Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 8 posts:

• "After 4 years of failure, I finally punched my first turkey tag. 3.6 miles into national forest." by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "Public lands giving back, elk burgers with sautéed morels." by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "Not a bad haul for 3 hours" by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "Happy Cakeday, r/BHA! Today you're 8" by u/AutoModerator
• "Rendezvous Camping" by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "2021 Hunting Giveaway" by u/redditwontresetpass
• "What is BHA's exact position on the sell of public lands?" by u/Lebenkunstler
• "Lifetime membership?" by u/DontRedFlagMeBro

I reserved one of the camp sites you can drive up to expecting a friend and their family to come, but they backed out. Camp sites are supposed to be good for 4-8 people but now it is just me and my wife. Does anybody want to share the spot?

Is it situational? Or is there a set of criteria? Is it always against it?

I'm currently an annual member. I'm considering doing the Weatherby Gold lifetime membership and just doing 10 payments or so.

Has anybody done this? I'm just wondering if it's worth it over staying annual.

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 10 posts:

• "Had a great BHA moment the other day" by u/drak0bsidian
• "I grew up hunting ducks on private fields and made a vow this year to get after my favorite game animals on our public waterways. Failures slowly became successes and I can say I gave this season my all and made good on that vow. Thank you, everybody who fights to keep these waters public." by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "Trump Administration Denies Permit for Alaska’s Pebble Mine" by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "VA National Forest Bird Down, This Hunt Was A Ton of Fun" by u/trevor8vt
• "BHA is encouraging you to write your representatives to support the North American Grasslands Conservation Act" by u/RhythmMethodMan
• "See you tomorrow people!" by u/MNsquatcher
• "Public lands giving back!" by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "Honor and Remember" by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "Title" by u/o0NOYETI0o
• "BHA Holiday Party 2020" by u/o0NOYETI0o

I've been a member/advocate of BHA for many years and proudly wear my Public Land Owner hat as often as I can. It's always a great conversation starter, usually for the positive but every so often it's a good educational tool for people whose first reaction is to attack.

I was at a brewery in the city (I live in the mountains) the other day between meetings, wearing my hat, and sitting at the bar next to the register. A couple came in and checked in at the register first; the woman was wearing a Public Land Owner shirt! The bartender asked us both what that slogan meant, since she had seen my hat but just hadn't asked.

The woman replied first, explaining what it means to her as an individual, a hunter, and why she wears the shirt. Since I work in conservation as well as just being a private advocate, my spiel is usually a bit more 'technical,' so when she asked me what it meant I explained my perspective, too, tying in what it could mean to non-hunters or anglers.

A few other brewery folks and customers got involved in the conversation - everyone was positive and open to hearing each other. It was just a really nice interaction between a bunch of strangers, likely ranging the political spectrum, talking about our public lands and what it means to be an advocate of our most valued shared resources.

That's all! Just wanted to share the story.

Hey all,

I recently moved to the southeastern US from the midwest. I'm looking for a place that's got a similar feel to the BWCA in northern Minnesota. I've spent tons of time up in the BWCA and I'm looking to see if there's something in the south eastern portion of the country that has a similar feel, canoe in camp sites, primitive, secluded, etc.

Let me know what you all can share, I appreciate it!

Anyone going to Muster in the Mountains this weekend in the Catskills? I was at the venue yesterday, it’s pretty awesome. Looking forward to a grand ol time!

To those who attended, what was your favorite thing about this years Rendezvous?

Go hunt squirrels and pick-up trash. Bring new hunters along and sign-up BHA members. Win respect, gratitude, and the Trashy Trophy just like District 1 did in 2019 and District 6 did in 2020. Behold!

Official TSH Rules

Rules and Regulations set for the 2020-21 season by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission (NCWRC) must be adhered to at all times by everyone.

Competing teams are defined by the NCWRC’s nine districts shown here.

