The Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers recently appointed Liz Rose to serve as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) State Trust Lands Liaison.
Liz was born and raised in the California Coast Range and was lucky to live in the hills of the relatively small (by Bay Area standards) town of Los Gatos with a park behind her house. “I spent a lot of time running around on deer trails under oak trees, and through poison oak, unfortunately,” she said. “We had a garden and orchard, would harvest mussels on the coast during fall and winter, cut and dried apricots at my grandpa’s orchard in the summers, and frequently hosted dinners for family and friends, so I grew up with a solid appreciation for the connections between nature, food, and relationship-building.”
Her grandfather and his two brothers often told stories of hunting and fishing in Northern California, and all three of them had deer mounts up in their houses. “Although those hobbies were not directly passed down to my generation, they were at least familiar to me,” Liz says. “Now my Great Uncle Jerry likes to talk to me about hunting and he seems quite pleased that my brother and I have both tried to pick it up despite not having grown up doing it.”
She started hunting during 2012 in California. “My boyfriend at the time had grown up duck hunting and after asking him too many questions about it, he told me to just come along and see what it was like for myself,” Liz explained. “At the end of that year we took a six-week road trip to Alaska. En route I shot my first dove (near Colusa, CA) and first duck (in Fairbanks, AK), the only banded bird I’ve shot to this day.”
Liz also learned to salmon fish in Alaska and fell even more in love with fish, wildlife, and big, wild, open spaces. She would have moved to Alaska, but all of the geoscience jobs were in Houston at the time, resulting in a move to Texas in 2012. While living in Houston she made time for both hunting (doves, ducks, deer, hogs) and fishing (salt and freshwater) along with gardening and cooking.
She worked as a geoscientist for the US Geological Survey for two years and then in the oil and gas industry, in various capacities, for six years, which coincided with a move to Colorado. Liz joined Backcountry Hunters & Anglers in 2018 during a fall membership promotion for a Pint Night at Upslope Brewing in Boulder. “I learned about BHA in 2017 when Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz foolishly introduced HR 621,” she said. “I was outraged, and quickly found (via the internet) that so was BHA, so I’ve followed BHA ever since.”
During December 2019, Liz will complete her master’s degree in Environmental Policy and is hoping to work professionally on policy issues related to land management, outdoor recreation and conservation. “I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to partner with Colorado BHA for my master’s capstone project,” she explained, “focusing on the expansion of public recreational access to Colorado state trust land and exploring and advocating for feasible funding and policy solutions.”
Liz hunted elk during 2017 and brought three people completely new to hunting with her. She has deer, elk and antelope tags for 2019. “I’ve been trying to learn about hunting one new species per year,” she said. “I’m really hoping to pheasant and duck hunt again this year, and if I can make time, I’d like to go squirrel and rabbit hunting as well since I’ve never done either and they seem fun. Basically, I’m still a rookie and I’ll take whatever experience I can get.”
“I do like fishing, but in the summer I spend most of my free time trail running on public land … when the lakes freeze over it’s rare for me not to choose my snowboard or skis whenever I get the chance,” she says. “This summer I did technically start fly fishing, but only went out a few times. There is just so much to do in this state!” Liz lives in Boulder and was recently appointed to the Colorado Sportsperson’s Roundtable. She will serve until 2021.
“Liz was instrumental in helping the sportsmen and women of Colorado gain access to additional State Trust Lands this year,” said Colorado BHA co-chair David Lien (a former Air Force officer). “Colorado BHA has been in the forefront of advocating for additional access for years. With Liz leading the chapter’s efforts during 2019, we finally made significant progress. We’re lucky to have her on the Colorado BHA Chapter Leadership Team!”
For additional information see:
-Liz Rose. “Access To Colorado’s State Trust Lands Doubles: Boots on the Ground Making It Happen.” Backcountry Journal: Fall 2019, p. 28.
-“Colorado BHA Chapter Leaders Serving on Sportsmen’s Roundtable.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 8/23/19.
-Liz Rose. “Want Access to 500,000 More Acres of Colorado State Trust Land During Hunting Season? It Might Just Happen.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/16/19.
-Liz Rose. “Colorado’s outdoor opportunity: Open state lands to public access.” The Colorado Sun: 7/7/19.
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 sportsmen’s voice for our nation’s wild public lands, waters and wildlife. With 40,000 members spread out across all 50 states and 13 Canadian provinces and territories—including chapters in 45 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 3,000 dedicated hunters and anglers.[1]
[1] Katie McKalip. “BHA Membership Is Young, Active, Nonpartisan, Demographic Survey Shows.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 8/7/18.