The Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers recently appointed Bill Dombroski to serve as an Assistant Regional Director for Boulder County.

Bill was born and raised in northeast Pennsylvania. He went fishing for the first time at the age of 4 and has been doing it ever since. “My dad was the biggest mentor in my life, I owe my passion and love for the water to him,” Bill said. “He started me out with trout fishing at a local pond and slowly moved me into bigger water where we started targeting smallmouth bass, walleye, pike and everything in between. I was also lucky to have a small stream in my backyard that contained some creek chubs. I loved getting off the school bus and heading right to my favorite fishing hole till dinner was ready.”

After completing a degree in environmental science with a minor in chemistry, Bill moved to Colorado. “Other than the outdoors, a major motivator for moving to Colorado was to get into a career I was passionate about,” he said. Bill currently works in environmental services for the City and County of Broomfield as a water quality technician. “I enjoy getting into the field and sampling on ponds, reservoirs and local streams,” he said. “I find a lot of value in this work as it helps ensure a healthy ecosystem for wildlife that calls our ever expanding urban environment home.” 

Primarily an angler, Bill moved away from warm water species in the past few years and has started targeting trout for the most part. “I would blue line for brookies in the Appalachian mountains when living in Pennsylvania and have transitioned into an alpine junkie,” he said. “I primarily target cutthroat trout in high mountain lakes and streams in Colorado. When those options are frozen over, I head to the local tailwaters for technical fishing where I can fine-tune my skills.”

“I didn’t grow up in a hunting family and haven’t been able to get into the sport yet,” he added. “I would like to get into waterfowl and upland hunting, both for food and fly tying materials. I’m hoping to find a mentor through BHA to get started in this pursuit.” Bill lives in Denver with his partner Bethany and their Australian Cattle Dog Scout. He heard about BHA while listening to Cal’s Week in Review Podcast hosted by the MeatEater group. 

“I joined BHA after moving to Colorado and recreating on public lands for my first summer in the west,” he said. “After seeing these incredible spaces, I wanted a way to give back to, and fight for, the land I use so often.” Bill’s goal is to facilitate more opportunities for the angling community to engage in BHA. 

“Many anglers in Colorado hit the famous tailwaters that are controlled by water and energy companies while passing up the opportunity to fish pristine and free flowing water on public lands,” he added. “I believe engagement with these spaces is key to developing a love and passion for them, which in turn creates more advocates for our public lands and access to them. I hope to host events that get people into more remote fisheries where the catch and experience are of equal value.”

Additional BHA/Colorado BHA Information:

• Colorado BHA Corporate Partners.
• Hunting For Sustainability (H4S).
• BHA’s Public Waters Access campaign.
• BHA’s Collegiate Program.
• Backcountry Journal (Fall 2021); (Summer 2021); (Spring 2021); (Winter 2021).
• BHA’s Armed Forces Initiative. “Armed Forces Initiative-Get Involved.”
• BHA National Policy Updates (January 2022); (November 2021); (October 2021).
• BHA Chapter Policy Updates (January 2022); (November 2021); (October 2021).
• Colorado BHA Habitat Watch Volunteer (HWV) program information.
• “BHA State Chapter Development (Recruiting/Retaining Leaders & Avoiding Burnout).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 6/1/21.
• “Empowering Leaders: It’s In BHA’s DNA.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 1/7/21.
• “Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/30/20.
• “We Are Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/2/21.
• Check out our Take Action Center and stay engaged on legislation in your area.
• Check out BHA’s North American Action Map, tracking examples of our accomplishments as an organization across the continent.
• David “Elkheart” Petersen (founder of the first BHA state chapter, here in Colorado, and a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) books.

Founded by Mike Beagle, a former U.S. Army field artillery officer, and formed around an Oregon campfire, in 2004, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our nation’s wild public lands, waters and wildlife. With over 40,000 members spread out across all 50 states and 13 Canadian provinces and territories—including chapters in 48 states, two Canadian provinces and one territory, and Washington, D.C.—BHA brings an authentic, informed, boots-on-the-ground voice to the conservation of public lands. Since the Colorado BHA chapter was founded by David Petersen (a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) in 2005 (the first official BHA chapter), they’ve grown their boots-on-the-ground presence to some 2,100 dedicated hunters and anglers.