Texas BHA what are your thoughts?

[texaswoods8]

Just curious what y'all's thoughts are on the backcountry hunters and anglers. I've heard mixed things about them.

[Kelmat]

Don't know much about them but know they are huge proponents of public lands and access so probably not big fans of Texas compared to what they have exposure to out West. But I think they do a lot of good work toward education and promoting outdoor activity.

[Drycreek3189]

Don't know much about them but know they are huge proponents of public lands and access so probably not big fans of Texas compared to what they have exposure to out West. But I think they do a lot of good work toward education and promoting outdoor activity.

Better dig a little deeper. All that I know I’ve read on Bowsite, which is mostly visited by hard core bowhunters that hunt all over. I have no first hand knowledge, but I trust the guys that post there regularly.

[texaswoods8]

Better dig a little deeper. All that I know I’ve read on Bowsite, which is mostly visited by hard core bowhunters that hunt all over. I have no first hand knowledge, but I trust the guys that post there regularly.

Bowsite is where I've seen some of the debates. Seem like they might be wolves in sheep's clothing. Speaking of wolves I think In Colorado they were for bringing in wolves. I understand helping protect public hunting but their stance on private property seems like they don't like it respect it.

[diamond10x]

do some research into the things they support and who their founder/CEO is. This will give you an idea of whether you would want to support them or not. They definitely are not the organization they try to portray. I'll leave it at that.

[hooligan]

A couple years ago it was really good imo. I'm not a huge fan of Land Tawny but he does good work. On the National level they are VERY big supporters of democrats. Texas had a good group for their chapter leadership and I've seen it decline over the years so I don't even participate in anything anymore, it's become more about social media posts than actually getting anything done in the state. There are some really good groups out there on a state level but I'd rather give time and money to Texas Streams Coalition over BHA, they actually get things done

[Texas Grown]

Also, look to whom they donate funds to. What organizations.

The fish are biting, and there's hogs to be kill-t. Gotta go!

[westtexducks]

I won't support them, I looked into them a few years ago and not an organization I would be willing to give money to.

[texaswoods8]

So what true hunting organizations are worth getting with in this great state? Ones the truly put there money where it counts for our wildlife. When I was growing up in Colorado my family was really big into the CBA it did a lot for bowhunting up there. Is the Lonestar bowhunters a good group? I wasn't to start trying to support groups in the state.

[simek]

I have been a member for several years and will continue to support the organization.

I primarily hunt private land in Texas (pay to hunt and hunt with permission), but do hunt some public here. I hunt out west most years, and it's all been public. I like what BHA does to promote public land access. Some folks don't like the fact that they did not take a stronger stand against wolf reintroduction in CO. Some folks don't like that they find common ground with organizations that don't support hunting, but do have a common public land vision. Some people don't like their funding sources. Some folks don't feel like the group demographic represents them well enough. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

The Texas Chapter does good stuff...public land clean ups, mentored hunts, beach clean ups, crab trap clean ups. etc. They've also been somewhat active at the state capital to help push legislation that they felt strongly about.

As a chapter, the Texas BHA understands and respects private property rights, b/c they understand in Texas you can't have successful conservation w/o the assistance of private property rights. The local chapter made some mistakes in the past regarding their areas of focus. They realized it and are working on fixing it with new leadership and new goals.

If you are they type of member that just likes to send money and put a sticker on your vehicle, this may not be the organization for you. If you like active engagement, you may have found a home. As I said, I'll continue to pay my dues and engage.

[WItoTX]

I am a life member.

I will no longer donate to them after they told me they would not push to open public lands up when the state shut them down. The reasoning was "They don't want to waste their political capital on that". No joke, didn't want to work to open public lands. This was sent to me by Ty Stubblefield, one of the folks that's higher up at BHA.

They mostly wanted to come to Texas because there is big money in Houston, DFW, Austin and SA. They take that money and push their pet projects in MT, meanwhile don't say **** when MT increases pricing to NR's. Notice they haven't said anything about NM tag allocation changes this year? There is a reason for that.

BHA is dead to me. Donate to RMEF, CCA, or any number of other org's.

[GWHunter]

I will not support them. I have done quite a bit of research on them, and can’t find much commend ground. Like some have said above, just do a little research on their political stances, and where they get their money. There are plenty of good groups to get involved with if you look around. If you hunt in Colorado or ever plan to, look into the CBA.

[bossbowman]

Don't support them. I'll leave it at that too.

[WItoTX]

Want to bump this to the top for the morning crowd for more thoughts.

[texaswoods8]

With a search on BHA I found an article that shows where there monies come from. It seems to be something that looks good but when looked at closer there agendas aren't really sportsman friendly. Any sportsman organization that willingly takes money from people that want to stop hunting can't seriously be for it. Here is a quote from an article.

The donors include the Western Conservation Foundation, which gave $278,423 to BHA in 2011 and 2012 alone. WCF has given handsomely over the years to notorious environmentalists and animal rights activists, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Audubon Society, Earthjustice (the self-proclaimed “law firm of the environment”), and Climate Solutions, a major proponent of “global warming.” It has also contributed large sums to the Tides Center, funder of all things leftist. It’s hard to imagine Western Conservation Foundation would donate over a quarter of a million dollars to Backcountry Hunters and Anglers if it wasn’t an organization that shared those same ideological beliefs.

The next largest donor to BHA is the Wilburforce Foundation. From 2009 to 2013, Wilburforce gave a total of $110,000 to BHA for a variety of purposes. As with the Western Conservation Foundation, Wilburforce gives heavily to other notorious environmentalists, including the Environmental Law Institute, the Sierra Foundation, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Wilburforce’s executive director, Tim Greyhavens, previously worked for the Humane Society of the United States, a vegan activist organization with a PETA-like agenda. BHA also received a $69,000 donation in 2012 from Pew Charitable Trusts, which is famous for its ideological tilt. Other donors include the New Venture Fund ($30,000 total), Conservation Lands Foundation ($26,000 total), Lazar Foundation ($25,000 total), and The Brainerd Foundation ($8,000 total), whose mission is “to safeguard the environment and build broad citizen support for environmental protection.” As with WCF and Wilburforce, each of these organizations have deep connections with the environmental movement, which raises suspicions as to what BHA’s motivations truly are.