Jake Schwaller, Board Chair
A 4th generation Montanan, Jake was born in Bozeman, raised in East Helena and now calls Billings home. His father started taking him to elk camp when he was 7 years old, where he learned about public lands and wildlife around a campfire. Over the years, Jake earned the title of “designated elk dragger.” He later turned his love of the outdoors into a master’s in environmental literary theory and a law degree. In graduate school at the University of Idaho, Jake served as an editor for ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature and Environment, and in law school at the University of Montana, Jake served as an editor for the Public Land and Resources Law Review.
Through graduate school, Jake spent seven summers battling thirty-foot tides and sleep deprivation as a commercial salmon fisherman in Bristol Bay, AK. Steeped in the Pebble Mine controversy, Jake learned about the value of joining conservation organizations and making one’s voice heard by policymakers. He joined BHA in 2015 and is excited to now serve on the Montana BHA board as an advocate for Montana’s public lands, waters and wildlife.
Jake loves taking the back roads and discovering new pockets of public lands and waters to explore with his bow, rifle or his fishing rod. When not hunting, fishing or working as an attorney, Jake can be found busy in the kitchen cooking up wild salmon and wild game dishes with new friends and old.
John B. Sullivan III, Immediate Past Chair
John has been working in the outdoor/hunting/fishing industry since he was 16, starting as an assistant (more like a pack mule dropping off equipment at various locations) for a fly fishing outfitter in the Swan Valley. While attending The University of Montana for degrees in Resource Conservation and Economics, he worked at a local hunting shop and was a river guide leading multi-day wilderness trips out of West Glacier in the summers. After graduating, he moved to southeast Alaska to help develop new fly fishing channels of business for various salmon fishing lodges.
He began to miss Montana too much, so he returned to Missoula and is active in Montana's hunting and fishing communities. John has firsthand experience watching smart policy protect and improve habitat, wildlife populations and opportunities for hunting and fishing. He is passionate about protecting backcountry, restoring degraded habitat and working with the state and private landowners to improve access.
Thomas Baumeister, Montana Chapter Vice Chair
Born and raised in Germany, Thomas fell in love with the great American outdoors early in his life. So much in fact that he left his home country and moved to the Rocky Mountain West for good. He became a wildlife biologist and worked for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for two decades. While serving as conservation education bureau chief for FWP, Thomas facilitated the establishment of Montana WILD, wrote the state’s hunter education manual and chaired the committee for the International Hunter Education Association to establish U.S. hunter education standards, and worked on many fish and wildlife issues.
These days Thomas champions our outdoor heritage via non-profits and business. Thomas is the founding member of the Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame and serves on the board of Orion—The Hunter’s Institute, as well as Helena Hunters and Anglers. He founded the company Access WILD to provide backcountry adventures in the heart of Yellowstone National Park and other wild places using a fleet of hearty pack llamas.
Thomas holds two masters and a Ph.D. in Biology and Wildlife Biology from Universities in Germany and Montana. As faculty associate at Carroll College and Arizona State University, he teaches various courses on the science, ethics and practice of the human-nature connection and the notion of wildness. He lives in Helena with his wife and two teenagers, loves to hunt and fish all things wild and believes that America’s - and especially Montana’s - wild and public outdoor heritage is second to none.
Dan Tracey, Board Treasurer
Hailing from the hardwoods and cornfields of Ohio, Dan embraced the outdoor lifestyle at a young age. Cutting his teeth chasing deer, turkey and small game during hunting season and wrangling farm pond largemouth and Great Lakes walleye and steelhead, Dan ventured west in 2001 to attend the University of Montana. After graduation, Dan worked in the outdoor retail industry for several years allowing him to live and recreate in many states including Alaska. Later Dan obtained his CPA license and joined a public accounting firm in the Bitterroot, where he resides with his wife and son.
It has been said the world is run by those who show up and Dan quickly realized this was also the case in protecting our outdoor heritage. As a past committee chair with Ducks Unlimited and board member of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, Dan is committed to ensuring outdoor access, opportunity, and wild places are available for generations to come.
Sunni Heikes Bodogaard, Board Secretary
There is no place Sunni is happier than adventuring in wild places. Born in Norway, raised in South Dakota, and living in Montana since 1993, Sunni is passionate about strengthening our connection, understanding, and access to the outdoors. Fishing and hunting has been a way of life since her youngest memories, and she attributes these experiences as the inspiration for her education and career in biology and natural resource management.
