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posted in: General

November 17, 2015

Meet our next #PublicLandsProud contest judge: Bryan Huskey

Bryan Huskey is a photographer and filmmaker in Boise, Idaho inspired by the mountains, rivers, and skies of the Northwest. His photography often features intimate macro and fine details of trout and steelhead along with paused moments during the pursuit of fresh sign and lofting bugles in the high country. His fly fishing, archery elk and big game hunting films have been favorites of the Fly Fishing Film Tour, Full Draw Film Tour, and Hunting Film Tour. Recent works have turned to habitat conservation and stream restoration projects in Idaho. Bryan is also the originator of the popular “Keep ’em wet” hashtag/slogan, and founder of Keepemwet Fishing.

From now through November 23, Huskey is guest judging your best big-game photos for this round of the #PublicLandsProud photo contest. He’s looking for a winning photo that calls the viewer into the moment, so make sure your big-game moments beckon!

Image courtesy of Bryan Huskey.

TRCP: So, Bryan, how do you like to spend your time outside?

Huskey: I enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities that are very important to me. From fly fishing trout and steelhead to archery hunting elk, adventure motorcycling and racing to mountain biking and trail running, throughout the entire year these activities overlap and keep me busy. 

TRCP: What makes a great photo of day spent afield chasing big game? What will you be looking for in winning photo?

Huskey: Any number of things make for great photos, and great images don’t need to come from great cameras. Images that capture any form of emotional expression or mood are my favorite. That may or may not include a person in the shot. Sometimes landscape photos can possess this quality, a calling to the viewer, an invitation to imagine what it would be like to be standing in the photographers shoes in that moment. Where would our next step take us if we were in those shoes? What would we expect to see if we looked to the left or right? What’s about to happen next? I like moments like these that engage us to crawl into that moment, escape the computer screen we’re looking at now, and be there in that place! 

Image courtesy of Bryan Huskey.

TRCP: What makes you #PublicLandsProud?

Huskey: With each passing year I become more aware of just how important public lands are. They really do shape the lifestyles so many of us enjoy. Intact swaths of public land shape communities, both short- and long-term with the kinds of jobs they support and the culture of how those lands are managed. I’m #publiclandsproud every time I’m out enjoying areas that exist because of the wisdom, foresight, and hard work by  individuals and groups in the past who have established the very conditions for quality public land. Priceless resources for the entire public to keep and call their own. 

Show us your #PublicLandsProud moment and you could be featured on our blog and win a new pair of Costa sunglasses and a copy of Steven Rinella’s new book, The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game.   

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Glassing the Hill: November 16 – 20

The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress

The Senate and House are both in session this week.

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

More money, more… well, you know the rest. Last week, the Senate passed the first of twelve appropriations bills, the Military Construction and Veterans Affair Appropriation. This is the first step towards the creation of a Fiscal Year 2016 omnibus appropriations package from Senate and House leaders before the December 11 shutdown deadline, but spending priorities are only half the battle. Controversial riders, including those that could undermine the Clean Water Act, Clean Power Plan, and the Endangered Species Act, could threaten the path forward for a funding bill.

Now is the time to tell your lawmakers what is important to sportsmen, including clean water, conservation funding programs, healthy fish and wildlife habitat, and access to public lands. That’s why the TRCP and 27 partners sent this letter  to House and Senate appropriators today.

A Senate panel will vote Thursday on the “Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act of 2015,” which would improve access for hunting, fishing, and shooting on federal public lands. The legislation is considered popular. Dozens of other public-land and water bills are also on the docket for that hearing.

And keep your eye on the Highway Trust Fund—its short-term extension expires Friday and conferees from both chambers met today to begin negotiating the long-term packages each has passed. A conference agreement could come up this week, but the House is planning on passing another short extension, in case the conference doesn’t wrap up in time, especially with adjournment for the Thanksgiving holiday approaching.

What We’re Tracking

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

  • International negotiations on climate, in a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing
  • The Land and Water Conservation Fund, to be discussed in a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on Chairman Bishop’s (R-UT) legislation to reform the expired program

Thursday, November 19, 2015

  • Energy regulations, in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Well Control Rule and other offshore oil and gas production regulations

 

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posted in: General

November 12, 2015

See the Wet-Nosed, Waggly-Tailed Winning Photos That Make Us #PublicLandsProud

We know there’s nothing better than seeing your dog retrieve ducks in the marsh, hold a point in the brush, investigate the trail ahead, or curl up next to you after a long, cold sit in a treestand. Having a great gun dog by your side makes for a better outdoor experience—and we’d argue that having access to millions of acres of public lands does the same.

So, thank you to everyone who submitted pictures of their furry, four-legged friends for the latest round of our #PublicLandsProud photo contest, which continues to help us highlight the value of our uniquely American public lands heritage. Here are the three shots that our guest judge, wildlife photographer Bill Buckley, chose from weeks’ worth of fantastic canine contenders:

First Place: Instagrammer b_rio802

“This image has great light, color, and a perfect catch light in the shorthair’s eyes,” says Buckley. “The hand holding the rainbow trout leads right to the dog’s face in a wonderful example of great composition. Perhaps best of all, this shot shows that hard-running pointing dogs also make perfect fishing companions. I loved this picture!”

First Runner-up: Instagrammer wildrums.media

“I love the perspective of this shot: low, from the dog’s viewpoint, with an interesting sky and environment,” says Buckley. “Rich in detail and color, the underneath of the pheasant’s tail against the dog’s fur really grabs my attention. If only the dog’s head was turned slightly toward the camera, enough to show one eye!”

