This spring, you just might get to hit the water in a brand new 18 Explorer Triton bass boat powered by a union-made Mercury engine.  The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance has teamed-up with Triton to deliver a water ready boat and matching trailer package, valued at approximately $25,000, to one lucky member of the USA. 

Triton’s Founder and President Earl Bentz donated the exceptional package in support of the USA as a special thank-you to the union customers who have helped Triton become America’s #1 fiberglass fishing boat manufacturer.  "Our company’s success is due in part to our many loyal union customers. We are honored to partner with the USA to equip a hardworking union member with one of our highest quality fishing boats," Bentz said.

As a USA member, you are automatically qualified to win.  Click here to enter your information for a chance to hit the water this spring in a brand new boat brought to you by the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance and Triton!

TRCP’s Escape to the Wild returns to VERSUS Network on January 4th for an all-new season of making ordinary sportsmen’s extraordinary dreams come true.  Beginning with the elk hunt of a lifetime for an Iowa mail carrier, new episodes of the series will air every Friday at 7 p.m. ET, with encore airings each Sunday morning at 10 a.m. ET. 

In this groundbreaking original series, VERSUS, the TRCP and its union partners honor hardworking Americans with expenses-paid trips to world-class hunting or fishing destinations.  Tom Ackerman will be guiding this year’s winners on their adventures as the series’ new host.  Ackerman, an accomplished fly fisherman, wing shooter and big game hunter who is passionate about sharing the outdoor experience with others, brings a rare energy to the new season.

"It’s truly an honor to host season two of Escape to the Wild," says Ackerman. "There’s just something right about the show.  The winners—and they are winners in every sense of the word—are hardworking Americans who have gone the extra mile in their community, at home or on the job.

Tune in to VERSUS and join this season’s lucky winners as they travel to the jungles of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in search of the elusive ocellated turkey, South Africa’s plains for dangerous wildebeest and kudu, the Northwest Territory for caribou and other incredible locations.  You’ll get your fill of fishing too as winners tangle with Pacific sailfish near Costa Rica and mako sharks off San Diego’s coast. 

January Schedule (subject to change):

Wyoming’s namesake mountain range in the Bridger-Teton National Forest provides critical habitat for moose, elk, the state’s largest mule deer population, native cutthroat trout and rare birds.  So when the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced their intent to lease 44,600 acres within the Wyoming Range for oil and gas drilling, the state’s 18,000 union members sprang to action.

The state AFL-CIO sent a formal protest to the BLM and added their support to Sportsmen for the Wyoming Range, a coalition of hunters, anglers and conservation organizations, including the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, working to defend the range from development.

"Our members will tell you flat out they don’t live here because of the great money.  They live and work here because they love to recreate, whether that’s hunting and fishing, hiking, bird watching or rock collecting," said Kim Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Wyoming AFL-CIO and an avid sportsman.

Wyoming’s deer and elk rely on the prairie between the Wind River and Wyoming mountain ranges for browsing when the snow is too deep in the mountains.  But according to Monte Morlock, President of United Steel Workers (USW) Local 13214, heavy drilling on the prairie has pushed herds closer to the mountains.  "When they go in to the mountains, they have to take out a lot of the countryside and destroy habitat, and any spill is going to be in one of the streams," said Morlock.

Dale Hill, President of the Wyoming AFL-CIO and a representative for the Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) was born and raised in the center of the state, home to some of the biggest bull elk.  His family spends each Christmas in Pinedale, a desert town in the shadow of the Wyoming Range, to view and photograph the mule deer wintering there.

"Now, 46% of the mule deer population is gone, and it’s a direct result of oil and gas exploration in the area," said Hill.  "Unlike any other state, Wyoming’s second economic indicator is a category called hunting, angling, recreation and tourism, so a drop in numbers like that is devastating to Wyoming’s economy and to our members who hunt those deer. I think this was the straw that broke the camel’s back."

Research by the Wyoming Business Council reveals that travel and tourism, including visits to national parks, wildlife viewing, fishing, hiking, hunting and a variety of other activities, brought $2.5 billion dollars into Wyoming’s economy in 2006.

Union members also wrote letters, attended public hearings and spoke to county commissioners and elected officials, including the late WY Senator Craig Thomas and his successor Senator John Barrasso.   As a result of protests from Wyoming citizens and organizations, including the AFL-CIO, several proposed lease sales were put on hold and Senator Barrasso introduced the Wyoming Range Legacy Act.  The legislation would protect the Wyoming Range by prohibiting future oil and gas leasing, while instituting a buy-out process.

The union in Wyoming "is probably 10 times larger in membership than any conservation group in the state," said Floyd.  "When we protested leases in the Wyoming Range, we got so many calls from people saying ‘thank you for getting involved; we need your help.’ I don’t think the leases would have been cancelled if it wasn’t for our support."

In talking to some of the oil and gas hands, USW representative Monte Morlock got the impression that industry leaders and many of the workers don’t care about the shape they leave the countryside in because many of them are not from Wyoming. 

"We all need to be stewards of the land for our children and grandchildren, including the oil and gas industry," said Morlock, adding that there are less damaging practices industry can use for extraction at a little extra cost.

According to Floyd, union involvement in conservation issues in Wyoming "turned the oil and gas industry on their head."  And from the sound of it, union members aren’t going anywhere.

"The union call has always been strength in numbers," said Dale Hill.  "All union members should use that strength to rally for issues that affect their way of life.  Simple as that."

Both Hill and Floyd are strong supporters of TRCP’s new Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) and look forward to getting their members involved in the new association. According to Hill, the USA can only strengthen efforts to conserve wildlife and our hunting and fishing heritage. "It just makes sense."