BHA seems “all-in” with Biden

[Broomd]

Some of us told ya'll this years ago. Welcome to reality.
And yes, I too, was a member for a short time until I figured out their true motives.

 

[bsnedeker]

Political party aside...let's not forget that BHA REFUSED to take a stance on the CO Wolf Reintroduction. If they truely supported hunters/conservation, I'd think they would have publicly opposed that initiative.

What's the over / under on page count before this gets locked? I'm gonna say 3.

This was my eye-opener moment as well. After a HUGE amount of pressure from their membership they finally released a weak-ass statement saying they are kind-of/maybe against the idea of ballot-box biology. Any group that claims to be pro-hunting that isn't adamant in their stance against this type of garbage simply will not have my support. It was this issue that made me start to dig into the what BHA actually does with it's money and I didn't really like what I found.

 

[NDGuy]

Could it be that BHA is more supportive of Biden because under the Obama/Biden Administration there were protections placed on over 5 million acres of Public Land while Trump Administration has removed (or tried to remove) protections for something like 30+ million acres of Public Land?

I'm not even a member but have considered it. I for now am just a DU, MDF, and RMEF member so I don't have too much of an interest.

Reading about the rolled back protection and reading about William Pendley since becoming interim BLM Director. Who the current admin backed...not exactly conservation focused values..

But like others said, they need to rebrand and maybe rename themselves if they are going to avoid political issues revolved around hunting.

 

[ODB]

I don't know that's a good question. I guess I always just thought that it was started and run by guys/gals that liked to hunt and fish. Let's say if I were really into orienteering and I wanted to start a Conservation Group to help protect public lands for my and other orienteering Enthusiasts' future use, I guess I might call it Backcountry Orienteering Group or something similar.

...Then I would hire a lawyer for when Backcountry.com sues me for using the word "Backcountry" in my new Conservation's name.

Yes, early on Land used to love to tell the story of how he’s an x-generation montanan, started around a campfire in Oregon, blah blah blah. But he’s a lawyer who went to Seattle U. He’s well-versed in rhetoric. As a dude who is also well-versed in rhetoric, it’s easy to see how it all works.
For the record I used to be a member, was excited to supposedly find like-minded people to be involved with, but when I tried to reach out all I got was an empty hand, no one knew any projects rhat were in the works, but did you see our new t-shirt. No thanks.

 

[KurtR]

Was a member than heard who was in charge. He has been a rat for years and it has gone all the way back to getting in bed with hsus when trying to tell ranchers how to run their operations in North Dakota. Money is the bottom line and anyone who thinks he cares about the average hunter is kidding them selves. Jumped from non profit to non profit till he figured out how to make a profit

 

[3forks]

Yes, early on Land used to love to tell the story of how he’s an x-generation montanan, started around a campfire in Oregon, blah blah blah. But he’s a lawyer who went to Seattle U. He’s well-versed in rhetoric. As a dude who is also well-versed in rhetoric, it’s easy to see how it all works.
For the record I used to be a member, was excited to supposedly find like-minded people to be involved with, but when I tried to reach out all I got was an empty hand, no one knew any projects rhat were in the works, but did you see our new t-shirt. No thanks.

I agree with this.

Backcountry used their name to pander to hunters the same way that HSUS uses their name to lure people who think they’re donating to help homeless animals, but are really an extreme animal rights group.

Backcountry has a nakedly commercial side to their business that they capitalized on by promoting their organization on forums like this one. A lot of guys come on Rokslide looking for recommendations on gear and bought into the hype around BHA, too.

BHA exists only to enrich themselves, rather than enrich or provide much more than the bare minimum to the core hunting community they claim to represent. In my opinion, they treat hunters as revenue source, and lots of us are still buying into it.

 

[NDGuy]

In bed with hsus when trying to tell ranchers how to run their operations in North Dakota.

Kurt do you have any more info on that? I hadn't heard of this and would like to learn more.

 

[ODB]

Was a member than heard who was in charge. He has been a rat for years and it has gone all the way back to getting in bed with hsus when trying to tell ranchers how to run their operations in North Dakota. Money is the bottom line and anyone who thinks he cares about the average hunter is kidding them selves. Jumped from non profit to non profit till he figured out how to make a profit

to quote the great Eric Hoffer:

“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”​

I give support to orgs at a very local level for specific initiatives. To be honest, most of them are in Africa as they are in much worse shape than here. Money goes to specific initiatives and since I have mutual friends with the orgs, I know my money is going directly to where it needs to be without waste.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

All you have to do is look at their financial statements....I prefer my donations go to on the ground efforts...not so Mr. Tawney can afford to sip microbrews..

