Do your research before joining "sportsmens conservation" type groups...

[Mike21]

I usually wouldn't bring up politics but I was recently contemplating joining the back country hunters and anglers (BHA). I was surprised to see the BHA is funded by environmental groups in no way friendly to firearms who also support animal rights groups. BHA Executive Director Land Tawney is deeply involved in Democratic Party politics. He was a member of the Montana Sportsmen for Obama Committee etc. now don't get me wrong we are all free to support any political party we want, just make sure you research where your money is going.

Also I found that groups like Trout Unlimited and Theodore Roosevelt Consevation Partnership use their funds to lobby against the energy industry. I know many Rok Sliders make their living in the energy industry and may support the conservation efforts of these groups but your money is also used for many other things, even supporting "anti gun violence" aka gun control politicians. TRCP is also behind the formation of the Union Sports- men’s Alliance. A joint effort with 20 labor unions, the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s goal is “to lure the political allegiance of gun-owning union members away from the NRA and its political agenda,” according to The Washing- ton Post

Once again this is fyi only not an attack on anyone's political beliefs. I still might join BHA........

Here is a couple sources.

https://www.greendecoys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/green-decoys-report.pdf

http://watchdog.org/203523/sportsmen-group-targeted-green-decoy-environmentalists-fires-back/

 

[kodiakfly]

Good info.

Good idea to also research the conservation and wildlife non-profits as well. Some aren't even non-profit and don't claim to be, but they sure imply it. Come to find out you money goes to a CEO, or that something like 10% of your dollar goes to actual conservation. Sad, but a lot of organizations aren't what they seem.

 

[Ryan Avery]

I am still on the fence with BHA. We have talked about working together on Rokslide but I am not going to lie I have some reservations. I am a life long NRA member.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Like Ryan,

I was on the fence with BHA and other groups.

However, I have come around. I think that as a sportsmen I have come to the realization that I can't march in lockstep with any particular political party or their "be like us" platform.

I have come to believe that one can be pro-gun and still work to preserve wild places. I believe one can be skeptical of the Federal Government and still see the benefit in federal management of public land.

I believe issues stand on their own, and as a hunter, I will make up my own mind on them individually, without anyone marginalizing my opinion by labeling me as something if I disagree with them on some issue.

Just because hunters and environmentalists may find agreement on one issue doesn't mean they agree on everything. In fact, seeing some issues similarly may well bring some of them around on other issues, like gun ownership and hunting. We have already seen that with the "hipster hunters" movement.

As such, I personally, have come to support BHA.

 

[T43]

I am an NRA member, NRA instructor, pro gun advocate and have never voted for a Democrat for president but I also support BHA and their mission to protect public land and it would bother me to find out Rokslide was against an organization that is based on backcountry hunting.

 

[tony m]

Well ,I joined BHA and cancelled and might join again.I cannot find an organization that suites my ideals well.I treasure the backcountry, and I would like to find a group that is more neutral politically..at the same time that has an agenda to preserve what is left of the wild country for hunting .

 

[jtw]

I've been involved with politics on the state level for 5 years now and one thing Ive learned is that if you want your voice heard by politicians the best means is by joining a lobbyist group like the NRA or BHA. I am a member of both. Honestly Im fed up with the NRA lately, but I feel strongly about gun rights so I pay my dues.

 

[JWP58]

I've considered joining BHA. I don't care if any of the board members are democrats, republicans, libertarians, or green party. I care about what their mission statement or cause is, and that they put their member's money to good use. This country is so polarized politically right now its unreal. Heaven forbid you not agree on every issue, because now days its all or nothing it seems.

Frankly I'm a libertarian, and I don't want to see ANWR drilled, or see a drill sight every 100 yards in the red desert.


Also, I'm curious.....is there a law stating "liberals cant hunt". Because after reading the "greendecoy" document, it seems to mainly focus on the fact that its all a front by evil liberals and democrats. I would assume that maybe, just maybe, some democrats recreate in the outdoors and hunt.

 

[ChrisS]

I'm a bit of an odd duck in politics, but single issue voters can easily be marginalized (or pandered to). It's better to support multiple legs of an cause so that sheer volume of support can drown out opposition. Net neutrality is one such area where people from all political stripes joined together to ensure a free and open internet.

If liberal and conservative hikers, hunters, and anglers can join together to ensure that the main object (free and open wilderness areas) can be maintained they'll still have plenty of time to fight over the little things on the side. But without public lands, anything else is moot.

As to the original post, it's always important to check into the background of any well-meaning organization. There's a lot of well-heeled con artists in philanthropy or public interest groups who like to pay themselves a top salary to put together galas and live the high life on other people's donations.

 

[Matt Cashell]

One other note:

Greendecoys.com is listed as a "source" by the OP, when it is really a propoganda wing of the dark money group "Environmental Policy Alliance" which is itself a wing of the "Center for Organizational Research & Education (CORE)"

Now if you follow that trail, you will find that they are funded by ... "unknowns."

So we know this:

greendecoys.com:

1. Makes no arguments about the actual work and positions that BHA has.

2. Criticizes BHA's funding while hiding their own.

3. Inexplicably uses a smear campaign to align BHA with anti-gun groups.

For crying out loud, BHA gives away guns with lifetime memberships!

I hate seeing dark money groups like these play this kind of dirty politics.

