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November 22, 2016

Winner Alert! Celebrating the Foliage, Fish, and Fall Hunts That Make Us #PublicLandsProud

Thanks to those of you in #PublicLandsProud nation who shared their best photos from your fall season spent on public lands! There were some really impressive submissions, and it was the tough job of our guest judge, Allie D’Andrea of First Lite, to ultimately select a winner.  But after much deliberation, here are the winning shots:

First place: Instagrammer @therouse

Allie D’Andrea: “This photo steals the show for me, well the caption too. ‘Show them beautiful places, teach them conservation, and give them independence.’ Although I enjoy the solitude of public lands, I think sharing the beauty and experience with loved ones is particularly gratifying and makes the connection come full circle.” First runner-up: Instagrammer @ab_rio

 

Allie D’Andrea: “Let’s be honest, all of the landscape shots that were submitted into the #publiclandsproud photo contest were beautiful. It was the caption of this one (yes, you’ve swooned me with your words yet again!) in particular that strung a chord, ‘…feeling free and without a care in the world.'”

Second runner-up: Instagrammer @alanwrites

 

Allie D’Andrea: “Part of the romance of hunting public lands, to me, is the amount of hard work it requires. This photo bottles up that hard work in one shot, how the weight of your pack can feel so heavy yet so rewarding all at the same time.”

Thanks to everyone that tagged photos this year and showed the nation why we are #PublicLandsProud! You keep showing us what makes you #PublicLandsProud, and we’ll continue to protect your access to quality fish and wildlife habitat.

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Winner Alert! Celebrating the Foliage, Fish, and Fall Hunts That Make Us #PublicLandsProud

Thanks to those of you in #PublicLandsProud nation who shared their best photos from your fall season spent on public lands! There were some really impressive submissions, and it was the tough job of our guest judge, Allie D’Andrea of First Lite, to ultimately select a winner.  But after much deliberation, here are the winning shots:

First place: Instagrammer @therouse

Allie D’Andrea: “This photo steals the show for me, well the caption too. ‘Show them beautiful places, teach them conservation, and give them independence.’ Although I enjoy the solitude of public lands, I think sharing the beauty and experience with loved ones is particularly gratifying and makes the connection come full circle.” First runner-up: Instagrammer @ab_rio

 

Allie D’Andrea: “Let’s be honest, all of the landscape shots that were submitted into the #publiclandsproud photo contest were beautiful. It was the caption of this one (yes, you’ve swooned me with your words yet again!) in particular that strung a chord, ‘…feeling free and without a care in the world.'”

Second runner-up: Instagrammer @alanwrites

 

Allie D’Andrea: “Part of the romance of hunting public lands, to me, is the amount of hard work it requires. This photo bottles up that hard work in one shot, how the weight of your pack can feel so heavy yet so rewarding all at the same time.”

Thanks to everyone that tagged photos this year and showed the nation why we are #PublicLandsProud! You keep showing us what makes you #PublicLandsProud, and we’ll continue to protect your access to quality fish and wildlife habitat.

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November 17, 2016

Oregon Hunters and Anglers Support New Approach to Backcountry Conservation

Hundreds of local sportsmen and women are calling on the BLM to manage intact, undeveloped fish and wildlife habitat for its unique backcountry values, while maintaining public hunting and fishing access

VALE, Ore. — Today, hundreds of hunters and anglers who enjoy public access to backcountry areas in southeast Oregon called on the Bureau of Land Management to implement a new land management tool for conserving intact, undeveloped fish and wildlife habitat areas. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership delivered a petition signed by 554 local sportsmen and women, who see an opportunity for the agency to try a new approach in these unique backcountry habitats that support elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, upland birds, and other species.

Conservation groups have urged the BLM to include Backcountry Conservation Areas in an amendment to its Southeast Oregon Resource Management Plan, and the public has shown overwhelming support.

“The Backcountry Conservation Area concept promotes conserving the primitive, open nature of the landscape, while allowing flexibility in land management activities that will enhance the quality of these areas for critters we care about,” says Walt Van Dyke, a chukar hunter, retired wildlife biologist, and Southeast Oregon representative for the Oregon Hunter Association. “With few areas of our country untouched by development, I want to continue to see places like Slaughter Gulch maintained for its backcountry characteristics and further improved to give other hunters the same opportunities I’ve had to pursue deer, elk, and birds there.”