 

[FLAK]

They call themselves an "Advocacy Group".
Thats the first indication there might be a problem.

 

[Nomadx2]

Elections matter ...

 

[Newtosavage]

Firstly, I'm not a BHA member and have never donated money to their organization and I'll try to answer your question in as neutral way as possible.

Could it be that BHA is more supportive of Biden because under the Obama/Biden Administration there were protections placed on over 5 million acres of Public Land while Trump Administration has removed (or tried to remove) protections for something like 30+ million acres of Public Land?

Again, I'm not picking political sides or even quoting sources or exact numbers on the above, I just seem to remember reading an article in Outside Magazine (not a subscriber, just picked one up while waiting at Discount Tire) (Not biased on tire companies either, I got GoodYears but only because they offered a rebate).

This is just my personal (Non Partisan) guess as to why you may get that vibe from a Public Land Conservation Group.

This.

 

[Newtosavage]

They call themselves an "Advocacy Group".
Thats the first indication there might be a problem.

Most non-profits are advocating for something.

 

[ODB]

Most non-profits are advocating for something.

By law they cannot advocate for a specific candidate. BHA rides this line as close as possible.

 

[william schmaltz]

Kurt do you have any more info on that? I hadn't heard of this and would like to learn more.

I believe it was the ballot measure about 8-10 years ago making it a felony to kill certain animals HSUS considered pets including livestock. They played on the dogs and cats issue for votes but it was a “foot in the door” initiative all about livestock. NDGF rarely puts out political statements and even they publicly stated strong opposition the way it was written. I was working for them at the time. North Dakotans saw right through the smoke and shut it down big time. I know Kurt will correct me if I’m off.

 

[Newtosavage]

By law they cannot advocate for a specific candidate. BHA rides this line as close as possible.

Correct. I work with a number of non-profits, and have for the last 30 years. The reason people create these organizations is to fight for the interests of their members. It's very unlikely that they would take positions that weren't in line with their membership. Members come and go all the time and the leadership has to respond (or not) to that.

 

[KurtR]

I believe it was the ballot measure about 8-10 years ago making it a felony to kill certain animals HSUS considered pets including livestock. They played on the dogs and cats issue for votes but it was a “foot in the door” initiative all about livestock. NDGF rarely puts out political statements and even they publicly stated strong opposition the way it was written. I was working for them at the time. North Dakotans saw right through the smoke and shut it down big time. I know Kurt will correct me if I’m off.

Nope you nailed it on the head. They were even trying to get rid of spring snow goose season also. Common denominator is always land tawney.

 

[WCB]

Public Land Owner....except when you can't access them because the Government shut them down for zero reason. Not a peep.

Public Land Owner....except a huge portion of conservation is paid for by equipment sales i.e. guns and ammo and BHA side steps that question every chance they get (interesting to see what they say with proposed restrictions by their new boyfriend when he takes office).

Public Land Owner....except when their boyfriend wants to destroy oil and gas when huge dollars of conservation is paid for by that very industry.

Public Land Owner...let me blindly vote single issue because me and my buddies all hold each others' pockets while wearing flat brimmed hats and flannels, Have the same mustache and drink craft beers. Who cares if the guy we vote for is selling our country down the river.

PUBLIC LAND OWNER!!!!

BHA is a POS organization...way to put up wood duck houses and plant 4 trees at some recreational area...congrats.

P.S. did I use public land owner enough?

 

[NDGuy]

BHA is a POS organization...way to put up wood duck houses and plant 4 trees at some recreational area...congrats.

Regardless of people's position on this issue, that's hilarious

 

[NDGuy]

I believe it was the ballot measure about 8-10 years ago making it a felony to kill certain animals HSUS considered pets including livestock. They played on the dogs and cats issue for votes but it was a “foot in the door” initiative all about livestock. NDGF rarely puts out political statements and even they publicly stated strong opposition the way it was written. I was working for them at the time. North Dakotans saw right through the smoke and shut it down big time. I know Kurt will correct me if I’m off.

Nope you nailed it on the head. They were even trying to get rid of spring snow goose season also. Common denominator is always land tawney.

Thanks for the info gents. I never looked too hard into joining BHA but will definitely need to do more research if I consider joining down the road.