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  #1  
Old 10-04-2017, 04:57 PM
leviwhitney leviwhitney is offline
 
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Default Anyone interested in a U of L Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Club?

Hello!

My name is Levi Whitney. I am living in Coalhurst, Alberta and attending the University of Lethbridge.

I just recently became a member of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and I am trying to start a club at the U of L.

BHA has a very specific mandate, in protecting wilderness habitat, and preserving our backcountry hunting/angling opportunities, by leaving no trace/minimum impact to the habitats in question.

If you are a student at the U of L and interested in joining, please message me on here or email me at williamswhitney@uleth.ca!

Thank you!
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  #2  
Old 10-05-2017, 10:13 AM
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3blade 3blade is offline
 
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Hey Levi welcome to AO. Great to see someone who wants to get involved.

However, there are some things you should know about the Alberta version of BHA: several of their board members are heavily involved in Y2Y and were involved in getting the grizzly hunt cancelled. Kevin V.T. is banned from this site for numerous anti hunting rants. They also publicly sided with the GOA during the recent castle park creation, more or less saying they are fine with an eventual hunting closure as long as ATVs got banned. In fact, they have not done a single thing nor issued a single statement to support hunting in backcountry areas. All of their work has centered around supporting access restrictions. So they aren't real popular here, to say the least.

Unfortunately, these Canmore granolas are using the BHA name and all the hard work Land has done to further their own agenda. A lot of the folks who are signing up don't understand that each chapter is independent and how the people running it here have acted and are acting. When questioned, they continue to refer to habitat concerns, with no guarantee that they support continued foot access to the habitat for hunting purposes.

Many of us had high hopes for ABHA as a hunting advocacy group with a clean start, but things have not gone that way. Feel free to post here or PM if you have any questions. All the best with your future endeavors.
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  #3  
Old 10-05-2017, 11:15 AM
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Selkirk Selkirk is offline
 
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Thumbs up Levi Whitney

.
to the Alberta Outdoorsmen Forums!


As an alternative to the BH&A, check out the 'Lethbridge Fish and Game Association'.
They are directly affiliated with the AFGA ... http://www.afga.org/

Selkirk
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  #4  
Old 10-05-2017, 11:25 AM
NUK SOO KOW NUK SOO KOW is offline
 
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X2 on the above posts. ABHA are bad news. They will do nothing positive in the outdoors community. I for one will never support them. LFGA and AFGA are definatley the way to go!
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  #5  
Old 10-05-2017, 11:46 AM
Headwaters Headwaters is offline
 
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Hi Levi. Alberta Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is an organization of Albertans who hunt and fish on foot, support only fair chase and put habitat first. Glad you have joined them. The conspiracy theorists like to keep throwing Y2Y at us (not sure what is so awful about Y2Y anyway - everything I have seen shows them tone about keeping wild country wild, not about taking positions on fishing and hunting, although they do like their national parks) but from everything I have seen the ABHA is active, committed Alberta hunters and anglers, mostly in their twenties and thirties. Refreshing to have a group that hasn't turned into a bunch of off-readers.
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  #6  
Old 10-05-2017, 11:54 AM
Headwaters Headwaters is offline
 
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It is a lie to say that ABHA said they are "fine with an eventual hunting closure in the Castle." They said exactly the opposite. They are the only group that publicly supported the government's proposal to keep hunting, even in the provincial park. They also supported OHV restrictions to restore habitat that is badly damaged, to stop the displacement of elk from habitat where they used to be common and to improve the hunting and fishing experience. The AFGA burned their bridges in the meantime with an aggressive and hostile defence of off-roading that could have cost us any hope of continued hunting access. You are free to oppose ABHA but not to spread deliberate lies.
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  #7  
Old 10-05-2017, 12:20 PM
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3blade 3blade is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Headwaters View Post
It is a lie to say that ABHA said they are "fine with an eventual hunting closure in the Castle." They said exactly the opposite. They are the only group that publicly supported the government's proposal to keep hunting, even in the provincial park. They also supported OHV restrictions to restore habitat that is badly damaged, to stop the displacement of elk from habitat where they used to be common and to improve the hunting and fishing experience. The AFGA burned their bridges in the meantime with an aggressive and hostile defence of off-roading that could have cost us any hope of continued hunting access. You are free to oppose ABHA but not to spread deliberate lies.
They knowingly accepted what is a thinly veiled attempt at closure. I'm paraphrasing, but "for 2017 hunting will continue as planned and then be reevaluated" - that's closure talk. We all dang well know what reevaluated means. It'll be another cypress hills.

