At a hearing of its Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, July 14, the U.S. Senate took one more step toward instituting reform of the 1872 General Mining Law, a move that sportsmen heralded as critical toward conserving America’s public lands and the habitat and outdoor opportunities these lands provide.

Western federal public lands offer our country’s largest blocks of fish and wildlife habitat and form the backbone of hunting and fishing opportunities for millions of Americans. Despite the importance of these lands to outdoor recreation, however, our sporting heritage remains at risk. 

To highlight the economic boost provided by America’s national forest roadless areas, the TRCP has launched “Banking on the Backcountry,” a campaign uniting hunting and angling groups and businesses in support of backcountry conservation. If you’re a member of a rod and gun club or involved with an outdoors-oriented business, you can help sustain these important lands and waters by encouraging your group or business to sign the sportsmen’s backcountry petition.

On the heels of hearings before the House of Representative’s Natural Resources Committee on offshore oil and gas drilling, the Angling 4 Oceans coalition released new principles to help guide the committee’s decisions on energy development to ensure recreational anglers’ needs are met. Organized by the TRCP, the coalition’s new CAST principles are aimed at promoting the conservation of marine fisheries.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly known as the stimulus bill, went through a very quick and very controversial approval process over the past few weeks. The end result features great projects for fish and wildlife. Among the $787 billion in programs aimed at creating jobs, the TRCP, working with its partner organizations and the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, ensured that some of that money was set aside to enhance habitat.

 In a move that sportsmen have reason to support, the 111^th Congress is reconsidering revisions to America’s most archaic natural-resources legislation, the General Mining Law of 1872. Now more than ever, the voices of hunters and anglers are needed to bolster the necessity of reform of the 1872 law – for the good of our nation’s public lands, the invaluable fish and wildlife populations they support and the outdoor traditions they sustain.

August marked a busy month for the TRCP’s "We Are Wetlands" campaign. The TRCP hosted a wetlands summit in Memphis, Tenn., at which teams of concerned sportsmen and conservationists gathered to discuss ways to educate more people about the value of our nation’s wetlands and clean water.