunteers and mentors to hold its Learn to Hunt program beginning in late summer. This popular program introduces new hunters to many important aspects of hunting and includes valuable time in the field with experienced folks.
ILLINOIS
• The Illinois chapter attended Scholastic 3-D Archery state and national archery shoots at Rend Lake this summer in support of conservation and introducing young archers to hunting. • Illinois river access continues to be a challenge with an unfavorable ruling from the Illinois State Supreme Court. The chapter will continue to stay engaged and recommend members continue to speak their legislators about expanding public access. • Thank you to all its members for engagement through pint nights,
Hike to Hunt and clean-up events, and wishes members the best of luck this fall on whatever public lands they roam.
INDIANA
• Indiana chapter members were very busy assisting the Indiana DNR through the Blue Grass FWA Spring Cleanup and organizing two trash pickups – one at Tri-County FWA and one at Crosley FWA.
This work has totaled over 100 volunteer hours. • Sportsman’s Warehouse Indianapolis is now a proud sponsor of the
Indiana chapter.
IOWA
• The chapter hosted its first annual Iowa Chapter Rendezvous in Des
Moines as an opportunity for members to gather in support of public land and water with activities, seminars and prizes for members. • Raised money for the Ida County Conservation Board’s acquisition of a new parcel of public land in a county with very little access. • The chapter collaborated with the Iowa DNR to host a virtual and in-person “Learn to Dove Hunt” class as a part of ongoing R3 efforts.
KANSAS
• In June, the Kansas chapter held a sporting clays event at LaSada Lodge in Russell, Kansas. • In July, the chapter participated in a clean-up project at Louisburg
Middle Creek State Fishing Lake. • In August, the Kansas chapter held pint nights in Manhattan and
Dodge City and a sporting clays event at Michael Murphy & Sons in
Augusta, Kansas.
KENTUCKY
• The Kentucky chapter in May held its first public archery event at
Hisle Farm Park in Lexington. • In June, the chapter annual tabled at a Bluegrass Trout Unlimited fly casting event at West Sixth Farm Brewery in Frankfort. • In July, members tabled at GoWild’s Send It Slam outdoor festival in
Louisville. Also in July, the chapter hosted its annual in-person board meeting – where refreshingly great reinvigoration of our chapter was had by all.
• Jeff Lipple and Jordan Browne put together an ice fishing contest, which had a bunch of entries and included a lot of fun! • Lipple and Browne also spearheaded a Tines and Trash event, which had participants cleaning up public lands while hunting for whitetail antler sheds. • Austin Motte will again be organizing a cleanup of the Boardman
River. In the past this has been a great event that gets a lot of involvement and attention.
MINNESOTA
• The Minnesota chapter held pint nights at Bemidji Brewing, Island
City Brewing Company and Urban Growler Brewing. • The chapter also had a booth at the South 40 archery range and the
Minnesota Game Fair! • While legislators were on break, the BHA team compiled resources for understanding Minnesota land and water access rules and requirements for posting lands for no trespassing. These resources will be available in August on BHA’s Minnesota chapter webpage and as business card sized pocket guides!
MISSOURI
• The Missouri chapter participated at Dive Bomb Industries’ Squad-
Fest in St. Louis and gained a lot of new members and relationships in the waterfowl community! • The Missouri chapter wrapped up its annual MoBHA Summer Archery Nights tour with several stops all across Missouri. • Members participated in several public land cleanups the chapter organized across the state in September.
MONTANA
• The chapter filed to intervene to oppose a lawsuit attacking Montana’s elk hunting heritage. • Recognized as Chapter of the Month for defending fair-chase pheasant hunting, supporting anti-poaching efforts, calling for increased protections for cold-water fisheries, advocating for the purchase of a 5,677-acre wildlife management area, improving trails, pulling unnecessary fencing and cleaning up multiple fishing access sites and a recreational shooting area. • The chapter would like to thank outgoing board members Tom
Healy, Molly VandeVoort, Paul Kemper and Bill Spahr, and welcome
Aaron Agosto, Tyler Nickolisen and Anne Jolliff!