The Vale District of the BLM is in the process of preparing alternatives for the Southeastern Oregon Resource Management Plan. The draft RMP is expected in 2017.

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

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Why Orvis is Committed to Conservation and Public Lands Access for All

A Q&A with vice chairman David Perkins on Montana’s public lands riches, the fascinating science of conservation, and why giving back to groups like the TRCP is just good business sense

We feel pretty lucky to have a great partner in The Orvis Company—these guys obviously love hunting and fishing as much as we do, but they’ve also built their business model around giving back to the resources that support our best days afield. And, no matter where you shop for your gear, the folks at Orvis believe in your ability to access public lands.

That’s why this month for our Public Lands Challenge, Orvis will match every new donation to the TRCP dollar for dollar. And, if you’ve donated before—we appreciate it, by the way!—they’ll also match any increase to your previous gift, doubling your impact for public lands access and enhancements.

Dave Perkins, Vice Chairman, Orvis. Image courtesy of Orvis.

David Perkins, vice chairman of The Orvis Company, explains why this effort is important enough to spend more than 5 percent of their pre-tax profits on conservation efforts, and what makes him #PublicLandsProud.

TRCP: Orvis has a donated more than $20 million to conservation since its inception—why is the company so committed to conservation values and how do you engage your customers in the process of giving back?

David Perkins: Quite simply, our bottom line depends on sportsmen and women enjoying the natural resources in our country, and organizations like the TRCP have led the way in proving that if we’re not actively working to enhance habitat or protect our access to public lands, we could lose it. It’s a personal commitment to conservation, but it’s also just good business.

TRCP: What is your earliest memory in the outdoors, and when was your first aha moment about our responsibility to the places we love to hunt and fish?

DP: When I was about ten years old, my father taught me that in order for us to hunt ruffed grouse, like I loved doing, there needed to be early successional forest—the kind of young trees that grow back after a clearing effect, like a fire. I remember being so surprised, since it seemed counterintuitive. By cutting, you actually create habitat for these birds. That stuck with me. I think, since then, I’ve always been fascinated by conservation science and how different species interact with each other and the environment. As hunters and anglers, we’re a part of that. So, people need to be educated, and we all have to be willing to give back to sustain the things we enjoy.

TRCP: Why this issue? What makes you #PublicLandsProud?

DP: Public lands are our largest landscape, and not everyone can afford to access private lands. We have to safeguard those opportunities. I hunt public lands in Montana, and enjoy the state’s generous public stream access, and that makes me #PublicLandsProud. But, it’s a cycle: If people can’t access these lands, they can’t use them and appreciate them, so we’ll have fewer people to fight for them.

Keep the cycle of support for public lands going, and help us guarantee quality places for all Americans to hunt and fish. Donate by November 30, and double your impact.

Thanks, Orvis!

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More Funding for Wildlife Refuges is Needed, But Midwesterners Won’t Wait

The communities around these five National Wildlife Refuges won’t let their public lands fall into disrepair—they’re stepping up to make conservation happen

The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) spans more than 150 million acres in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and with 337 refuges open to hunting and 276 boasting great fishing opportunities, these federal lands are a piece of our nation’s unique and complex public lands system. Despite the value of our public lands, gifted to future generations by people like Theodore Roosevelt and celebrated by sportsmen and Americans of every stripe, the agencies that work to maintain and restore habitat in parks, forests, and refuges have been systematically underfunded by Congress, fueling discontent with federal land managers.

However, when I recently visited five refuges in the Midwest with the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) Coalition, I saw collaborative attempts to close the gap created by lack of funds. Local communities weren’t resentful of the backlogs or shortfalls—they were stepping up to help.

These partnerships illustrate the power of public lands to bring people together, and the resulting enhancements are providing habitat connectivity between private and public lands and improved outdoor recreation opportunities that help drive local spending.

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amazing!

Here’s what cool, collaborative conservation looks like:

Prairie meets pavement. One of our nation’s newest refuges, the Hackmatack NWR in Ringwood, Illinois is in the process of conserving and connecting critical wetland, prairie, and oak savanna habitat in the greater Chicago, Rockford, and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. This refuge is mainly funded by the Friends of Hackmatack and partners, like the local Audubon and Ducks Unlimited chapters, and without this financial aid the refuge staff would not be able to conserve habitat for 109 species in the area. Friends of Hackmatack and on-the-ground nonprofits coordinate on restoration projects that enhance monarch butterflies and other pollinators’ habitat, too.

