COHA: A Huge Agenda for CA Hunters

The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA) held its annual meeting for members last week. The program showed that they are seemingly involved in every facit of California wildlife conservation. A non-profit 501 c4 organization, COHA, has the ability to lobby the state legislature in support of legislation that benefits hunters and fishermen as well as lobby against legislation that damages their members.

Here are a few of the areas where COHA is active:

State

State Legislature: Lobbies in support of and opposition to legislation affecting hunters.

State Resource Agencies: Created the SHARE program creating additional hunting opportunity for California sportsmen. Supports public hunting on Refuges and Wildlife Areas

California Fish and Game Commission: Routinely appears before the F&G Commission on behalf of hunters. Works with F&G Commission subcommittees such as the Al Tausher Committee. 

Federal:

U. S. Congress

Regional:

Willow Creek Mutual Water District – Lambertville, Black Point Sports Club – Sonoma County, Suisun Marsh – Bay/Delta, Grasslands – San Joaquin Valley, Tulare Basin Wildlife Management Area – Southern San Joaquin Valley, Mystic Lake – Riverside County, Klamath Basin

Political Action: COHA raises funds in support of pro-conservation candidates for the California legislature. COHA meets with candidates to develop support for the California Department of Fish and Game for the benefit of hunters and fishermen.

COHA obtains much of its funding via donations from conservation organizations such as the Mule Deer Foundation, California Waterfowl Association, California Deer Association, National Wild Turkey Association, Delta Waterfowl Association and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Funding is also obtained by individual donors, the Outdoor Industry, Hunting and Shooting Clubs.

COHA organizes a few events each year to generate funding without competing with other conservation groups. COHA also lends a hand to other organizations to assist them with fundraising.

COHA plays a private sector role in organizing and promoting the California Legislative Outdoor Sporting Caucus. Activities include a dinner, trap shoot and tours to help educate Caucus members and their staff on hunting related issues of importance.

Here’s a link to the COHA website where you can obtain more details about COHA and find out how you can support their efforts: http://outdoorheritage.org/

COHA staff, director and members posed for a group picture before departing from the Members Meeting last week. (L to R) MDF Regional Director – Randy Morrison, COHA Member and Wilderness Unlimited Manager – Rick Copeland, COHA Vice President for Legislative Affairs - Mark Hennelly, MDF President/CEO and COHA director – Miles Moretti, and COHA Directors of Development – Rick Bulloch and Gretchen Heffler.

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California Hunting Opportunity Under all-out Assault by Humane Society of the US?

This email message just came in from Rick Bullock of the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance. He paints an accurate picture of what’s happening in California. Hunters must take action. Groups like the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA) need support from hunters everywhere. California is targeted for action by these anti-hunting groups because it’s the weakest link in the chain. Once they snap the California link, they’ll be off and running.

Hello all, 

I’m writing to bring you up to speed on several important issues COHA staff have worked over the last week, as well as to provide an update on two key committee hearings scheduled for Tuesday morning. 

First, I attended the US Forest Service National Planning Rule meeting in Sacramento on April 6^th to promote and protect hunting opportunity on federal land and was very concerned to learn that “recreation” wasn’t even mentioned in the “guiding principles” for the new plan, which addresses current and future needs of the 155 national forests and 20 grasslands in the National Forest System. Yes, you read this correct, and the plan is for all forest lands in the nation, not just our state.  Additionally, COHA President Bill Gaines attended the California Fish and Game Commission meeting, held in Monterey on April 7^th and 8th, to stymie the Humane Society of the United States’ attempt to disrupt hunting management decisions that are based on the best available scientific data. Specifically the animal rights groups are strongly opposing the mammal hunting regulations that will guide big game hunting through 2012.  It was reported that at the meeting, HSUS and other anti-hunting groups outnumbered COHA and other interested sportsmen by 20 to1.

 Finally, our outdoor heritage will be in the spotlight tomorrow in the state legislature and COHA staff lobbyists Mark Hennelly and Jason Rhine will be there to ensure California’s sportsmen and their conservation groups are represented. We are entering a time when sportsmen must finally grasp that our outdoor traditions are under a full assault from all directions. Below is a snapshot of some, not all, of the bills and hearings Mark and Jason will be covering tomorrow.

The Assembly Water Parks and Wildlife Committee will hear AB 2223 (Nava), which would prohibit the use of lead shot on the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Wildlife Areas and public shooting grounds.  The bill is sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States and several environmental groups. The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance is strongly opposed to AB 2223 because it substitutes politics for sound science.

On April 5, 2010, Assembly Member Feuer (D-Los Angeles) amended AB 1810 to require the Attorney General of California to permanently keep and maintain a firearms registry that includes extensive personal information of all firearms purchasers. Under AB 1810, those who purchase a firearm will be required to register that firearm by submitting their name, address, place of birth, phone number, occupation, and sex to the California Department of Justice.  COHA is in opposition to this bill and feels AB 1810 is little more than an extreme invasion of California Sportsmen’s personal privacy.

 Assembly Member Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) has introduced AB 2186 to prohibit a person from owning, purchasing or possessing a firearm for 10 years for violating the state’s “loaded firearms” laws. COHA opposes this legislation because it imposes an overly harsh penalty on hunters who may unwittingly violate loaded firearms laws.

For more information on these bills or other legislation of interest, please visit our website at www.outdoorheritage.org   

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