I'm not in agreement with the AFGA position either, but there should have been absolute zero acceptance or support of a park from any hunting group without 100% guaranteed continuation of licensed hunting access to public lands. For petes sake, that's their thing!!! They betrayed every one of their members.

When the GOA introduces restrictions to all but treaty hunting next year, I'll bring this up to remind you exactly what the ABHA stood for, the exact opposite of what their mandate is. This was perhaps the biggest disappointment in recent history. A group that should have stood up and shown that hunters care about the habitat and a negotiation that could have set precedent. Instead, they kissed up to naturalists. Absolute disgrace.

As for Y2Y, they coordinated the anti-grizzly hunt efforts that were funded by MEC. Deny all you want, it's common knowledge. Along with their ever changing hunting policy that has been well documented.
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  #8  
Old 10-05-2017, 12:40 PM
crazy_davey crazy_davey is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3blade View Post
Hey Levi welcome to AO. Great to see someone who wants to get involved.

However, there are some things you should know about the Alberta version of BHA: several of their board members are heavily involved in Y2Y and were involved in getting the grizzly hunt cancelled. Kevin V.T. is banned from this site for numerous anti hunting rants. They also publicly sided with the GOA during the recent castle park creation, more or less saying they are fine with an eventual hunting closure as long as ATVs got banned. In fact, they have not done a single thing nor issued a single statement to support hunting in backcountry areas. All of their work has centered around supporting access restrictions. So they aren't real popular here, to say the least.

Unfortunately, these Canmore granolas are using the BHA name and all the hard work Land has done to further their own agenda. A lot of the folks who are signing up don't understand that each chapter is independent and how the people running it here have acted and are acting. When questioned, they continue to refer to habitat concerns, with no guarantee that they support continued foot access to the habitat for hunting purposes.

Many of us had high hopes for ABHA as a hunting advocacy group with a clean start, but things have not gone that way. Feel free to post here or PM if you have any questions. All the best with your future endeavors.
It's nice to see some members can't be easily fooled by organizations such as ABHA! Good on ya for telling it like it is!
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Old 10-05-2017, 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by crazy_davey View Post
It's nice to see some members can't be easily fooled by organizations such as ABHA! Good on ya for telling it like it is!
x2.
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  #10  
Old 10-05-2017, 12:53 PM
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Thanks guys. Here's the thing...words can not convey how disappointed I am that things have gone how they have. After watching the epic and nearly unprecedented success of BHA in the US, to see an Alberta chapter form and then have it descend into this mess just kills me. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that looks to be lost because of KVT, AVB, NK and a couple others. How one well known group of trouble makers can be allowed to cause so much loss is beyond me.

I won't support them, but on all honesty I hope that somehow, some way the grass roots members see what is happening and right the ship.
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  #11  
Old 10-05-2017, 12:58 PM
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Albertadiver Albertadiver is online now
 
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Nice to see that people are consistently 'outing' BHA and Y2Y for what they are. (wolf in sheep's clothing)
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  #12  
Old 10-05-2017, 01:00 PM
Gray Wolf Gray Wolf is offline
 
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Red face Ouch !

Well it looks like the new-guy OP (Levi Whitney) stepped into this one, Unintentionally I'm sure.

Hope he realises all threads here don't go like this.

Welcome to the AO
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  #13  
Old 10-05-2017, 01:03 PM
matt1984 matt1984 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3blade View Post
Hey Levi welcome to AO. Great to see someone who wants to get involved.

However, there are some things you should know about the Alberta version of BHA: several of their board members are heavily involved in Y2Y and were involved in getting the grizzly hunt cancelled. Kevin V.T. is banned from this site for numerous anti hunting rants. They also publicly sided with the GOA during the recent castle park creation, more or less saying they are fine with an eventual hunting closure as long as ATVs got banned. In fact, they have not done a single thing nor issued a single statement to support hunting in backcountry areas. All of their work has centered around supporting access restrictions. So they aren't real popular here, to say the least.

Unfortunately, these Canmore granolas are using the BHA name and all the hard work Land has done to further their own agenda. A lot of the folks who are signing up don't understand that each chapter is independent and how the people running it here have acted and are acting. When questioned, they continue to refer to habitat concerns, with no guarantee that they support continued foot access to the habitat for hunting purposes.

