Sportsmen Ask BLM to Support Outdoor Priorities in Eastern Colorado

June 21, 2019

Draft public lands management plan shows some promising provisions in the preferred alternative, some areas in need of improvement

Canon City, Colo. – On Monday the Bureau of Land Management made public its Royal Gorge Field Office (RGFO) draft Resource Management Plan, which when finalized will guide management decisions over the next few decades on 600,000 surface and 6.8 million subsurface acres of public lands.

A coalition of ten hunting- and fishing-related groups and 23 local businesses have been working alongside a wide range of stakeholders over the past several years to ensure that high-value backcountry hunting and fishing areas are accessible and big game populations conserved in the Royal Gorge Field Office. While sportsmen would like to see some changes to the final plan, the response to the draft plan was generally positive.

“South Park-area BLM public lands offer some truly amazing and wide-ranging opportunities for sportsmen and women,” said Nick Payne, Colorado field representative with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “This is particularly true in the Upper Arkansas River area, which supports a great deal of recreation. By making a few adjustments to secure sportsmen’s priorities in the final plan – especially for key backcountry hunting areas – the BLM could make this land use plan a success.”

Safeguards for key hunting and fishing lands have been one focus of a years-long community-driven planning process for the South Park area. While some changes have been made to management provisions in the South Park Area, hunting and fishing groups believe this part of the plan remains largely true to the desired outcomes expressed by the community and various stakeholders.

“Although there have been some changes in presentation of the South Park management in the draft RMP, we feel good about where this planning process is headed and believe the community’s priorities can be represented in the final plan,” said Suzanne O’Neill, executive director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation, who has been on the forefront of these efforts since the first discussions in 2011. “Sportsmen, women, and wildlife enthusiasts will remain involved in this process as constructive partners to ensure that the final plan benefits the iconic South Park landscape and community.”

Terry Meyers, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society, pointed out the importance of this plan to Colorado’s bighorn sheep hunters, “Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunting units in the RGFO offer hunters the chance to pursue this iconic Western species in Colorado every year. We encourage the BLM to conserve valuable intact habitat and hunting areas in the final plan”

“This process isn’t over yet and there are some things we’d like to see improved,” continued Payne. “But we also appreciate the work put into this plan by the BLM and we will remain at the table to see this process through to completion. We believe it can be a success.”

Photo: Scrubhiker (USCdyer) via Flickr

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by: Michael O'Casey

posted in: Habitat and Clean Water

June 20, 2019

Oregonians: Stand Up for Public Lands!

This is YOUR chance to play a role in how our public lands are managed and ensure that sportsmen and women have a say about the places where we love to hunt and fish

The Bureau of Land Management’s Vale District Office manages more than 4.6 million acres of public lands across eastern Oregon including the Trout Creek Mountains and the Owyhee Reservoir. These landscapes provide some of the finest hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities in the state, as well as important habitat for big game, upland birds, and lahontan cutthroat trout

Currently, the BLM is revising its plan that will determine the future management of these lands for the next 20+ years, and public meetings are scheduled that offer an opportunity for the public to share their ideas directly to the BLM. This process is a key opportunity to help protect habitat of the imperiled sage grouse, determine where Off-Road Vehicles can and cannot travel, and protect wild desert places to camp, hunt and fish. Three main issues will be addressed in this planning process: Lands with Wilderness Characteristics, Off-Road Vehicle and Travel Management and Livestock Grazing. Each meeting will include a brief overview of the alternatives being considered at 6 p.m. Maps, handouts and BLM staff to answer questions will be available for the duration of each meeting. Sportsmen and women must get involved to ensure that the best habitats are conserved and public access for hunting and fishing is maintained.

Please attend one of three local public meetings and make your voice heard – meeting dates, locations, and times, as well as suggested talking points are listed below.

Where and when

Public meetings (All meetings run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.)

Monday, June 24, at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, Ore
Tuesday, June 25, at the McDermitt Community Center in McDermitt, Nev.
Wednesday, June 26, at the Jordan Valley Lions Hall, Jordan Valley, Ore

Suggested talking points

Stakeholder Support: The BLM’s preferred alternative to revert to the management plan from 2002 does not reflect recommendations made after countless years of efforts by diverse stakeholders on the local Resource Advisory Council to improve the management of public lands for recreation and wildlife. Urge the BLM to select an alternative that will protect this landscape’s wild places by limiting OHV travel to existing routes and maximizes opportunities for common-sense conservation that improves the health and habitat of this vast landscape.

