Thank you Colorado BHA!

On behalf of the Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Chapter Leadership Team (CLT), I want to thank you all for your resiliency, creativity and dedication to the BHA mission—helping protect and preserve our wild public lands, waters and wildlife—during this unprecedented year. 

Your collective work and selfless dedication has been truly inspirational, but not unexpected given that BHA has always been a “quality over quantity” type outfit from the very beginning, when seven hunters and anglers, men and women (the “Gang of Seven”) stood around that first BHA campfire over 16 years ago (during March 21-22, 2004) in southern Oregon.[1]

As the old saying goes, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” While it has been a challenging year to say the least, wildlands and wildlife will benefit going forward from the many innovations the BHA team (continent-wide) came up with this year. And we all gain from the additional confidence that comes from having successfully worked through the challenges 2020 threw at us. These silver linings will provide benefits for years to come.

I joined BHA over fifteen years ago, during March 2005, with the hope that as part of the BHA family I could make a difference for wildlands and wildlife—no matter how potentially small or insignificant in the whole scheme of things. As I’ve said to our CLT members on multiple occasions, “When we all do a little, we accomplish a lot.” And as I wrote in the piece below (“Where Hope Lives”):

“Life is, in great part, about continually adapting and overcoming obstacles (i.e., problem solving). That’s inherently how all backcountry hunters operate in the field, so we know the drill as well as anyone … Where does hope live? It lives in our burning desire to make a difference, to be the voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.” Thank you all for overcoming so many obstacles and being that voice during this difficult year.

As another BHA chapter leader put it recently: “Thank you for doing what you do. There are always reasons to quit. Reasons to doubt. Reasons to give up. Always something … always. It’s the people that keep the pedal to the metal that make a difference.” And in the words of BHA President and CEO Land Tawney: “You all are amazing. You inspire me each and every day. We have much to do TOGETHER!”[2]

From the entire Colorado BHA Chapter Leadership Team (all 38 of us!): Have a good (& safe) Holiday season!

David

Co-Chair

• “Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/30/20.
• Consider gifting a BHA membership

[1] https://www.backcountryhunters.org/about

[2] Land Tawney, BHA President and CEO. “2020: A Year Like No Other.” Backcountry Journal: Winter 2021, p. 3. https://www.backcountryhunters.org/winter_21_issue_of_backcountry_journal