The Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) appointed Damon DeGraw to serve as a Routt National Forest Habitat Watch Volunteer.
Damon grew up in a town of 500 people in northeast Iowa. “I bet my grandpa had me fishing with a bobber about the time I was able to walk,” he said. “By the time I was five I’d grab my plastic gun and go ‘hunting’ in our backyard for whitetail (my stuffed animals)—then I would come in the house saying, ‘Mom, dad, look at my deer!’”
That led to shooting small game with a .22 and a short while later chasing whitetail deer and turkeys with a compound bow or shotgun. “Now, you’ll find me running around the mountains in pursuit of as many Western big game species as I am allowed to carry a tag for,” Damon added. “Though, I still hold on to a nostalgic passion for hunting whitetails and turkeys.”
“My grandpa and dad introduced me to hunting, but they never had a passion for it like I did,” he explained. “So I had to learn a lot from a lot of different sources. Reading, listening, watching videos for all sorts of outlets. I can’t even begin to list all the people that were mentors to me without even knowing it.”
Damon mostly hunts Western big game now, including elk, mule deer, and pronghorn. In the plains/Midwest he hunts whitetail, turkey, and some waterfowl/upland. He also fits in a couple angling trips each year. Typically, ice fishing for lake trout and catfishing for flatheads in Arizona. Damon joined BHA in 2025 and has a BA in Business Marketing from University of Northen Iowa. He lives in Thorton.
Are you interested in serving on the Colorado BHA Chapter Leadership Team? Learn more about our volunteer opportunities here.
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.[1] With members spread out across all 50 states and 13 Canadian provinces and territories—including chapters in 49 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. The Colorado BHA chapter was founded by David “Elkheart” Petersen (a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) in 2005 (the first official BHA chapter)[2]
[1] David A. Lien. “Freedom & Fire: A Brief BHA History II.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 2/24/25.
[2] David A. Lien. “Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/30/20.
About David Lien