Beer Companies Have Joined the Fight for Public Lands

Things aren’t looking so great for public lands right now. The acting director for the Bureau of Land Management is someone who previously advocated for selling off the acreage he now oversees. The Department of Interior is also opening up large swaths to oil and gas drilling and mining. The U.S. Forest Service recently closed a comment period on a new policy that would drastically scale back public input on proposed projects. Despite the fact that the people in charge are bent on undermining them, nonprofits and NGOs have been working tirelessly to save our public lands, and now they’re getting some backup from craft breweries. This fall, Highlander Beer, based in Missoula, Montana, released Public Lands Owner, an American pale ale brewed for everyone who enjoys or appreciates such places. “We wanted to appeal to the craft-beer drinker, but we wanted it to be sessionable enough”—that is, consumed it in large quantities over a lengthy period without the drinker fading—“to also appeal to a wide audience,” says Hannah Talbott, Highlander Beer’s general manager. Three percent of the beer’s proceeds will benefit Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, a North American network of sportspeople that works to protect public lands. It’s also headquartered in Missoula, and Talbott says many of the brewery employees are BHA members. “It really aligns with our values, so it was a perfect fit,” she says...MORE