NEVADA
• The Nevada chapter hosted a Backpack Hunting 101 clinic, and attendees learned about proper gear selection, tactics, meals and more. • Volunteers from the Nevada chapter worked on a habitat restoration project the California chapter organized at the Hallelujah Junction
Wildlife Management Area. Bitterbrush seed was collected as part of the first steps of a long-term restoration project in critical mule deer winter range. • The chapter is currently engaging in multiple public land use issues including large-scale transmission lines, mining expansion, development on big game winter range and federal land bills.
NEW ENGLAND
• In Massachusetts, members went to work at Muddy Brook WMA removing eastern white pine to help reestablish a 500-acre parcel as an open pine barren. • Chapter members served as the voice for public lands in our region, from Maine on the Kennebec Highlands Management Plan advisory committee to Rhode Island as a panelist at the RI Land and Water
Summit. • The Vermont team continues to combat the loss of remote areas by pushing back against continued incursion by recreational infrastructure development. • The chapter participated in the Black Knight Bowbenders’ Big Foot
Open, a 3D target shoot. This event also served as the chapter’s first in-person board meeting for the year. • The chapter gladly signed on to comments authored by the New York and New England chapters to be included in Amendment 7 to the
Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Striped Bass. The chapter looks forward to more engagement on striped bass issues. • End of summer chapter events included a pint night at Odd Bird brewing in Stockton and a trail cleanup on the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, along the Wood Duck Trail.
NEW MEXICO
• The chapter continues its work to maintain and enhance access in
The New Mexico Bootheel region and is currently fighting an unnecessary road abandonment in Grant County. • The co-hosted 2022 Full Draw Film Tour in Albuquerque exceeded expectations with 215 attendees and great exposure for the NM chapter and Kirtland Air Force Base AFI Club. • The Kirtland AFB AFI club held a fly-fishing workshop to introduce beginner fly anglers to equipment, knots, fly selection, techniques, etiquette and casting.
NEW YORK
• The New York chapter, Hunters of Color and Gotham Archery teamed up to put on Archery Night in Brooklyn. There was a great turnout and the chapter looks forward to the next one! • The chapter teamed up with Urban Archery NYC to provide its first
Urban Hunters Workshop on Long Island. Topics included Scouting 101 and a tree stand safety demonstration. • The chapter chartered Never Enuff III, a 56’ party boat out of Queens to fish Long Island Sound for porgies. Anglers enjoyed ideal weather and went home with fresh fish in their coolers!
OHIO
• The Ohio chapter joined with Ohio Women on the Fly and ran an event, “Bass, Trash, and BBQ Bash,” on the famous (formerly) burning river, the Cuyahoga. Over the course of a 6-mile float, bass were caught and trash was collected. The chapter is happy to report that the river was not burning and, in fact, seemed very healthy. • In a significant expansion, the Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area grew by 6,898 acres. This is the final planned addition, bringing it to total to 54,525 acres, the largest in Ohio. The chapter applauds the hard work of the Ohio DNR in acquiring and maintaining this land. • Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed the Capital Budget Bill (HB 687), which allocated $515 million, the largest investment in
Ohio history, to help provide significant improvements to lodges, campgrounds, cabins, dams, trails, natural areas, wildlife research and conservation.
OREGON
• The Oregon chapter has expanded its policy footprint considerably this year through continued engagement with committees and task-forces around the state – notably, donating funds to enhance migration corridors and seeking broad/sustainable funding for the implementation of the Oregon Conservation Strategy. • Oregon members rolled up their sleeves this summer and put in hundreds of hours of work on habitat, access and other collaborative conservation initiatives at events like All Hands All Brands in
Ochoco NF, Meads Flat trail work on the lower Minam River and others. Partner orgs included RMEF, OHA, NWTF, MDF, USFS,
OSP and ODFW. • Oregon chapter members around the Portland area continue to tear down barriers to new hunters through efforts like new/newer adult hunter workshops, field days and special events with partners from
Hunters of Color and The North American Non-Lead Partnership.
• Board Member Adam Eckley and BHA member Sarah Xenophon hosted the second annual Learn to Fly Fish event. Participants camped at Ole Bull State Park, and all were able to take trout on a dry fly. • Board Member Bob Smith led the annual PA Wilds Trail Challenge.
This year the group covered 30 miles in the Pine Creek Gorge. • The chapter held its inaugural turkey calling contest. Congratulations to the winner, Jay Stern!