Second Runner-up: Instagrammer upland_ish

 

“I can’t help smiling every time I view this image! I think it’s a familiar scene for anyone who’s owned a bird dog that can’t get enough of birds, even the dead ones inside a hunting vest,” says Buckley. “To me this captures, in a funny way, a bird dog’s intensity. Brings me back to when my last pointer was young!”

Submit your best big game photos for the next round of our photo contest! You could win a new pair of Costa sunglasses, a copy of Steven Rinella’s lastest book, or even our grand prize—a Yeti cooler packed with great swag. Keep showing us what makes you #PublicLandsProud, and we’ll continue to protect your access to quality fish and wildlife habitat.

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November 9, 2015

Glassing The Hill: November 9 –- 13

The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress 

The House is not in session this week. The Senate will conduct legislative business, except on the Veterans Day holiday this Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

On the road again, indeed. Late last week, House members exited D.C. for their districts on a strong note, after passing a $325-billion transportation bill that will fund highway and transit programs for the next six years. The bill also reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank until 2019. Both Congressional chambers have now passed a long-term bill, and they will need to reach a negotiated conference agreement before the Highway Trust Fund expires on November 20, otherwise another short-term extension will be required.

Meanwhile, congressional leaders continue to seek an agreement on how to spend the fiscal year 2016 budget. Over the past few months, Senate Democrats have blocked all appropriations bills while calling for a bipartisan budget deal, which was finally reached on October 30. Today they allowed the bill that funds Military Construction and Veterans Affairs to move forward to the floor. And Democratic Leader Harry Reid (NV) has indicated that he and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell are “very close” to an agreement on an omnibus spending bill to fund the government after a short-term continuing resolution expires on December 11.

This week, Senators are also expected to vote on a revised National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), after the first version was vetoed by the President. The House passed its revised version with a very strong 370-58 margin last week.

And, speaking of vetoes, the president may get his chance to nix a Congressional attempt to strike down the EPA’s Clean Water Rule—by now, you know it as the rule that will improve protection for America’s headwater streams and prevent future wetlands loss—as early as next week. After the Senate approved a resolution that would overturn the rule, and prevent federal agencies from ever issuing a similar rule to clear up regulatory confusion, this bill now goes to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass easily. Once it reaches the president’s desk, it is expected that he’ll say, ‘Do not to pass go.’ Learn more here.

What We’re Tracking

Last Thursday, Congressman Bishop (R-UT) introduced his long-anticipated plan for a revamp and reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Only, it sounds more like a bait-and-switch. Bishop’s bill would fully fund the program at $900 million for seven years and shift a much higher percentage to state-oriented projects. It would also slash funds slated for federal land acquisition— a proven strategy for reducing maintenance costs on checkerboard public and private lands—from $30 million to $2 million. Upon its release, the bill was decried by many in the conservation community, and it is unclear how much support the legislation has on the Hill. A hearing is expected in the House Natural Resources Committee next Wednesday, November 18.

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November 8, 2015

Are Your Senators Just Paying Lip Service to Sportsmen?

Here’s how they voted on clean water for headwaters and wetlands

In late October, I wrote about three upcoming attacks from Congress on sportsmen’s access to healthy headwater streams and wetlands. We’re now witnessing the aftermath of two of these attacks and, unfortunately for sportsmen, it’s not all good news.

Image courtesy of Bob Wick/BLM.

First, a victory: On November 3, the Senate voted down a bill that would have forced a costly and unnecessary do-over on a multi-year federal process to write a rule clarifying which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Rule has been (and continues to be) a target of Congressional ire. Had the bill just sent the rule back to square one, it would have set the cause of clean water back many years. But the bill would have gone one step further to eliminate protections for some waters currently covered by the Clean Water Act, and eliminate consideration of the impact on fish and wildlife when deciding how to protect a body of water. Sportsmen turned out in a big way to oppose this disastrous bill, and it failed.

The bad news? Remarkably, 57 of your senators still voted for the bill undercutting the Clean Water Act. Even worse, on the very next day, the Senate approved a resolution that would wipe away all the work done by federal agencies to produce the Clean Water Rule and prevent them from ever issuing a similar rule to clear up regulatory confusion. This bill now goes to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass easily. Fortunately, the president is sure to veto it.

Did your senator stand with sportsmen and vote in favor of healthy trout streams and productive wetlands? Click here to see how your senator voted on S.1140, which would have stripped protections from waters long-covered by the Clean Water Act. Click here to see how your senator voted on S.J.Res.22, which would have locked in Clean Water Act confusion and pollution threats to wetlands and headwaters indefinitely.

If your lawmaker voted ‘Nay,’ they voted correctly for sportsmen’s access and outdoor recreation industry jobs.

Throughout much of the debate about Clean Water Act jurisdiction, senators opposing the Clean Water Rule have claimed that “everyone is for clean water,” as if this is somehow self-evident. But, at some point, the actions of our elected officials have to match their words.

Senators cannot claim to be for clean water and then vote for a bill that would kill the Clean Water Rule and prevent efforts to better protect clean water in the future. Senators cannot claim to be for clean water and then vote for a bill that strips Clean Water Act protections that have existed for decades for many of the waters that are critical to fish and wildlife. Sportsmen need to know the difference between the lawmakers who are actually working to maintain and improve natural resources and those who just say they are. The votes in the Senate this week are a good place to start recognizing the difference.

Tell your senators how you feel about their votes. Tell them you need clean water where you hunt and fish.

 

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