A grassroots conservation group that focuses on federal public lands and waters and preserving the country's outdoor heritage soon could have a chapter in North Dakota.
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers has chapters in 35 states and the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, said Land Tawney, president and CEO of the Missoula, Mont.-based group.
BHA hosted its first North Dakota "Pint Night" for prospective members on Friday night in Bismarck, and a second Pint Night is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23, at Fargo Brewing Co., 610 N. University Drive, in Fargo.
The Pint Night events offer an opportunity for like-minded outdoors enthusiasts to get together and talk hunting, fishing and conservation issues, Tawney said.
The group got started in 2004 around an Oregon campfire, he said.
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"All good things happen around a campfire late at night," Tawney, 42, said. "There's a lot of good work being done by a lot of different hunting, fishing and conservation organizations but nobody was really focused on public lands and water, and so that's where the impetus was. And we try to make sure you have access to public land and water and the fish and wildlife habitat once you get there."
That focus has BHA working at the state and federal level, Tawney said, whether it's lake access issues in South Dakota or trying to to stop proposals in Congress to sell federal public lands.
Adam Leitschuh of Minot, a BHA member who's chairman of the drive to start a chapter in North Dakota, said the effort started in November with the formation of a board to establish a state chapter.
The two North Dakota Pint Night events are the next step in the process, Leitschuh, said. BHA already has 50 to 70 members in the state, and the goal is to have 100 members before April, when BHA holds its seventh annual Rendezvous in Boise, Idaho, he said.
"We're just kind of focusing on having these Pint Nights and getting the word out now to increase that membership number," Leitschuh, 29, said. "I think we're going to be surprised about how many people do show up to these events."
North Dakota organizers will submit a letter at the Rendezvous requesting approval to officially start a BHA chapter, Leitschuh said.
Tawney, who was on tap to attend the Bismarck Pint Night, says he's confident a BHA chapter is in North Dakota's future.
"We've got a strong chapter in Minnesota and strong chapters in South Dakota and Montana, so it's about time we have one in North Dakota," Tawney said. "We've got some leaders there. It's not like I decided one day we need a chapter in North Dakota. It's people coming to us.
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"It's more than exploratory. This thing will happen, and I'm guessing there'll be a chapter by Rendezvous in April."
BHA today has 17,000 members, more than double its membership last year at this time, and is on track to double that again this year, he said.
Unlike many outdoors groups, which are losing numbers as members age, BHA is gaining ground with millennials, a demographic that includes 18- to 34-year-olds, Tawney said.
Besides Pint Nights, BHA offers Storytelling Nights and another event called Brews, Bands and Public Lands as ways to attract and engage members and raise funds.
"Those Pint Nights are attended by young folks and the older crowd," he said. "We're combining the youthful exuberance with that sage wisdom and I think, to me, it's because we're making things fun."
The idea that public lands and waters provide solitude and adventure also resonates with millennials, he said.
"We are standing up for the resource-whether that's land and water or the fish and wildlife you find within-unequivocally," Tawney said. "We're not mincing words, and I think people like that. And when you think about the way, especially millennials, are buying products, they're looking at companies that are altruistic.
"I think for BHA, we fit into that piece because we want to stand up for the resource first, and I think that's refreshing to a lot of people."
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For more information on BHA in North Dakota, contact Leitschuh at ajleitschuh@gmail.com or check out BHA's website at backcountryhunters.org.
If you go
• What: Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Pint Night.
• When: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23.
• Where: Fargo Brewing Co., 610 N. University Drive, Fargo.
• Info: Backcountryhunters.org.
