Back Country Horsemen of America Cares for the Front Country Gems Outside Your Back Door by Sarah Wynne Jackson Back Country Horsemen of America formed over 40 years ago to protect our right to ride horses on public lands. The original founders cherished the wide swaths of wild land that encompass hundreds of thousands of acres with trails inaccessible to … Read More

Back Country Horsemen of America Strikes a Balance Between Recreation and Preservation by Sarah Wynne Jackson From its inception over 40 years ago, Back Country Horsemen of America established a solid reputation as a service organization. Its members are known as hard-working, knowledgeable folks who turn up when there’s a job to be done. Some people wonder why. Why would … Read More

Click here to Open the Winter 2018 Newsletter Inside This Issue Chairmans letter 3 National Report 4-5 Catch Pen 6-7 Youth 7 Chapter Articles 8-11 Bitterroot Clan Honored 12 Welcome Iowa 12

November Edition of this American Land. BCHA members will find segment 14:00 – 21:35 really interesting

Editorial Keep mountain bikes out of wilderness areas Mountain bikers ride up the Cholla Trail in the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park April 29, 2008. (Los Angeles Times) The Times Editorial Board The federal Wilderness Act of 1964 was not vague about its intent: to protect significant and as-yet unspoiled land and wildlife habitat from the ravages of “an … Read More

Operations guide The purpose of this guide is to define common terms and definitions and identify implementation standards for chain saw and crosscut use by Forest Service employees, volunteers, training consultants and cooperators. The FS Saw Program is designed to protect sawyers from accidental injury, illness or death during saw operations. On page 15 of this guide you also see … Read More

Now that HR 1349 has passed out of the House Committee on Natural Resources, the bill could be put before a “floor vote” in the House of Representatives at any time. When, or in what form, the bill might be voted upon is unknown. Give the speed and relative stealth by which this bill recently moved through committee, however, BCHA … Read More

The old JHA (Job Hazard Analysis) has been replaced by the Project Risk Assessment. The newer form list each potential problem and the risk of going forward. This is the chain saw version, there is one for every category just like the JHA. Click here to download the PDF Viewer Presentation called Project Risk Asssessment- Chain Saw

OHLEC is what we would call a new strategy being used when a sawyer approaches any given cutting situation. Using this strategy a sawyer can assess any potential situation in falling or bucking and limbing. The sawyer stating what they see and what their plan is, the rest of the trail crew now knows what to expect. If the sawyer … Read More

In the new chain saw policy Volunteers are permitted to become saw certifiers at the C bucking and Limbing level for both chain saw & cross cut. Starting on page 18 volunteers can view the qualification’s they will be required to demonstrate for each sawyer level. One of the first things a volunteer should do is contact there Regional Saw … Read More

Click here to Open the Fall 2017 Newsletter Inside This Issue Public Lands Report 1-2 From the Chairman’s Saddle 3 I Ride for the brand 3 Membership recruitment 4 The Trails Forever Fund 5 Catch Pen 6-9,12

Here is an older presentation on how to assess a tree the is hang-up, leaning into another tree that may come down on the trail. It discusses complex situations you could be confronted with and what you should safely mitigate the most complex situations there is today when volunteering in your public forest keeping trails open. This helps you to … Read More