Conservation of unfragmented, functional habitats: These high-quality habitats benefit countless species including sage grouse, mule deer, and desert bighorn sheep. Over 2 million acres within the planning area have been identified as mule deer winter range and deserve common sense protections. Backcountry public lands also enable hunters to get away from the crowds and enjoy a quality hunting experience.

Wildlife and fisheries restoration and enhancement: We encourage and support efforts to prioritize active habitat restoration and enhancement on the landscape to benefit big game and other wildlife species.

by: Rob Thornberry

posted in: Habitat and Clean Water

June 17, 2019

Idahoans: Show Up and Speak Out for Public Lands

This is YOUR chance to play a role in how our public lands are managed and ensure that sportsmen and women have a say about the places where we love to hunt and fish

The Bureau of Land Management’s Four Rivers Field Office manages more than 780,000 acres of public lands across western Idaho from the Bennett Hills to the eastern shores of Brownlee Reservoir. These landscapes provide some of the finest hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities in western Idaho, as well as important habitat for big game, upland birds, and wild trout.

Currently, the BLM is revising its plan that will determine the future management of these lands for the next 20+ years, and public meetings are scheduled that offer an opportunity for the public to share their ideas directly to the BLM. Sportsmen and women must get involved to ensure that the best habitats are conserved and public access for hunting and fishing is maintained.

Please attend one of four local public meetings and make your voice heard – meeting dates, locations, and times, as well as suggested talking points are listed below.

Where and when

Public meetings (All meetings run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
June 18: Boise District Office 3948 S Development Avenue, Boise ID 83705
June 25: Weiser High School 690 W Indianhead Rd, Weiser, ID 83672
June 26: Emmett Junior High School 301 E 4th St, Emmett, ID 83617
June 27: Mountain Home Junior High School 1600 E 6th S St, Mountain Home, ID 83647

Suggested talking points

• It is important to me that the Four Rivers BLM Field Office’s RMP revision conserve valuable big game winter range and popular hunting areas. The BLM should adopt a Backcountry Conservation Area for the Bennett Hills that would conserve valuable big game range, sustain sportsmen’s access, and prioritize habitat restoration for one of Idaho’s best mule deer hunting areas.

• I encourage the BLM to identify places where public access acquisition should be a priority, including the creation of access to public lands that are landlocked or difficult to access because there are few or no access points across private land that enable the public to reach BLM lands.

• I request that the BLM take steps to ensure the conservation of identified big game migration corridors and winter range. This should include not only conserving corridors that have already been mapped and analyzed by Idaho Fish and Game, but also migration corridors that will be mapped in the future.

by: Ed Arnett

posted in: Habitat and Clean Water

June 13, 2019

Western Governors Officially Support Policy to Conserve Migration Corridors

With firm backing from state leaders, sportsmen and women could see more coordinated efforts to improve habitat connectivity and big game population health

At their summer meeting in Colorado this week, the Western Governors’ Association passed a resolution supporting the conservation and state-led management of wildlife migration corridors.

The resolution recognizes that migration corridors and habitats are vital for maintaining the overall health of fish and wildlife populations in the West. Governors are calling on federal land-management agencies to support locally developed initiatives to conserve migration corridors and collaborate with state agencies to implement management efforts.

Though big game species rely on these critical seasonal habitats, migration corridors have not been addressed in conservation policy until recent years. The WGA’s bipartisan support could help shape burgeoning policies affecting all the Western states.

“Migration corridors and connectivity across seasonal habitats are critical pieces of the conservation puzzle for big game and other wildlife,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “We greatly appreciate the leadership of the Western Governors’ Association on the conservation of wildlife corridors and improvement of habitat connectivity. We look forward to working with each state to implement on-the-ground conservation strategies that ensure populations of big game animals continue to migrate and thrive.”

The WGA also released policy resolutions on biosecurity and invasive species management, federal-state land exchanges and purchases, and national parks in the West.

The TRCP and 43 other hunting, fishing, and conservation groups recently urged federal lawmakers to use the upcoming Highway Bill to create a dedicated funding source to improve migration crossings.

by: Andrew Wilkins

posted in: Habitat and Clean Water

May 30, 2019

These Teams Are Responsible for 800 Fish Habitat Restoration Projects Across the U.S.

Help us urge Congress to lock down the program—and conservation funding—that allows the people who fish local waters to mastermind the projects to improve them

Americans across the country are hitting the water this summer in the hopes of hooking one of many iconic species of fish—from kokanee salmon and cutthroat trout to largemouth bass and red snapper.

You may not realize that there has been a collaborative effort at work behind the scenes for years to expand and guarantee your access to great fishing. The National Fish Habitat Partnership, a collective of 20 diverse groups across every landscape in America, has already succeeded in boosting fish populations through on-the-ground fish habitat conservation projects.

In Pennsylvania, the Fish and Boat Commission, parks department, bass anglers, and local businesses banded together to restore a degraded reservoir, adding more than 800 structures that give fish critical cover to spawn. In New Mexico, partners enhanced desert fish habitat and reopened a key migratory passage between the Navajo River and eight miles of Amargo Creek.

Since 2007, more than 840 projects have been completed across all 50 states. But the future success of these partnerships is perennially threatened.

The National Fish Habitat Partnership initiative has no permanent authorization from the federal government and funding has been cut year after year. But that could change this Congress, thanks to legislation that would secure the future of these collaborative fish habitat improvement projects.

The Best Partners Know Local Waters

Rather than develop a top-down, inside-the-beltway plan to restore and protect America’s unique fish habitats, the National Fish Habitat Partnership exists at the crossroads of science-based solutions, community partnerships, and state and federal agencies. The 20 Fish Habitat Partnerships focus on the needs of specific regions and ecosystems, each working to forge stronger local and regional partnerships with other key stakeholders to restore and protect fisheries. The program is designed to include a wide range of voices in decision-making.

A national board chaired by a state fish and wildlife agency representative meets three times annually to review projects submitted by the 20 individual partnerships and recommend how funding should be allocated. This isn’t your average federal Board of Directors: Real sportsmen and women unite with local leaders and scientists to steer fish habitat conservation and put the needs of our fish and wildlife first. (In fact, TRCP’s Chief Conservation Officer Christy Plumer is a member of the National Board and has been instrumental in the development and success of the National Fish Habitat Partnership.)

Each of the twenty regional partnerships includes state fish and wildlife professionals, local leaders, and representatives of the conservation community and federal agencies. Committees help determine which projects each region submits to the national board for approval, focusing on the interests of the communities within the partnership’s footprint and ensuring projects are advancing the needs of fish populations close to home.

But none of these individuals can do their jobs while the future of the program, or its funding, is subject to the annual whims of Congress.

We Know the Model Works

This isn’t the first time this model has been used to work better for wildlife: The North American Wetlands Conservation Act has a similar approach. NAWCA provides matching grants to conservation projects across North America to improve habitat for migratory birds, boost water quality, and conserve wetlands ecosystems—and it has been highly successful. Now, it’s time to allow this successful model to work for fish.

(By the way, legislation to reauthorize and fund NAWCA is also pending in both chambers, and Congress should act with expediency here, too.)

Defend Against Defunding

The Partnership receives its funding in the annual appropriations bills, but since it isn’t permanently authorized, Congress could decide to defund it without warning, ending community-based support for fish conservation across the nation. Luckily, bills have been introduced in both the Senate and House to fix that: S. 754, introduced this Congress by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and H.R. 1747, introduced by Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas).

The National Fish Habitat Conservation Through Partnerships Act formally establishes the National Fish Habitat Board and guarantees that all stakeholders—tribes, nonprofits, local and state governments, private sector entities, and the federal government—have a seat at the table. The bill would also enact into law other components of the National Fish Habitat Partnership, including clear decision-making criteria and a process for designating new partnerships.

Importantly, this legislation would fund the program through 2023, with 5 percent dedicated to Indian Tribes and additional resources provided for several key federal agencies to provide scientific and technical assistance to fish habitat partnerships. The bill also sets a cap on administrative costs at 5 percent, preventing federal agencies from redirecting funding from the program to pay for other agency needs during tight budget times.

This five-year authorization would end year-to-year uncertainty, ensuring that each of the partnerships have the ability to plan ahead and do the best work possible.

Photo by Alexandre Estanislau via flickr.

Take Action

The National Fish Habitat Partnership is one of North America’s most successful conservation programs, but its continued success, and existence, depends on all of us speaking up for our waterways and the fish that call them home. Please join the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and our partners across the nation in urging Congress to pass the National Fish Habitat Conservation Through Partnerships Act into law.