 

[metal3006]

How much of your BHA dues are going towards preserving the back country and whats going towards anti gun and anti hunting. Anti groups funding a hunting association seems more than a little fishy to me.

 

[T43]

Interesting update. The NRA news show will be interviewing Randy Newberg and promoting the BHA rendezvous this weekend. Hard to believe they would give up air time for an organization that is supposedly against them. The land grabbers that funded the video must have been trying to mislead people... imagine that. NRA s Cam and Co. Airs on the Sportsmans channel this afternoon.

 

[Matt Cashell]

How much of your BHA dues are going towards preserving the back country and whats going towards anti gun and anti hunting. Anti groups funding a hunting association seems more than a little fishy to me.

m3006,

None.

There is something fishy, but it isn't the BHA.

 

[Jason Snyder]

How much of your BHA dues are going towards preserving the back country and whats going towards anti gun and anti hunting. Anti groups funding a hunting association seems more than a little fishy to me.

I wrote a lengthy reply in the "Green Decoy" thread. As a 501 C3 organization, their financial books are a public record. Unlike the dark money group that is funding the attack on them, you can see exactly what BHA does and doesn't do. Their body of work is out their for all to see. It is incredibly small thinking to just follow the propoganda line in that all of the groups funding BHA are "anti hunting". Do your homework and look beyond what Green Decoy is trying to spoon feed you.

 

[Murdy]

Things are more complicated that politicians, political-action committees, and the talking heads on the nightly news-entertainment shows would like us to believe. It's easier to pin a label on someone (or something) and mock it that to engage in any sort of meaningful discussion or provide a real explanation of whatever it is that is being debated, whether it be health care, immigration, gun rights, or the management of public land. This is particularly true when you are trying to gain political traction for a cause and you are limited to stating your case in a 30 second commercial.
Most of us aren't universally conservative or liberal or libertarian or whatever on every issue on which we hold a belief. I don't agree with every position the NRA takes, but I'm a member because I believe in its core agenda. The same is probably true on any large, politically active group which I am, have been, or will be a part of.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Copied from the Green Decoy thread.....

http://www.bermanexposed.org/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us...aped.html?_r=1

http://www.hatchmag.com/articles/tra...mpaign/7712361

I would hope that folks are willing to look deeper into this than a propaganda piece that is coming from a mysterious "watchdog" organization that doesn't divulge who funds it. The "Green Decoy" attack is nothing more than an attempted smear on conservation groups that are fighting for environmental causes that all of us as backcountry hunters should care about.

This is not to say in any way that I am against energy development. However, if you think that all energy developers have the best interests of the environment in mind then I have ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is a 501C3, and as such all of their books are open to the public. Anyone can find out where they got their money from.

Here are some of the research projects that have been funded by the Pew Charitable Trust, a BHA donor.

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research...cdf666fb/all/0

Here's another grant provider for BHA and what they do.

http://conservationlands.org/home/what-wedo

Here is a database of grants awarded by the Wilburforce Foundation.

http://www.wilburforce.org/grant-history

Now, when one looks at this you will find some names that are very green. Dig deeper though. For example the Y2Y organization has a listing of their collaborative projects. Take a look at their partners. Is the Montana Dept of Transportation an anti hunting organization, or are they merely trying to do something meaningful for the environment and the wildlife? Couldn't the same be asked of other collaborative partners?

Another grant recipient of the Wilburforce is the Nature Conservancy, which owns properties in Washington, Idaho, Montana, etc. that are open for hunting, in areas that provide some valuable access to deer and upland bird habitat. This is a project in Montana that the Wilburforce has helped fund.

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives...cy-project.xml

One of the claims is that Land Tawney stumped for the Democratic Party in opposition to Denny Rehberg. Truth of the matter is I'm glad he did. Denny Rehberg was in no way a sportman's advocate. Senator Tester, who defeated him, has done a good job of advocating for sportsman's interests.

I don't care what anyone's political affiliation is. To be honest, I don't know what mine is anymore. I don't vote by party line, but by candidate quality and issues. I see this as nothing more than an attempt by some big money corporations to discredit the organizations that are doing their best to protect yours and my wildlands heritage. It's sad that it's considered a negative to be an environmentalist. You're damned right I'm an environmentalist, and I'm proud to say so. I'm proud to say that I value roadless areas and clean streams with native fish. I value core wildlife habitat like the Rocky Mountain Front. Some things are worth conditional protection, and others are worth protection at all costs.

Ask yourself, who stands to gain the most from the current push to transfer public lands to state ownership, and who stands to lose the most. BHA has stood in opposition to transferring federal lands to state ownership, and as such is in the crosshairs of huge energy developers. Who do you trust to look out for your hunting area?


Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in BHA or any of their supporting groups

​

 

[ChrisS]

The guy Berman that runs the "Environmental Policy Alliance" has a long history of smear campaigns and front groups. This guy has been hired to oppose pretty much any group that tries to reign in big business or industry for any reason.

 

[metal3006]

When our constitutional freedoms are being assaulted every day its wise to know who you give your money to. Like the heading says..........

 

[Matt Cashell]

When our constitutional freedoms are being assaulted every day its wise to know who you give your money to. Like the heading says..........

I encourage you to research it as well, m3006. I have.

Here is a good start:

http://www.backcountryhunters.org/i...an-busse-of-kimber-as-its-newest-board-member

BHA is NOT anti-gun.

 

[metal3006]

Bitterroot
Thank you for the link. My "homework" began when i read this thread!