The Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) recently appointed Bryan Gwinn to serve on their Chapter Leadership Team (CLT) as Assistant Legislative Liaison.
Bryan was born in central Illinois. “I started hunting as a child … bb guns, squirrels, pheasants and then whitetail,” he said. “My dad taught me how to hunt and along with my younger brother we hunted family farmland, fencerows and woods about 45 minutes outside of my hometown.” He attended the University of Illinois and, after working on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. after college, Bryan moved to Colorado in 2005 and began law school at the University of Denver the following year.
Bryan met his hunting partner, Andrew, right after moving to Colorado when they both worked at the same restaurant. “I wanted to try hunting western big game and Andrew’s family hunting trips were petering out,” he explained. “So, we linked up and have been hunting deer and elk around Colorado for over 15 years now.” Bryan hunts with both a rifle and a compound bow.
“I bow hunt for elk and rifle hunt for deer each year. I was fortunate enough to draw a tag and took a nice ram with my bow in 2017,” he added. “Every few years I get back to Illinois for deer camp and tree-stand whitetail hunting. And I try to do as much pheasant, turkey, quail, and small game as I get invited to do or can squeeze in otherwise. I am building points on antelope and moose and looking forward to burning my elk points on a good unit very soon. I’m a willing fisherman and novice fly fisherman.”
Bryan has lived in south Denver, near DU, since 2007. He’s a lawyer in private practice for eleven years. “My practice consists mostly of business law, real estate, civil litigation and other ‘country-lawyer’ matters that my clients bring my way,” he said.
Bryan and his wife, Kara, have three kids: Harlan (8), Colette (5), Joni (2) and a dog, Boone. “We spend a lot of time at our cabin near Del Norte in the San Juan Mountains and spend a week each summer on a lake in northern Minnesota,” he added. Bryan joined BHA after hearing about the organization through Steven Rinella/Meateater.
Additional BHA/Colorado BHA Information:
- Colorado BHA Corporate Partners; Hunting For Sustainability (H4S).
- BHA’s Public Waters Access campaign; BHA’s Public Comment Guide.
- BHA’s Armed Forces Initiative; “Armed Forces Initiative-Get Involved.”
- BHA’s Collegiate Program.
- Backcountry Journal (Spring 2022); (Winter 2022); (Fall 2021); (Summer 2021)).
- BHA National Policy Updates (March 2022); (February 2022); (January 2022).
- BHA Chapter Policy Updates (March 2022); (February 2022); (January 2022).
- Colorado BHA Habitat Watch Volunteer (HWV) program information.
- “BHA State Chapter Development (Recruiting/Retaining Leaders & Avoiding Burnout).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 6/1/21.
About David Lien