Happy 4th of July

PUBLIC LANDS

Your Calls and Letters Made a Difference



Senator Lee Withdraws Public Land Sales from Budget Reconciliation Bill

Great news! BCHA members who called, emailed or sent letters to their representatives in Congress helped stop a proposal for large-scale transfer of federal public land. The proposal included the largest amount of public lands ever proposed for sale in the modern era. 

Recall that as recently as mid-June, 2025, BCHA informed membership that Senator Mike Lee, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, proposed up to 2 to 3 million acres of federal public land be sold to states, local governments or private enterprises. His original proposal applied to both U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in all western states except Montana. His stated intent was to offset some of the costs associated with continuing tax cuts that were first enacted in 2017 while making land available for affordable housing. 

READ MORE...

Young Adult Leadership Development Opportunity: PNTS 2025 Trail Apprentice Program

The application for the PNTS 2025 Trail Apprentice Program opens July 2 and will close on July 21. If you could share this with your network, and on any newsletter or job board that you have, that would be appreciated.

The 2025 PNTS Trail Apprentice Program will provide workforce training to young leaders interested in a career in recreation, natural resource management, conservation, environmental studies, history, or a related field, by providing the opportunity to attend the 2025 National Trails Lands Summit and Training and by offering leadership development, career exploration, networking and educational opportunities amongst the National Trails community. 

In 2025, a group of Apprentices will build leadership skills by working with PNTS on a project. The projects may involve developing skills in communications, social media, fundraising, advocacy and policy, programs, and more. Apprentices will provide valuable perspectives to PNTS work and leave the program with hands-on experience and a greater knowledge of priority issues in the trails community. 

This program is for emerging leaders who:

• Want to build skills in research, public speaking, social media, communications, fundraising, advocacy and policy, or project management; 
• Are interested in learning more about National Scenic and Historic Trails;
• Are able to dedicate 10 hours a month to attending virtual sessions and working on completing a specific project; 
• Want to build connections with other young professionals in the program and those in the trails and public lands community;
• Are able to travel to and attend the 2025 National Trails Lands Summit and Training in San Antonio, Texas from October 19-24th, 2025;
• Are interested in gaining knowledge and skills in trail corridor protection, land acquisition, land management and stewardship, and community engagement;
• Would benefit from building their professional network and building relationships with professionals in the trails, conservation and public lands field;
• Are interested in exploring different career paths and building their resume. 

The program is intended for those aged 20-28 but those aged 18-30 are welcome to apply if they feel they would be a good fit for the program. 

For more information on this program, you can visit the PNTS website  here. 

Crosscut Saw Giveaway – Continuing in 2025!

By Darrell Wallace

Phase 3 has been shipped. Tom and I mailed off thirteen more saws to trail lovers in California (4), Arkansas (2), Arizona (2), Montana (2), Utah, Oregon, and Georgia. All of them agreed to use them on trails, so they qualify!

BIG THANKS to our members who have recently donated saws! Fred Benson (MT – two saws), and Heather Berg (OR).



Don’t forget - Tom is still looking for more saws to recondition and we have several saws ready to go!  Contact me at dlwallace700@gmail.com.  

2025 YOUTH GRANT

The 2025 Youth Grant applications are now open.

Get your application in soon!!

YOUTH GRANT APPLICATION HERE

FRBCH Collaborate with Parker Elizabeth Riding Club (PERC) on Weekend Trail Clearing Project at Popular Front Range Trail

Front Range Back Country Horsemen collaborated with members of Parker Elizabeth Riding Club (PERC), over the weekend of May 16^th and 17^th. The weather cooperated to enable 12 members of both organizations to remove tree fall and clear debris from the trails. Over the course of Friday and Saturday, we made significant progress, removing several downed trees and completing lots of trimming to keep the trail in great shape. The campground also got a thorough cleanup, with broken limbs, downed wire and T-posts cleared away. Our travel miles for this event were 784 miles and 108 volunteer hours.  We cleared 17.5 miles of trails and cleared 13 downed trees off the trail.  Special thanks to Jerry and Chris Amrhein for cooking a delicious meal for us on Saturday night it was a wonderful way to cap off a very productive weekend. Those who participated were Jerry and Chris Amrhein, Karen Schick, Dick and Jeannie Maurer, Jim and Julie Chaney, John Case, Nettie Zillman and Shawna Jarvis. From PERC Joel Latham and Alyson Fritz. I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who participated in this event. Your hard work and dedication are what make our trails so enjoyable for all of us.

BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN OF CENTRAL ARIZONA PARTNERS WITH NATURE NINOS, PRESCOTT, AZ CONNECTING CHILDREN & FAMILIES TO NATURE

City Park Rangers and Community Partners lead child-centered, nature play events at a different trail/park the first Saturday of each month, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Nature Ninos was formed in 2021 for children aged 0 -8, and their families, in helping them access nature and healthy outdoor time.

At every Nature Ninos event, there are take-home freebies, guided nature activities, community, healthy snacks and little lessons on healthy choices and Leave No Trace principles.

February 2025, BCHCAZ members began bringing two equines to the events, for the children and their families to have an up close, personal experience of being around a horse, mule or mini horses. Having two people per equine, for safety reasons - one at the head and one at the tail - as well as mounting blocks and brush buckets, children get to touch, brush, hug and stare in awe at our majestic horses/mules/minis. We also have a table, with an attending volunteer, to answer questions and give handouts.

SEE FULL ARTICLE HERE

You are a member of one of the most important equestrian groups in the nation, if not the world. When we represent Backcountry Horsemen, we stand for everyone who trail rides. We bump into other trail-using groups or individuals as they are biking, hiking, or running on the trails. It’s critical for us to interact with our best foot forward. We want to maintain our “Social Licence to Operate.”

If you haven’t already heard this buzz-phrase, social licence to operate is the perception of others that an industry operates in a legitimate way. In other words, to be able to continue to have and ride horses, we need to be seen as socially acceptable. We must continue to be perceived as stewards and caretakers rather than users and abusers.

There are four ways we can affect how others view us, and therefore how they view horse people in general. Firstly, our rhetoric regarding how we talk to and about our horses is important. Our words become our actions!

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

RETIREMENT

I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.

Do you have a joke or a riddle, that is family friendly? Send them my way at michellewade@bcha.org

CHECK OUT BCHA PROMOTIONAL ITEMS

NEW HATS ARE HERE

BCHA PROMOTIONAL ITEMS HERE

Check out T-Shirts, Safety color long sleeve shirts, and more.

Also, new hats are on the way, keep checking back.

MOBILE INCIDENT REPORTING FORMS

You might have seen the request to submit “incident report forms” for e-bike interactions and horse camps occupied by non stock users, to help provide record of the issue. Of course it is always great to talk to people directly if you can do so safely, however submitting a report can demonstrate a pattern of issues to help change rules or encourage enforcement.

Did you know that you can add these forms to the home screen of your smartphone? Instructions on the website here https://www.bcha.org/incidentreportingform/

Hello Members,

BCHA Volunteer Hours Committee has updated the volunteer hours reporting form. The reason for this change is because we feel we are missing out on opportunities through the USFS and other organizations by not providing trail information that you all have volunteered to maintain. By collecting trail names we open the doors for potential grants and other funds paid to BCH states for their time.

The updated form is available by clicking the link below. And please reach out to the volunteer hours committee if you have any questions. volunteer@bcha.org

ADVERTISERS

ADVERTISING SPACE - Click here if you would like to advertise

2025 Applications Are Available Online

PRICE CHANGE for 2025!

CLICK HERE FOR FAQ



CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION

SHARE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

Does your chapter have a trail, project or great story you would like to share? Please send them to michellewade@bcha.org. We will do our best to include them here.



• Please send as Word doc and pictures as attachments not in the word doc.
• Provide description: project, place, purpose, etc.
• Please include the name of person and chapter submitting the pictures.

2025-2026 BCHA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE