Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) State Policy and Stewardship Director Tim Brass was hired as BHA’s third full-time employee during 2012 and has been in the front lines of countless hunter-angler-conservation battles both here in Colorado and nationwide ever since. He was initially hired as Southern Rockies Coordinator and is BHA’s longest tenured staff member.

Tim will be starting as the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Assistant Director of Parks, Wildlife and Lands on July 31^st, 2023.[1] Congratulations Tim! In the past Tim has worked as a forester for the USFS, a city planner for three rural communities and as an ecological researcher in Colorado. He has a M.A. in Environmental Planning and a B.S. in Natural Resource Management.[2]

“I was privileged to cross paths with Tim, not long after he started working for BHA, while attending the first (2012) BHA North American Rendezvous at Fort Missoula,” Colorado BHA Co-Chair David Lien said. “Since then, we’ve hunted antelope in southeast Colorado, geese on eastern plains and shared many camps and campfires, not to mention the frontline trenches for a multitude of hunting/angling/conservation-related campaigns.”

“During September 2012 we also hosted Steven Rinella at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Thornton for ‘a conversation about hunting America’s backcountry and enthusiastically eating its respected wild game,’” David added.[3] “Working with Tim is equivalent to having a multi-talented, Steven Rinella-esque hunter-angler-conservationist here in Colorado. His decade-plus of selfless dedication to protecting our ‘wild public lands, waters and wildlife’ has inspired countless BHA members in Colorado and across the country and continent.”

One of the early campaigns Tim worked on, in conjunction with Colorado BHA and other groups, was protecting public lands in the vicinity of Browns Canyon north of Salida. On Feb. 19, 2015, 21,586 acres of this country were designated Browns Canyon National Monument. “Widely supported by hunters and anglers, the monument … [was] conserved for the American public to access and enjoy in perpetuity,” a 2016 BHA National Monuments report noted.[4]

“This is a great day for Colorado and for sportsmen,” Tim said (quoted in the Chaffee County Times). “Browns Canyon is the gold standard for backcountry hunting and fishing habitat. Protecting this last bastion of wild country along the Arkansas River ensures that herds of elk and deer have high-quality winter range and anglers can pursue wily trout in an outstanding Gold Medal fishery.”[5]

“Tim’s policy chops have been indispensable to so many conservation campaigns and successes here in Colorado and around the country,” Colorado BHA Co-Chair Don Holmstrom said. “There’s no other person I’d rather fight in the conservation trenches with than Tim Brass. Tim is a good friend and mentor. He will be sorely missed.”

Colorado BHA Board/Executive Leadership Team (ELT) member Kassi Smith said, “I hate to see BHA losing key assets, but love to see BHA elevating staff into these critical roles. Thanks for fighting the good fight Tim!” Central West Slope Regional Director (& ELT member) Craig Grother added, “Congratulations my friend. Gonna miss you. I hope I find myself in your canoe again some time.”

“I add my hearty congratulations and a thanks a ton for all that you have done for BHA,” ELT/Board member Dan Parkinson said. “Your dedication to wild places and wildlife, matched with your considerable people skills, will serve you and the people of Colorado well!”

“I am beyond lucky to have had the opportunity to work with you all over the years and hope to get to work more with you all in this new role!” Tim said. “Thanks for all that each of you do on behalf of our public lands, waters and wildlife!” But Tim may have best summed up his 10-plus years on BHA’s staff as, “A wild and awesome ride!”

“Like drinking from a firehouse for 10-plus years!” chapter Co-Chair David Lien added. Thank you, Tim, for your decade-plus of dedication, selflessness, guidance and wise counsel to both Colorado BHA leaders and chapters/clubs across North America. We hate to see you go, but your excellent conservation work will continue with/via the Colorado DNR, and we look forward to our collaborations going forward. Wildlands and wildlife need many more like you!

Additional/related information:

-Colorado Parks & Wildlife: https://dnr.colorado.gov/divisions/colorado-parks-wildlife

-Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Leadership/Contacts.

Photos

-First (2012) BHA North American Rendezvous, at Fort Missoula in Montana: Day 1 (3/3/12) & Day 2 (3/4/12).

-“Colorado BHA Hosts Steven Rinella” at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Thornton, Colorado, photos (9/13/12).

-Colorado Antelope Hunt (Dec. 2012).

-Colorado Goose Hunt (Jan. 2015).

Articles/Stories/Bios

-Caitlin Thompson. “Tim Brass-Southern Rockies & Social Media Coordinator.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 1/8/13.

-“Timothy Brass.” Legendary Whitetails contributors.

-“Antelope Alley.” Colorado Outdoors: 2/20/14.

-“A (Goose) Hunter’s Dozen.” Colorado Outdoors: 2/6/15.

-“It’s All About The Meat.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 2/17/22.

-Tim Brass. “BHA Members Roll Up Their Sleeves.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/15/22.

-Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA). “Director of State Policy and Stewardship-Tim Brass.” BHA Staff.

BHA Issues Triad (PAF)[6]

1. Public Lands & Waters (Public Lands = Freedom). Our public lands make each of us land-rich. Protecting and perpetuating public lands and waters is paramount. We are: “The voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.”
2. Access & Opportunity. We are intent on keeping public lands in public hands. Access has emerged as a priority issue for North American hunters and anglers, and lack of access is cited by sportsmen and women as the No. 1 reason why we stop pursuing our passions. Access to the more than 600 million acres of public land is part of being American. However, opportunity is diminished when access becomes excess.[7]
3. Fair Chase & Restraint. We must ensure that the ethical pursuit of fish and game is upheld as dearly as our own obligation to morality and citizenship.[8] As Jim Posewitz wrote in Beyond Fair Chase, “The ethics of hunting deteriorate as machinery and modern technology are substituted for hunter stamina, skill, knowledge, and patience.”[9]

[1] https://dnr.colorado.gov/divisions/colorado-parks-wildlife; https://dnr.colorado.gov/contacts

[2] Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA). “Director of State Policy and Stewardship-Tim Brass.” BHA Staff.

[3] David A. Lien. “It’s All About The Meat.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 2/17/22.

[4] Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA). “National Monuments: A Sportsmen’s Perspective.” BHA: January 2016.

[5] Chaffee County Times (CCT). “Sportsmen groups praise creation of Browns Canyon National Monument.” CCT: 2/19/15.

[6] https://www.backcountryhunters.org/our_issues

[7] “Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Increase Reward For Illegal Trail Construction (Help Stop Trail Building ‘Free-For-All’).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/10/23.

[8] https://www.backcountryhunters.org/fair_chase

[9] Jim Posewitz. Beyond Fair Chase. Helena, Montana: Falcon Publishing, Inc., 1994, p. 40.