Participants may hunt and clean on ANY public land (federally managed or state owned) and all points accrued and registered will contribute to the participant’s team regardless of where the points are obtained

Points will be awarded via tail-count & pounds of trash with bonus points available for bringing out new hunters & signing up new/renewing members to BHA. The breakdown is as follows:

• 1000 points per tail
• 5 points per ounce of trash w/ a maximum point value of 500 per single item (i.e., anything above 6.25 lbs)
• The 500-point max becomes pretty crucial when you find a big cache of big trash (real life examples include: a pile of old tires, rolls of carpet, broken coolers, steel drums, etc.). Just record an honest estimation of how many of these items you pull out and do the quick math.
• District 1 won the first TSH in 2019 on trash alone and most of that poundage was from items that hit the 500-max limit. Rugs, appliances, tires, doors, paint cans half-full or more, etc., etc.
• 1000 points for each New Hunter
• An individual can only qualify for the new-hunter bonus for one hunt during the tournament.
• A new hunter will be defined as an individual that either does not have a hunting license or received their first hunting license for the 2020-21 season.

Note: Those participants without a hunting license need only be present for the duration of a hunt and must follow all rules and regulations set by NCWRC.

• 500 points for each new Registered Mentor
• This year, we are partnering with Opportunity Outdoors, a NC-based outfit dedicated to R3: Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation of hunters and anglers.

To help Opportunity Outdoors grow their mentor network, all you have to do to get your 500 points is REGISTER ON THEIR WEBSITE.

• If you are already registered, then just let us know and you’ll get the points.

If you are not yet registered, you can register anytime between now and the last day of the tournament (20FEB).

• Registration does not mean a commitment to mentor, but rather the opportunity to learn more about it.

Opportunity Outdoors respects your privacy and will not sell or otherwise share your personal information with any individual or organization. Again, register at https://opportunityoutdoors.com/trashy/

• 500-5000 points per New/Renewed/Upgraded Membership

The person must become a member of BHA or renew a membership sometime during the dates of the tournament and show proof of membership via receipt (email or screenshot).

• The new/renewing member does not have to participate in a hunt for a team to receive the bonus points. However, a single individual can qualify for both the new/renewing member bonus and the new hunter bonus if the respective requirements are met.

Point breakdown is as follows and gift memberships are welcome! Membership Type

Point Value

• 1-year Individual, Military, or Student

500

• Family

800

• 3-year Individual

1000

• Supporting

1200

• 3-year Family

1500

• Lifetime

5000

Scoring Example Three days into the tournament a group of five participants get together for a morning hunt in the Uwharrie. One of the five in the hunting party is both a new hunter and became a new member of BHA the previous evening. Another of this group of five renewed and upgraded her membership from individual to 3-year via phone in the truck on the way to the woods. During the three-hour hunt, the party takes 7 squirrels and 33lbs 8oz of trash. For this hunt the team will receive the following points:

7000 (tails) + 536 (trash) + 1000 (new hunter) + 500 (new member) + 1000 (renewing 3-yr member) = 10,036 points total for the hunt. Note: If the person who is both a new hunter and a new member then goes on an evening hunt later that day, then the team will receive neither the 1000 nor the 500 bonus points again.

The Honor System will be the guiding principle, but teams will nonetheless have to submit photos proving (1) tail count, (2) a scale readout showing poundage (fish & bathroom scales work great!), (3) screenshot/receipt for new members, and/or (4) the new hunter with at least one licensed and experienced hunter in the photo frame Don’t over-complicate this.

Point Total = 2,000 (two tails) + 1,000 (two max’d out single items (the tires)) + 1,728 (345.6oz of trash x 5pts/oz) = 4,728 points ONLY squirrels taken and trash removed from Public Lands (State or Federally-managed) will be counted (see Honor System comment above) Use of squirrel dogs is permitted where permitted.

You can watch the policy roundup, sleeping bag races at the same Crowdcast link, and try your hand at the BHA trivia through Thursday!