Private landowners, partners, and public dollars unite. Once the site of Aldo Leopold’s vacation home, the Leopold Wetlands Management District in Portage, Wisconsin honors the father of wildlife management by safeguarding 12,000 acres of Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs). The WPAs are areas where habitat is restored using funds from the sale of the Federal Duck Stamp to restore critical wetland and grassland habitat for migratory birds. The community plays a supportive role in maintaining and conserving these lands, as well. With help from the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, private landowners can receive financial and technical assistance to improve waterfowl habitat on their own land adjacent to the refuge. Traveling with the CARE Coalition, I was fortunate enough to be welcomed by landowners Dave and Shelly, who showed us habitat improvements on their hundreds of acres of property. They explained how the Leopold Wetlands Management District’s fire management team schedules controlled burns to restore lupine vegetation for Karner blue butterflies, an endangered pollinator species, and to provide cover for upland game birds, such as pheasant.

Understaffed, but rallying on. The Necedah NWR in Tomah, Wisconsin hosts stopover habitat for migratory birds, including mallards, northern pintails, and other waterfowl species. While great jobs are available, many positions remain vacant at the refuge due to lack of funds. The current staff conducts critical wetland projects that enhance habitat for these birds. They’re hurting for additional staff, but they’ve done a fantastic job providing hunting and fishing services for the local community, including whitetail, waterfowl, and wild turkey hunts. The refuge also hosts the national Junior Duck Stamp contest where youth can submit their artwork and possibly have it displayed on the five-dollar stamp. While designing the stamps, children learn about wetlands and waterfowl conservation.

Trout Unlimited restoration project in Bloomington, Wisconsin.

You break it, they fix it. During our time at the Upper Mississippi River NWR in the La Crosse, Minnesota, we saw the damage created by the Army Corps of Engineers through the lock and dams and dredging projects. The refuge staff is working on restoring the wetlands back to their original state by flooding the river and removing invasive species. The dredging of the Mississippi River in Winona, Minn., decreases sediment, but the Gulf Coast feels the burden because lands in Louisiana and other Gulf states are eroding. The importance of funding restoration projects in the river is critical for about 45 percent of the world’s canvasback duck population and for fisheries located in the Gulf of Mexico.

Vandalism creeping in. The Upper Mississippi River NWR is a great example of where people can exercise their right to access public forests, grasslands, and wetlands, even if they live in a populous city, Minneapolis. Another example, the Minnesota Valley NWR, provides education and access opportunities for Bloomington, a suburban area around the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, the refuge is understaffed and has difficulty keeping up enough of a presence to prevent vandalism, which also contributes to maintenance backlogs. Pollution, such as litter, is also a conservation challenge here, so volunteers and partners help fill the void by providing additional hands in restoring habitat.

While these collaborative efforts between local and federal agencies and organizations are something to celebrate, they can only do so much for the National Wildlife Refuge System without adequate funding. The NWRS needs more funding to help broaden collaborative efforts and not fatigue partners. When our public land managers see budget cuts, our hunting and fishing opportunities are on the chopping block. Congress has until December 9 to figure out the full funding picture for 2017 or punt these decisions to the next Congress. Whatever they decide, we’ll continue pushing for better investments in conservation as the cornerstone of our proud public lands traditions and the outdoor recreation economy that supports local spending.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

CHEERS TO CONSERVATION

Theodore Roosevelt’s experiences hunting and fishing certainly fueled his passion for conservation, but it seems that a passion for coffee may have powered his mornings. In fact, Roosevelt’s son once said that his father’s coffee cup was “more in the nature of a bathtub.” TRCP has partnered with Afuera Coffee Co. to bring together his two loves: a strong morning brew and a dedication to conservation. With your purchase, you’ll not only enjoy waking up to the rich aroma of this bolder roast—you’ll be supporting the important work of preserving hunting and fishing opportunities for all.

$4 from each bag is donated to the TRCP, to help continue their efforts of safeguarding critical habitats, productive hunting grounds, and favorite fishing holes for future generations.

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