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EnglishHow to Support Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA)
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You can support BCHA in three main ways: donate online through the DONATE link on bcha.org, join as a member, or volunteer your time and stock on public lands. The right choice depends on whether you want to give money, give time, or both — and on whether you want a local, hands-on role or a national-level contribution.
Donate: the fastest route
BCHA is a 501(C)3 non-profit, and its site places a DONATE button prominently in the member stories section, with the message that if you are passionate about public lands and keeping access for all, "we need your help." The donation link goes to a Square checkout page, so you can complete a gift online without creating a BCHA account.
Use this route if you want to support the mission without a recurring time commitment. The site also lists Giving and Estate Planning among its navigation topics, which signals that planned and legacy giving are recognized support paths — worth checking if you are considering a larger or longer-term contribution.
What your money supports
The site quantifies the work: BCHA volunteers spend 300,000 hours each year maintaining trails on public lands, a value of $11.2 million in donated trail work to local and federal land managing agencies. Since 1995, members have contributed a value equal to $126.47 million in volunteer hours. Members also travel over 1.1 million miles to volunteer work locations.
Join as a member
Membership is the structural way to support BCHA, because the organization describes itself as grassroots: members "help carry forward our organization's mission and values throughout the United States and Canada," working with trail partners and local land management agencies to clear and maintain trails.
The site's Membership page is the entry point. Before joining, use the Chapter locator on the homepage: enter your zip code, choose a search radius (options run from 10 to 1,000 miles), and review results to find a chapter near you. Joining through a local chapter connects you to the people actually doing trail work in your area.
Volunteer your time and stock
If you want to contribute labor rather than (or in addition to) money, the Volunteering page is the place to start. BCHA's mission explicitly includes educating and soliciting "active participation in the wise use of the back country resource by horsemen and the general public."
Volunteer work centers on clearing and maintaining trails on public lands in cooperation with land management agencies. The site also maintains a Sawyer Resources section, which is relevant if you intend to do trail clearing that involves crosscut or chainsaw work — check that page for training and certification context before assuming you can operate saws on public land.
Match your support to BCHA's mission
BCHA's stated mission has five parts, and each maps to a way of helping:
| Mission element | How you can support it |
|---|---|
| Perpetuate commonsense use and enjoyment of horses in back country and wilderness | Join a chapter and ride/volunteer locally |
| Keep public lands open to recreational stock use | Donate; BCHA advocates at local, state, and national levels |
| Assist agencies in maintaining and managing resources | Volunteer on trail projects |
| Educate and encourage wise use by horsemen and the public | Participate in chapter activities and youth programs |
| Foster new state Back Country Horsemen organizations | Join or help organize where no chapter exists |
Which route fits you
- Want to help immediately, no time commitment: use the DONATE link.
- Want ongoing involvement and local community: find a chapter via the zip-code locator, then join through the Membership page.
- Want to work on trails with your horse: start with Volunteering, and review Sawyer Resources if your work will involve saws.
- Planning a legacy gift: look at the Giving and Estate Planning pages.
One practical note: the chapter locator's radius options top out at 1,000 miles, so if no chapter appears in your results, expanding the radius is the way to see the nearest option — and the mission's fifth point suggests forming a new state organization is itself a recognized form of support.