Hey, Chris here from backcountry hunters and anglers.

Welcome to the first episode of the New England and New York chapter's Conservation Cooperative.

So, as the title suggests, this is a show about conservation, where we will explore our

work to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting

and fishing in a natural setting. In doing so, we aim to provide perspectives and voices beyond

just our own, hopefully painting a richer picture of the complexity and nuance of the issues

facing our wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.

In this episode, we're going to take a look at an issue the New England BHA chapter has been grappling with for a few years, the rapid development of recreational trails

and their encroachment on wild places.

We'll explore some of the factors that are driving trail development in the state of Vermont

and hear how it fits into the bigger picture of conservation.

Now let's be clear, we are all trail users. We think they're great, and there are clearly benefits to everyone from individuals to communities at large.

But it's well documented that they negatively impact wildlife, fragment habitat, and put a persistent human presence where there wouldn't otherwise be one.

Meet New England BHA board member, Ethan Dreisigacher.

I mean, this is actually how I got involved with BHA in the beginning.

You know, I'm a, I was a skier, a semi-professional skier by athlete for like five years.

And I've been a competitive skier for 30 years.

And I'm mountain bike and I run like I'm a trail user.

And then I think, you know, and I got it more and more into hunting.

I think I became more and more aware of like the effects that my presence has on wildlife.

And I think that's where I sort of started to realize like most of the time when you're

recreating on a trail, you're not thinking about that.

...