Back Country Horsemen of America values our nation’s beautiful landscape and works hard to protect our right to enjoy these lands by horseback. They also believe in being good stewards of this limited natural resource by practicing sound outdoor ethics, participating in trail maintenance, and sharing the trails with other users. To this end, BCH folks forge strong relationships with … Read More

As a recipient of one of the $1000.00 BCHA Grants, fifteen members of the Sierra Freepackers headed to Granite Creek on Sunday, July 5, 2015. Our original plan was to pack in to 77 Corral and start on the removal of the stock fence per the Forest Service request. After the Forest Service looked at usage of the area and that … Read More

How long does it take to tear down and replace a 1000 foot fence?  Two days – if you have 30 Back Country Horsemen of Washington (BCHW) volunteers, a tractor with a backhoe, two tractors with frontend loaders, two quads with trailers plus every tool imaginable to dig post holes in rocky terrain. Bar B Q Flats, a pine forest … Read More

Click here to Open the Summer 2015 Newsletter Inside This Issue From the Secretary’s Desk 2 Tales of the Trails 2 From the Chairman’s Saddle 3 National Reports 4,5 The Catch Pen 5, 6-7, 12 Reporting from Mariposa County 8,9 From the Executive Director’s Desk 11 The Trails Forever Fund 11 NextGen BCHA 12

Summary: Congress must fully fund and permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The LWCF remains the premier federal program to conserve our nation’s land, water, historic, and recreation heritage. Yet, the LWCF will expire on September 30th, 2018, unless Congress acts immediately. Download Printable Version of this document. The LWCF’s 50-Year Track Record of Enhancing Recreation and Conservation1 The … Read More

Summary: During heavy fire-fighting seasons, the U.S. Forest Service is forced to withdraw funds from other accounts, including recreation and fire prevention, in order to direct resources to fighting wildfires. This “fire borrowing” comes at the expense of projects that often are left incomplete, perpetuating the likelihood of greater fires in the future and—in the case of recreation—adding to the … Read More

Summary: The desire of some states and local governments to own or control federal public lands carries significant repercussions for backcountry pack and saddle stock users. State-managed lands, for example, typically do not embrace the multiple-use mandate that guides federal land management agencies and includes promoting diverse opportunities for public outdoor recreation. There remains great uncertainty as to whether the … Read More

BCHA is one of the organizations supporting the the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Please read the letter in support of the LWCF bill supported by BCHA and many other similar organizations. The United States’ Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a Federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants … Read More

Buffalo River BCH Arkansas Puts on the second annual  2015 Kids Camp! The Buffalo River Back Country Horsemen celebrated their second annual Kids’Camping Weekend at the Woolum horse camp near St. Joe on June 26-28. Even more activities than last year were planned for the young equestrians. Among the exercises in horsemanship and agility were races to the end of … Read More

Back Country Horsemen of America Donated $14.4 Million in Volunteer Value Last Year Back Country Horsemen of America protects our right to ride horses on public lands, cherishing America’s heritage of traveling this landscape as our ancestors did. That’s not just a conviction; it’s a way of life. For over four decades, Back Country Horsemen have volunteered their time, skill, … Read More

Do you have a service project you would like to accomplish on a nearby national forest? BCHA continues to operate under a five-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) with the U.S. Forest Service related to trail maintenance and public education and outreach. We recommend you share a copy of the MOU with your local forest. Please see the Public Lands Update … Read More

Dr. Rob Atwill of the University of California-Davis was a fantastic guest speaker during BCHA’s recent National Board Meeting held in Sacramento. He summarized the latest science that demonstrates native mammals, including squirrels and marmot, are far more likely to be the source of water-borne pathogens than either livestock or pack stock. In one study at Yosemite National Park, a … Read More