Many of us had high hopes for ABHA as a hunting advocacy group with a clean start, but things have not gone that way. Feel free to post here or PM if you have any questions. All the best with your future endeavors.
Agreed, on all points. Levi, if you do some reading into Y2Y you will likely come to the same conclusions. There are many back country-foot access hunters here that will not support BHA. Y2Y is pushing to close grizzly habitat (even to foot access) which seems in contradiction to BHA's quoted goals.
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  #14  
Old 10-05-2017, 01:11 PM
Bub Bub is offline
 
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all threads here don't go like this.
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  #15  
Old 10-05-2017, 01:28 PM
leviwhitney leviwhitney is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3blade View Post
They knowingly accepted what is a thinly veiled attempt at closure. I'm paraphrasing, but "for 2017 hunting will continue as planned and then be reevaluated" - that's closure talk. We all dang well know what reevaluated means. It'll be another cypress hills.

I'm not in agreement with the AFGA position either, but there should have been absolute zero acceptance or support of a park from any hunting group without 100% guaranteed continuation of licensed hunting access to public lands. For petes sake, that's their thing!!! They betrayed every one of their members.

When the GOA introduces restrictions to all but treaty hunting next year, I'll bring this up to remind you exactly what the ABHA stood for, the exact opposite of what their mandate is. This was perhaps the biggest disappointment in recent history. A group that should have stood up and shown that hunters care about the habitat and a negotiation that could have set precedent. Instead, they kissed up to naturalists. Absolute disgrace.

As for Y2Y, they coordinated the anti-grizzly hunt efforts that were funded by MEC. Deny all you want, it's common knowledge. Along with their ever changing hunting policy that has been well documented.
I'm not sure where you paraphrased that from but I found a similar statement at this address: https://mywildalberta.ca/hunting/hun...tle-parks.aspx. It also states "While some restrictions may be introduced, hunting will remain an important tool for managing wildlife populations.".

As for the grizzly hunt... Is it not our responsibility to make sure that we do not hunt species to complete extinction?

I am all for learning more on Alberta's history of wildlife management and controversial topics pertaining to this but if you could please include concrete facts or links that support arguments that would be very helpful.

I also have a thought on teaming with with "granola" types... Would it not be more effective to try and work together? I mean, really we all want the same thing... To let future generations of Albertans enjoy the world-class outdoor opportunities this province has to offer.

Thank you!
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  #16  
Old 10-05-2017, 01:33 PM
Gray Wolf Gray Wolf is offline
 
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Thumbs up HaHa !

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bub View Post
Nice gif!

This thread needed some comic relief
.
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  #17  
Old 10-05-2017, 01:44 PM
leviwhitney leviwhitney is offline
 
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https://y2y.net/about-us/policies/y2...fishing-policy

https://y2y.net/about-us/faq

Nothing against hunting here... Can someone offer some evidence against ethical hunting?
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  #18  
Old 10-05-2017, 01:56 PM
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Albertadiver Albertadiver is online now
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leviwhitney View Post
https://y2y.net/about-us/policies/y2...fishing-policy

https://y2y.net/about-us/faq

Nothing against hunting here... Can someone offer some evidence against ethical hunting?
http://www.albertaoutdoorsmen.ca/arc...ts-may-08.html

http://www.albertaoutdoorsmen.ca/arc...s-june-08.html

http://www.albertaoutdoorsmen.ca/arc...s-july-08.html

http://www.albertaoutdoorsmen.ca/arc...ts-aug-08.html

For your reading pleasure.

Thx
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  #19  
Old 10-05-2017, 02:25 PM
crazy_davey crazy_davey is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leviwhitney View Post
https://y2y.net/about-us/policies/y2...fishing-policy

https://y2y.net/about-us/faq

Nothing against hunting here... Can someone offer some evidence against ethical hunting?
You seriously need to do more research.
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  #20  
Old 10-05-2017, 02:37 PM
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3blade 3blade is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leviwhitney View Post
I'm not sure where you paraphrased that from but I found a similar statement at this address: https://mywildalberta.ca/hunting/hun...tle-parks.aspx. It also states "While some restrictions may be introduced, hunting will remain an important tool for managing wildlife populations.".

