The Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) recently appointed Alex Krebs to serve as an Assistant Regional Director for the Southwest Colorado BHA Group.

Alex was born in the suburban sprawl of the Piedmont region in North Carolina. His only exposure to hunting growing up was in the form of stories. Classic texts the likes of "Where the Red Fern Grows" sparked an ember that was finally able to blossom in adulthood. Alex went to undergraduate college for Ecology and Field biology in the mountains of North Carolina where he developed a passion for fly-fishing and hunting on public lands. He now has his master’s of science in GIS and works primarily on hazard mitigation analysis. 

From an early age he always dreamt of owning a hunting dog. Ultimately, his pursuit of running bird dogs in large open swaths of public land sent him out west. Alex has been in the Durango area since 2011 and his passions for conservation, while all encompassing, are focused on education, wild bird habitat and forest health, conservative trail placement, public land access, and recreation impact mitigation. 

While Alex’s primary pursuit is upland game, he also has years of archery elk experience. More recently he has taken up rifle and muzzleloader hunting in order to free up more time for running dogs. He first joined BHA soon after arriving to Colorado and reading books by David Petersen, a local Durango author and founder of the first BHA state chapter, here in Colorado.[1]

Mentorships and education are very important topics for Alex. His life-long mentor and uncle from Pennsylvania helped him appreciate the experience enough to want to pay it forward. Alex is currently an apprentice hunter education instructor and led a Turkey Hunting Seminar with BHA in the spring of 2021. Alex is excited to organize more events in the future.

Wild birds have it tough and the old saying “what’s good for the bird is good for the herd” is near and dear to Alex’s heart. The entire East Coast has lost most of its Ruffed Grouse habitat due to poor forest management. Alex’s most enthusiastic point of conservation has to do with habitat. Seeing how habitat loss has caused the decline of so many species has made him want to do more to protect the good habitat that is left. It isn’t just bird habitat that gets Alex riled up either, but also deer, elk, sheep, pollinators, bats and amphibians.

Habitat is a broad topic, it isn’t just the quality of the ecosystem health on a ground level, but also the impacts of human activities on that ecosystem that need to be monitored and managed. At the end of the day, the things that Alex cares about require a force of like-minded individuals. He wants to help empower BHA members to do good boots-on-the-ground and pencil-to-paper conservation work.

“Alex has a serious passion for hunter education, R3, and shaping ethical sportsmen/women,” Southwest Colorado Assistant Regional Director, Luke Kline, said. “He has been involved in SW CO meetings in the past and helped with multiple events (including hosting the turkey hunting seminar here in SW CO). He will be an asset to our team.” “I heartily recommend him,” added Southwest Colorado Regional Director Dan Parkinson. “Alex is an earnest and thoughtful outdoorsman and a dedicated advocate for wild places and wildlife.”

Additional BHA/Colorado BHA Information:

• Colorado BHA Corporate Partners.
• Hunting For Sustainability (H4S).
• BHA’s Public Waters Access campaign.
• BHA’s Collegiate Program.
• Collegiate Quarterly: (March 2021); (December 2020); (October 2020).
• Backcountry Journal (Spring 2021); (Winter 2021); (Fall 2020); (Summer 2020).
• Backcountry Beat (May 2021); (April 2021); (February 2021); (January 2021).
• BHA’s Armed Forces Initiative. “Armed Forces Initiative-Get Involved.”
• BHA National Policy Updates (May 2021); (April 2021); (February 2021).
• BHA Chapter Policy Updates (May 2021); (April 2021): (February 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 to stay engaged on good and bad bills in your area.
• David “Elkheart” Petersen (founder of the first BHA state chapter, here in Colorado, and a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) books: www.davidpetersenbooks.com

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 2,500 dedicated hunters and anglers.

[1] www.davidpetersenbooks.com