SOUTH CAROLINA
• Sunday Hunting Bill H.4614 did not pass the state Senate this year, but momentum continues to build for the bill. • The chapter hosted its first annual Fin and Feather camping gathering at Baker Creek State Park. Members enjoyed fellowship, fishing and “how-to” turkey hunting on public land. It also had a wonderful presentation by John Browning of Turkeys for Tomorrow. • The chapter hosted a quarterly pint night with guest speakers from
Hunters for the Hungry.
SOUTHEAST
• The chapter recently met with leadership within the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to determine new ways the chapter can assist the department in future projects and will be doing the same in Alabama and Louisiana soon. • The chapter has several events in the planning stage, so keep an eye out for future events.
TENNESSEE
• The Tennessee chapter recently signed on as a sponsor to the TN
CLEAN Act, which aims to reduce pollution and litter in the Volunteer State. • The chapter is holding regular pint nights on the third Thursday of the month in the Nashville area. Keep an eye on social media for dates and specifics. • Several chapter members have drawn western hunt tags and will be headed west this fall.
TEXAS
• The chapter hosted the Full Draw Film Tour in Houston on July 30. • The premiere chapter event, “A Conservation Conversation” took place Aug. 11 in Austin. The event showcased a panel discussion, which included Danielle Prewett, Ben Masters, Jessie Griffiths, Alvin
Dedeaux and Patrick Murray. Funds raised supported Texas Parks and Wildlife Department internships, habitat restoration and public land and water cleanups. • The chapter is continuing with pint nights throughout the state and has had recent events in Austin, Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth.
UTAH
• The Utah chapter hosted an open archery shoot and wild game potluck featuring a guest speaker from the Utah DWR at Beehive-Wasatch Bowhunters. • In July, Patagonia and the chapter co-hosted “Rooted in the Wild,” an event highlighting foraging, lead free and backcountry hunts. • Applications were sent out for the Hunting for Sustainability workshop series, with 45 Utah BHA members applying. Fifteen members were chosen for the series.
WASHINGTON
• The chapter held its annual Access Freedom Archery Shoot with over 100 participants this year. Shooters worked through a challenging course through the woods of western Washington. • The chapter continues to engage with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission, demanding they uphold the
North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. • The chapter and its members made its voices heard on the OHV bills this legislative session, and most of those bills died in committee.
However, the fight is not over: a last minute resolution was passed to create a study of the benefits of motorized recreation on state lands and WMAs. • The chapter hosted a pint night at Weathered Ground Brewery June 18. • There will be a Public Lands Pack-Out event Sept. 24. Stay tuned to social media for event details.
WISCONSIN
• The chapter hosted a turkey hunting R3 event with bonus foraging, fishing and fun! Huge thank you to all mentors and landowners who graciously gave up their time or property for this event. • The chapter submitted a letter of support to the WDNR in regards to their application for the America The Beautiful Challenge grant, and $5.7 million could be coming into the state to revitalize young forests with $1.2 million earmarked for habitat restoration of Wisconsin’s Sand Barrens. • WI BHA recent began participating in a program that puts fishing line waste containers at local boat launches to help stop littering. The program allows the line to be sent in to get recycled.
WYOMING
• With warmer weather upon us, the chapter has been busy with events, including the Fly Fishing Film Tour, a trail clearing event and tabling at the JD High Country Outfitters 50th Birthday Party. • Tom Chambers, Jared Oakleaf and Liz Lynch attended the BHA
Rendezvous in Missoula. Jared and Liz sat down with Hal Herring and Ryan Callaghan to talk about corner crossing on the BHA Podcast & Blast, episode 132, and Liz also received BHA’s 2022 Aldo
Leopold Award for her outstanding effort conserving terrestrial wildlife habitat. • Wyoming BHA continues to prioritize supporting the four non-resident hunters who were unfairly charged with trespass in Carbon
County last fall. The chapter is pleased to share that all four hunters were acquitted on all criminal charges per the jury’s decision on April 29. The civil suit, however, is still pending, and the cost for continued legal representation is likely to exceed what the GoFundMe has raised thus far.
Find a more detailed writeup of your chapter’s news along with events and updates by regularly visiting www.backcountryhunters.org/chapters or contacting them at [your state/province/territory/region]@backcountryhunters. org (e.g. newengland@backcountryhunters.org)
