Oregon’s Public Lands Are a Playground for TRCP’s Beaver State Ambassador

posted in: General

September 26, 2016

Ambassador Nathan Bailey wants to guarantee his boys have a place to hunt and fish

Launching this fall, TRCP’s ambassador program calls on sportsmen-conservationists to help advance our goals by offering local volunteer support. These #PublicLandsProud hometown heroes are not willing to sit idly by as the wild places we love are lost. They know there’s more to our sports than just hunting, fishing, and going home.

Meet Nathan Bailey, our volunteer ambassador out of Oregon. Bailey has spent a lifetime chasing outdoor pursuits in rural Oregon. He’s determined today to share these experiences with his own kids, and make sure that public lands stay in public hands. Bailey’s commitment to conservation is a big asset for sportsmen and women in Oregon, and we’re proud to have him on our team.

Bailey with his trusty recurve. Image courtesy of Nathan Bailey.

TRCP: What’s your earliest memory in the outdoors and how do you spend your time outside these days?

Bailey: I grew up in the rural Southeast Oregon town named Chiloquin. Like most rural kids, my life consisted of outdoor activities; we had nothing else to do. I was also surrounded by acres and acres of public lands which offered us a playground beyond any young person’s dream. I can’t remember a time in my life when the outside world wasn’t a part of my daily activities. I was ice fishing before I could walk and have never missed a hunting season.

Today, not much has changed, as I continue to spend most of my time in outdoor pursuits. If I’m not guiding people down my home rivers – the Rogue and Williamson – you’ll find me tromping all over Southern Oregon in pursuit of elk, mule deer, and gamebirds of all sorts. I also love to gather wild berries, mushrooms, and anything else our public lands provide.

Image courtesy of Nathan Bailey.

TRCP: What got you interested in TRCP and the work we do? How do you see yourself helping TRCP achieve our conservation mission?

Bailey: TRCP impressed me in their approach to conservation. It’s a breath of fresh air to see a nonprofit that is so passionate about their cause, yet prudent enough to build bridges rather than walls. Being of the same mind, I can help build bridges through a professional sportsman’s influence. Alongside TRCP, I plan on giving sportsmen/women a voice in in the public forums that decide how we get to use OUR public land.

TRCP: How can everyday sportsmen make a difference for fish and wildlife? Why is it so important?

Bailey: First and foremost, hunters and anglers provide a lot of our nation’s conservation dollars. We need to educate the general public about that fact. Sportsmen need to have a strong voice in the law-making process to ensure that wildlife – and the resources that make strong populations possible – continue to be represented. We also need to support organizations who give us such a collective and powerful voice, such as the TRCP.

Wild trout, caught and released. Image courtesy of Nathan Bailey.

TRCP: What’s the most pressing conservation issue where you live?

Bailey: TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LANDS. I can’t say it loudly enough. The big push out West is to sell off public lands. As a sportsmen who as a young man lost miles of river access, trust me when I tell you that we need to keep public lands in OUR HANDS!

TRCP: What has been your most memorable hunt? What’s still on your bucket list?

Bailey: My most memorable hunt was in the Ochoco National Forest in Central Oregon. It was a youth hunt and I had all three of my boys with me. My two youngest stayed with me as we pushed a draw for the oldest. I’ll never forget trying to get my youngest to silence the BBs that were sloshing around in his Red Ryder BB gun as we made our push. The plan worked perfectly. We ran two cows right to my oldest, and he quickly harvested one of them. What a great day all the boys had providing for the family!

Bailey packing out elk quarters, a sign of success on public lands. Image courtesy of Nathan Bailey.

TRCP: Where can we find you this fall?

Bailey: I will be chasing wild elk through the cascade wilderness, swinging the Rogue for an elusive steelhead, waiting out a wily blacktail in a gnarled old oak tree, or whispering sweet nothings to a flock of mallards over a set of decoys in the Klamath Basin. It’s a blessing to live in Southern Oregon and have access to its abundant wild lands, and with the help of the TRCP, we can preserve our outdoor heritage to keep it that way.

by: Dani Dagan

posted in: General

September 23, 2016

Celebrate National Public Lands Day by Showing the Land Some Love

This Saturday, September 24, is a day for celebrating our heritage – and you can join in by giving back

I love being outside, and I’m guessing that if you’ve found your way to this blog, then you do too. I am happy to live in Washington, DC, because it means I get to work at the TRCP, spending my days fighting for conservation and ensuring that that 640 million acres of public land remain public and remain accessible. However, lately, I’ve been neglecting my need to see the sky, smell the trees, and get my hands dirty. Sportsmen have a long history of getting their hands dirty – literally and figuratively – for conservation, and sometimes I just need to get out there and the work with my own two hands.

This Saturday, Sept 24, I’m going to get my on-the-ground fix – and you can too. In celebration of National Public Lands Day, parks, recreation areas, and more are hosting volunteer events all over the country. Additionally, if you’re in the Wyoming area, consider joining us at a Public Lands Day Celebration in Laramie.