As for the grizzly hunt... Is it not our responsibility to make sure that we do not hunt species to complete extinction?

I am all for learning more on Alberta's history of wildlife management and controversial topics pertaining to this but if you could please include concrete facts or links that support arguments that would be very helpful.

I also have a thought on teaming with with "granola" types... Would it not be more effective to try and work together? I mean, really we all want the same thing... To let future generations of Albertans enjoy the world-class outdoor opportunities this province has to offer.

Thank you!
Yes, that is the statement. Please don't take this as a slight, but those of us who have been around the hunting world for a while (I'm not that old either) saw similar statements for Rock Lake, Cypress Hills, and numerous other areas under various designations. The long and short of it is licensed hunting is invariably reduced or eliminated over time. Notice it does not say "licensed hunting"...that is a very important difference. In fact the minister went so far as to call the area "treaty 8 lands" and one does not require any special insight to read between those lines. Can't do it all at once, because then people get mad.

Regarding the grizzly hunt...oh boy. There are layers and layers of meetings, memos, documents, on and off the record statements by provincial employees, etc. Enough for its own novel. Two versions: the official one, which said we need a minimum of 1000 mature bears to have a sustaining population and only have 690ish.

The other version, is that there were multiple concerns with the methodology, results, lack of transparency, political meddling, anti hunt letter writing campaigns financed by MEC and American anti hunting groups, gag orders and more. It was not by any stretch conclusive or widely accepted. For example, they effectively disregarded the willmore/kakwa area, home to one of the densest population of g-bears. Also, decided that bears can't or don't cross provincial or national borders. Several ABHA board members were involved in various capacities.

The granola types. here's the thing, they don't want to work with you. They don't want non-treaty hunters on the landscape. The will happily use your opposition to ATVs, mountain bikes, horses, hunting females, hunting young males, rifle hunting, all firearm hunting, compound bow hunting, and then all hunting. The well meaning but naive foot access guy who hunts with a backpack and long bow supports it all the way until he gets locked out and sits there wondering what happened. Yes, ATVs are a problem, but that's not where it will stop. It should have been written into the legislation that licensed hunting will continue, as it is with willmore.

As far as concrete links and press releases during the process - you will rarely find them outside of the final legislation/regulation. The page you linked will disappear when changes come out, suggest you screen shot it. This stuff goes on behind closed doors - exclusively now that AGMAG has been replaced with AGPAC. the ruling comes down, and that's that. Occasionally they offer a "open house" or some such, but the decisions have been made and there is no opportunity for effective imput.

See the elk island situation that occurred this year. ABHA? Silent. Public lands, public funding, opportunity for well managed licensed hunting, nope. I got told not to discuss it on social media, because "it's a federal matter". Which is garbage because Suffield got changed due to public pressure.
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  #21  
Old 10-05-2017, 02:41 PM
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https://albertandpcaucus.ca/news/pos...re-generations

Lots about First Nations, a nod to Y2Y, nothing about hunters
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  #22  
Old 10-05-2017, 03:13 PM
NUK SOO KOW NUK SOO KOW is offline
 
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Don't forget about fishing. There is risk with these groups to have all eastern slopes recreational fishing closed as well. Cutty's, bulls and rm whites are considered threatened. Already surveys with AEP. Looks exactly like what happened with castle. Instead of proper management or a solution, shut it down.
As for trying to work together... ABHA are all Phillips/Ndp supporters. We all know how well the NDP works "together".


Example:ABHA supported castle park... dogs must now be on leash no longer than two meters. How am I to hunt grouse(which I've done for 20+ years) with My pointer(s) on a leash?? Why did ABHA not try to stand up for hunters in this???

And as in one of the posts above, ABHA supports hunting in foot only. Ok. I am fortunate to be young and healthy enough that I can do this. But my father cannot due to age. My cousin cannot due to a disability. Both used ATV to access an area on designated trails, and would walk a shorter distance to their tree stand or hill to sit in. I find this outright discriminatory of ABHA to want hunting and fishing only for those fit/able to do so on foot. They are alienating a lot of people from hunting/fishing the back country unless they can walk. That is not right.
AFGA supports all users. Atv or not. And rightly so. If some one chooses to hunt and access on foot by all means. But if some people use atvs to access an area on designated trails to hunt or fish , that should be ok too. At least everyone will be able to get out there and hunt/fish and enjoy our back country. Not just those able to walk it.
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