Here's another thing that myself and my buddy Jeff worked on with BHA:
Critics of an eastern Wyoming land exchange say a proposed access easement wouldn't resolve worries about losing hundreds of acres of public property.
www.wyofile.com
This isn't just some piece of dirt public land with no elk on it, its a great place that holds some very good hunting for elk and mule deer in the Laramie Range. Jeff heard about this via one of our WYGF contacts and we realized pretty quickly that if this exchange happened, we were going to lose 4,000 acres of prime hunting ground. Not just tougher to access, landlocking 4,000 acres that we have access to.
So, Jeff and I put together the formal objection to the exchange, contacted all the land board members (top 5 elected officials) personally on phone calls, talked them through how this was going to impact public access.
Jeff and I also provided public testimony in front of the land board the day of the decision...and we crushed it, land board voted 5-0 opposing the land exchange.
In a unanimous decision, the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners voted Thursday to reject a proposed land exchange that came under fire from Albany County residents who said the trade
www.laramieboomerang.com
There is not even a doubt, at all, that without our efforts, that 4K acres of publicly accessible land in one of the best LQ elk areas in the State would be gone.
To finally ice the cake on this whole mess with Rick Bonander, he took upon himself, after he lost this land exchange, to punch several miles of illegal roads across State, BLM, and USFS lands so he could ride his UTV into the area. I worked as a liaison between the BHA members that found the illegal roads and the USFS law enforcement to get this sorted out. In the end, Rick Bonander was fined just shy of $50,000 by the USFS.
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.
www.backcountryhunters.org
Yep, pretty much just attend pint nights and drink nasty beer...