Here are a few examples of Public Lands Day volunteer opportunities, in case you want to join me in celebrating our sporting heritage by taking care of our favorite spaces. Don’t see an event for your area listed here? Check in with your nearby public land agency and find events or start by browsing Find Your Park to find a spot near you.

mammoth hot springs — Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. Photo courtesy of Dani Dagan.

Click here for more information on National Public Lands Day. Whether or not you get your hands dirty this Saturday, take the future of our public lands into your hands by signing the Sportsmen’s Access petition.

Where: Pipestone National Monument, Pipestone, Minn.

What: Seed collection from native tall grass prairie

More information

Where: Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Western Ky. and Tenn.

What: Trail clean-up and work day

More information

Where: Red Top Mountain State Park, Cartersville, Ga.

What: Improve outdoor classroom

More information

Where: Don Carter State Park, Gainesville, Ga.

What: Shore sweep and trash clean-up

More information

Where: Yellowstone National Park

What: Trail maintenance

More information

Where: Colt Creek State Park, Lakeland, Fla.

What: Mulching

More information

Where: Lake Kissimmee State Park, Lake Wales, Fla.

What: Invasive weed removal

More information

Where: Lake Louisa State Park, Clermont, Fla.

What: Invasive weed and vegetation removal

More information

Where: 19 sites across Indiana

What: Trash clean-up, garden maintenance, trail work, invasive species removal, and more.

More information

Where: Poudre Wilderness, Northern Colo.

What: Trail maintenance

More information

Where: Hidden Canyon Community Park, Carlsbad, Calif.

What: Trail maintenance

More information

Where: Detroit Lake Campground shoreline, Detroit, Ore.

What: Shoreline and riverside clean-up

More information

by: Kristyn Brady

posted in: General

September 20, 2016

105 Sportsmen Businesses Agree: Don’t Mess With Sage Grouse Conservation

One year after the historic decision not to list the greater sage grouse for endangered species protection, retailers, outfitters, and gear manufacturers from across the country call on Congress to let sage grouse conservation work

Today, more than 100 hunting, fishing, and wildlife-related businesses are asking lawmakers to block attempts to undo collaborative conservation efforts that benefit the greater sage grouse.

As representatives of a $646-billion outdoor recreation industry that depends on sportsmen having access to healthy fish and wildlife habitat, business owners from 14 states have sent a letter that calls on Congressional leadership to oppose language or riders to any legislation that would force the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to abandon their own sage grouse conservation plans in favor of plans developed by the states.

sagegrousecourting-(1) — Image courtesy of Department of Interior.

Almost exactly one year ago, on September 22, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the range-wide population of greater sage grouse did not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, following historic collaboration by federal and state agencies, industry, private landowners, sportsmen, and other stakeholders. This achievement, business leaders write, “should also be seen as a boon for business.”

However, some in Congress are attempting to derail the process by crafting language meant to block the federal conservation plans and attaching it to the only legislation moving in Washington, D.C.—the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and appropriations bills that keep the federal government operating.

“Sportsmen and outdoor business owners across the country are disappointed that Congress continues to play politics with our national defense and other must-pass legislation by attempting to insert unrelated and detrimental language about sage-grouse conservation into bills,” says Ryan Callaghan, marketing manager for First Lite, a hunting clothing company based in Ketchum, Idaho. “Healthy sagebrush is important not only for sage grouse, but also for mule deer, pronghorns, and elk, and to our customers that pursue these species each fall.”

Ed Arnett, senior scientist for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, adds that if language contained in the riders were to become law, it would throw into question decades of statutory precedent, several environmental laws, and the subsequent legal decisions around those laws. “Federal, state, and private landowner efforts are all needed to create on-the-ground results for sage grouse, and the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision last fall was predicated on all of these plans working in concert,” says Arnett. “Implementation must be allowed to continue.”

Business owners across the Western U.S. are counting on it. “There’s a lot that goes on in Congress that is confusing, frustrating or seemingly unrelated to what we care about as sportsmen, but when your bottom line—not to mention the activities you love and hope to pass on to your grandkids—depends on the health of an entire ecosystem, you pay attention,” says Melissa Herz of Herz Gun Dogs in Bend, Oregon. “We can’t allow the sagebrush landscape, vibrant with 350 species of plants and animals that rely on the same habitat as sage grouse, to become just a pawn in a political game, and we cannot waver on conservation plans that were put in place for good reason.”

The House version of the NDAA has already passed with provisions that would be detrimental to sage grouse conservation. The Senate is expected to consider its version of the bill, which does not include any language on sage grouse, in the coming weeks. Sportsmen’s groups and businesses have made it clear to lawmakers that the best thing they can do for sage grouse is ensure that state and federal land managers get the resources they need to implement their respective plans and that conservation efforts on private lands continue.

Undoing federal conservation plans might be the best way to ensure a listing, which is bad news for just about everyone.

Read the letter from 105 hunting and fishing businesses here.

