Rebecca Romero Hunting Legacy
Scholarship

      On July 26th, 2018, just over five weeks after Rebecca's death, her sister, Selena, was contacted by Mateen Hessami, a friend of Rebecca's and then Vice President of the University of Montana's Collegiate Chapter of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (UM BHA).  In his message, he included details about how UM BHA had received a grant just that Spring and that a portion of the grant was to be used to fund three to four scholarships for UM undergraduate students from out of the state and had an interest in getting a hunting license in the state of Montana.  

      The UM BHA felt that Becca, who had been a member of the group, personified the type of new hunter that this award wanted to focus on as an undergraduate, non-resident student, who was highly motivated to not only enter the hunting culture of Montana, but was keenly focused on the role hunting played in the conservation of the wildlife that lives in Montana.  Would our family be okay with naming the scholarship after her? 

      And so, the scholarship was officially introduced as the "Rebecca Romero Hunting Legacy Award" in time for the 2018 Fall hunting season.  Drawing from the Schools of Forestry and Wildlife Biology Programs. that first year, three awards were offered.  One of the awards was funded through the BHA program itself.  The second was funded through a donation by the Goerz family who facilitated the Hunter Mentorship Program (now known as the Montana Hunter Mentorship program).  The third was funded by us (the Romero Family) through sales of art we created for this specific effort.  There were thirteen applicants that first year with Madeline Damon (Wisconsin), Atlas McKinley (California), and Sarah Lutch (Arizona) being selected for the awards.   In the years since, nearly 100 students who had come from states outside of Montana have applied for the award with twenty-two awards being given.

      Over time, the award has evolved.  Changes to law effecting hunting access for non-resident students has helped to decrease the financial barrier facing them through state reciprocity laws that allow states to charge resident fees during their collegiate career.  Even with costs decreased for some students, there were still twenty applicants for the 7th cycle (2024 hunting season) of the award.  Last year, on the advice of Montana BHA members, we also changed from offering an Elk Combo license package, to a Deer Combo package.  This helped reduce the costs needed to continue the award program and we have been able to fully fund three out of the four awards being offered each year (Montana BHA still funds one of the awards) for students who come from states that do not have reciprocal agreements with Montana, such as California. 

      In the end, it is all worthwhile.  Reading letters from some of the students about their very first hunting experiences as well as those who found a chance to continue a family tradition, they thought they would miss out on while attending college, made it clear that this is an effort we will continue to support for many years to come.