Okay, I'm here. BHA stinketh.
BHA is a Green group, period, funded by the same large foundations that bankroll Greens. It's an outgrowth of a strategic realization by Greens that they had no "hook and bullet" presence at all except a small proportion of "woo woo" hunters who, in the larger arena, would be absolute Fudds when it comes to gun rights, or even a right to hunt. In 2000, the green funders got the Clinton Administration to do what was called the "roadless initiative," which was basically an administrative, not Congressional, move to turn 58 million acres of Forest Service ground into wilderness. But NRA, on behest of its actual members in the West, who not only understand gun rights but public-lands access issues, opposed the roadless rule.
Pew Trust, which is green as grass even though it's oil man Joe Pew's money, took a small part of its billions and analyzed the lack of sportsman support for this 58 million acre travesty, and learned something important. Sportspeople are NOT organized like they should be, in staunch defense of the full spectrum of hunter opportunity. We're species specific (like RMEF, MDF, NAWS) or regional, with the only "national" thing being Safari Club, maybe the North American Hunting Club (which is a marketer, mostly) and, mostly by default, NRA. Most NRA members historically have been hunters who also like guns a lot. But NRA is a default voice, an incidental sort of deal, plus the main threat for so long has been gun rights. Think about what comes after guns have been demonized out of the mainstream -- then, no more single-shot "hunting rifle" or shottie for YOU.
So Pew and Audubon (which got like 10 million from Pew to p1mp for the roadless thing, gave money to TU to create the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Alliance as a TU "project." Membership was free, and the slogan was "Guaranteeing you a place to hunt and fish."
An excellent white lie. Hunting is allowed in wilderness -- and will probably be the last place hunting IS allowed given the animal rights freaks.
But wilderness hunting is hard, not for everyone. Which is fine with me...my Dad and I spent a LOT of time hunting the Bob Marshall out of Schaefer, and a LOT of time dragging our goodies back to civilization -- or at least the airstrip.
Then in about 2001 (it didn't take long), the greens started the "hunter and angler" narrative, as opposed to sportsmen and sportswomen, TRCA was the first. Move on to 2004 and the Outdoor Writers convention in Spokane, where I think Dave Keane criticized the Sierra Club for its support of roadless areas and wilderness. He was blasted by a small number of "woo woo" outdoor writers, plus a number of "usual suspect" blatant Green writers, plus a couple of Green spin houses, but the casualty was Outdoor Writers, which split into two groups, traditionalists, and the New Age types.
From that point on, Green groups have waved their token rusty Rem 700 beaters around and claimed the "hunter and angler" mantle, or tried to. But even writer Dave Petersen (a complete Wildlands Project green, who hunts regularly) conceded that only 20 percent of sportspeople buy into the "green" purist faction where hunting (only with proper respect and gratitude for Natures (capitalized) bounty) is the highest, best, and preferably only use on public lands besides hiking or primitive recreation. Most other sportspeople understand that managed game and managed habitats can be great experiences, and that other activities like grazing, petroleum, even mining, are necessary and appropriate in our modern society. I mean, even the most ecologically-correct put gas in their Subaru to drive to the trailhead, and need a job to pay for the gas and ammo.
Bottom line is, most members of the NRA "get it" in the larger context of realizing prosperous countries that can afford game management do a better job of providing sustainable game harvests for the long term, that there is a huge difference between conservation and preservation. But because hunting isn't NRA's top priority, there's a chance that BHA, TRCA and whatever could chisel off gullible Fudds to take positions counter to NRA, weakening NRA not only in terms of its admittedly-secondary, "default" position as the voice of sportspeople -- but also weaken NRA in terms of what has become its primary mission....protecting our Bill of Rights from the depredations of the American left wing.
Now we come to BHA. BHA was started by some Trout Unlimited staffers in Oregon, and on the early board of directors was one of the people who attacked Keane in Spokane. a former "environmental" reporter who quit to go to work for Resource Media, which is a "nonprofit" subsidiary or spinoff of Fenton Communications. This matters because Fenton is completely left-wing, got famous for the Alar apple scare which devastated apple producers in the Northwest and elsewhere for a few years, you know, with Meryl Streep freaking out before Congress? Yep, that was Fenton. But Resource Media is a spin-support house for greens, giving them expertise and media-effectiveness support pro bono, funded anonymously by the same big Green outfits that fund Environmentalism, Inc.
Keep in mind that Trout Unlimited has been co-opted for years (remember, they took Pew's money to start TRCP) and is primarily a green group, getting seven figure checks from Big Green every year. Ducks Unlimited is the same way. Getting the same money they have from sportsman members is much more difficult -- and by gosh, no matter who you are, you do what the funders want or you don't get another check. TU and DU say they do it for the trout, or the ducks, but it's trout or ducks uber alles.
It turns out I can probably prove that BHA is almost totally funded by the same multi-billion dollar leftie foundations that fund, for example, the warmunist cultists. I have the documentation I need, I just haven't sat down with it yet. Can't get a fat foundational or corporate grant to do it -- spin pays much better than telling the truth -- that's why, no kidding, there are FOUR public relations staffers for EVERY credentialed reporter in America. But I promise, I will do the math by the end of summer. For now, however, bottom line:
If you're a greenie Fudd or closeted Democrat and think your hunting, or wilderness (either in law or policy) should take precedence over everything, then BHA is for you.