Learn more about how conditions have improved for sage grouse in the year since the decision not to list the species.

by: Julia Peebles

posted in: General

Glassing the Hill: September 19 – 23

The Senate and House are both in session this week.

TR_Binoculars — Image courtesy of Library of Congress.

Breaking: An East Coast public land transfer bill may be introduced as early as Tuesday. This legislation, from Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), would transfer thousands of acres of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Chatham, Massachusetts. This proposal is being put forth as a possible solution to an ongoing dispute between the refuge and several local elected officials. Public lands advocates prefer to resolve the disagreement with a formal agreement between the parties, or perhaps through litigation that can determine the legal legitimacy of the dispute. These alternatives would avoid setting the dangerous precedent of transferring federal public lands to the states through a legislative decision. The Senate is not expected to introduce companion legislation.

The Senate passed a water projects bill with big benefits for the Everglades last week, and now the House must do the same before talks move forward. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) indicated last week that the House might consider its version of “The Water Resource Development Act” (WRDA) sometime before Friday. However, it looks as though that timeline has slipped, leaving just a six weeks or so after the elections for House passage and the conference process.

The Senate cleared its WRDA package, which would authorize Everglades restoration and provisions to improve habitat connectivity, on a hugely bipartisan vote count of 95-3. The House version of the bill does not currently match the Senate version’s provisions on using nature-based infrastructure, like wetlands and reefs, over manmade structures—so that will come up in conference.

It looks like a short-term funding mechanism, which would last until Dec. 9, could be a go. The Senate will begin consideration of a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through December 9. Senate leadership decided to use “The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act” (H.R. 5325) as the legislative vehicle to move the CR. Disagreements about Zika funding, Planned Parenthood, Internet regulation, disaster relief provisions for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Flint, Michigan, persist, but Senate leaders seem confident that the deal will be cleared this week, and then senators will head home for an early October recess. We expect the House will stay in session until next week, then both chambers will remain in their respective states until November 14, after the general elections.

What else we’re tracking:

Tuesday, September 20

The merging of seed and farm-chemical industries will be discussed in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Wednesday, September 21

Greenhouse gas emissions guidance by the Council on Environmental Quality will be debated at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s mitigation policy will be reviewed in a Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife hearing.

The federal government’s management of wolves will be deliberated in House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing.

Public land legislation, including Rep. Rob Bishop’s (R-Utah) Public Lands Initiative bill will be discussed in a House Natural Resources Committee mark-up.

Thursday, September 22

A public land legislation mark-up is slated to continue in the House Natural Resources Committee.

Senate public land legislation is also on the docket in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.

Chesapeake Bay conservation will be discussed at a House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry hearing.

Economic fuel standards will be deliberated in a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, and Energy and Power hearing.

U.S. National Park Service management will be considered in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing.

Regulation guidelines for agencies will be discussed in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management hearing.

by: Kristyn Brady

posted in: General

September 19, 2016

Plumer Joins TRCP as Chief Conservation Officer

Former congressional staff member and policy advisor for The Nature Conservancy brings expertise on appropriations process, proactive solutions for fish and wildlife, and renewable energy to TRCP’s conservation mission

Christy Plumer, former director for federal land programs and lead lobbyist for The Nature Conservancy, is joining the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership as the organization’s new chief conservation officer.

“I am thrilled to be joining the TRCP team and augmenting their work to ensure every American has quality places to hunt, fish, and enjoy the outdoors,” says Plumer, who travels out to Bozeman, Montana, to meet with TRCP senior staff and the Board of Directors today. “As a country, we are at a crossroads for conservation, access, our outdoor recreation economy, and land management decisions that will have an impact for generations to come. Now more than ever, we need organizations like the TRCP to lead the way and unite sportsmen and women around the key issues facing fish and wildlife. I’m excited about the important role this organization will play in tackling the conservation challenges of today and crafting the real-world solutions of tomorrow.”

Christy_Plumer_web — Image courtesy of Christy Plumer.

Plumer comes to the TRCP after spending the past year working to advance solar and renewable energy policy with SolarCity, America’s foremost full-service solar energy provider. In her previous role at The Nature Conservancy, Plumer lobbied for improving conservation funding levels through the federal appropriations process, enhancing natural resources policy, and creating proactive solutions for fish and wildlife habitat. She also spent two years as director of government relations for The Conservation Fund and seven years on Capitol Hill working for moderate Republicans, including Sen. John Chafee and Sen. Bob Smith. Plumer also served as staff director for the Senate Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water under then-chairman Sen. Lincoln Chafee. She holds a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in Environmental Studies from Brown University.

“Having worked on both sides of the legislative process, as a congressional staff member and a lobbyist, Christy’s insider perspective will be invaluable to the TRCP at a pivotal time in Washington,” says Whit Fosburgh, TRCP’s president and CEO. “Her leadership will be an asset to the organization, our partners, and the conservation community as a whole, as we move forward with ambitious goals for conservation policy and welcome a new administration and Congress.”