Sunni has worked with habitat projects and natural resource education for over 25 years and is glad to use this background to support the work of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. She currently lives in Ennis and serves as the Madison Valley Board Representative. She has a 16-year-old son and a 21-year-old daughter, both of whom share her passion for the outdoors in their own adventurous pursuits.
Graham Coppes, Western Conservation Policy Leader
Graham’s interest in public land and resource issues began on Montana’s wildest rivers, where he spent a decade guiding clients with oars and dry flies in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Eventually, his interest earned him a J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law and an L.L.M. in Natural Resource Law from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. During law school Graham served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Public Lands and Resources Law Review. Today, Graham’s professional work entails representing a diverse range of clients who seek to defend Montana’s natural resources and wild places.
When not at work, Graham furthers his passion for wild places by being in them and volunteering for BHA. Whether skiing deep in the backcountry, chasing wild fish on the fly, or chasing birds in the field, Graham is always accompanied by his trusty labradors, his beautiful wife, and his young daughter.
Doug Long, Events Chair
Born in Denver and raised in northeastern Oklahoma, Doug developed a lifelong passion for hunting, fishing and the outdoors from his father at an early age. He opened and operated a fly-fishing and hunting store for 10 years, becoming active in wildlife conservation through organizations including Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Doug later moved into marketing & advertising, specializing in outdoor-industry clients, and eventually returned to Colorado, where he founded his own agency in 1999. After selling the agency, he moved to Glenwood Springs in 2019 and helped grow a local fly-fishing guide service from a one-man operation to a team of 10 guides serving the Eagle, Roaring Fork and Lower Colorado rivers.
After a brief move to northwest Arkansas in 2023 to help care for his aging parents, Doug soon found himself drawn back to the Rocky Mountain West. He and his energetic pointing Labrador, Teeter, settled in the Bitterroot Valley.
Today, Doug enjoys exploring Montana's hunting, fishing, foraging and backcountry opportunities and is excited to put his decades of experience in conservation and the outdoor industry to work with Montana BHA. He is committed to protecting the wild places, wildlife and outdoor traditions that have shaped his life.
Robert McQueen, Stewardship Chair
Robert was raised in Arizona, where some of his earliest memories were made fishing and hunting with his father and brother. His favorite family vacations were spent chasing trout in the alpine lakes of Arizona’s White Mountains. It was in those mountains that his love for the outdoors was born. Robert first stepped foot in Montana more than 20 years ago and knew immediately that he had found his place. It took a while to get there, but today he and his amazing wife and two daughters proudly call Missoula home.
The road to Montana took a pretty good detour during COVID. Robert and his wife sold their house, bought an RV, and took their family on a two-year adventure around the country spending as much time as possible camping on public lands. They hiked every day, visited 20 national parks, and explored more wild country than they could have imagined. For his daughters, the outdoors became their classroom. For Robert it solidified the idea that public lands are about much more than hunting and fishing. They're where kids get dirty, families make memories, people find solitude, and a person can still get a little lost, in a good way.
These days, Robert takes advantage of Montana spending as much time outdoors with his family as possible. As a former cook, Robert believes that one of the best parts of hunting and fishing happens after the adventure. He is passionate about cooking and processing his own game, along with gardening, foraging, preserving, and living as self-sufficiently as possible.
Robert especially enjoys mentoring new hunters and participating in BHA mentorship programs. He finds more satisfaction in helping others find success than punching his own tag. Public lands have given Robert a lifetime of memories and are now giving his daughters the same opportunity. He believes we have an obligation to leave those opportunities intact, not just for the next generation of hunters and anglers, but for anyone who wants to step outside, find some wild country, and make a few stories of their own.
Caleb Teigen, Gallatin Valley Board Member
Caleb is an avid outdoorsman with Montana roots dating back to the late 1800’s when his family homesteaded on the Little Missouri River near Capitol, MT. He has spent his life hunting, fishing, and recreating in Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota. He now lives in Bozeman with his wife Jaime, daughter Lillian and spends the weekends in the mountains, on a river or the snow with those closest to him. When not benefiting from the vast landscapes of Montana, he is still able to enjoy the outdoors as a Construction Manager for Big Sky Resort.
Caleb is passionate about introducing people to the outdoors and truly enjoys teaching the necessary skills it takes to harvest, process, and cook wild game. He enjoys being part of the outdoor community and strives to protect our natural resources to ensure future generations can create the same memories we are.
Zach Cason, Northeastern Montana Board Member
Zach grew up in Wisconsin where he enjoyed an upbringing filled with the ample outdoor opportunities his home state offers. Some of his earliest memories involve sitting in the back of his dad’s kayak on a smallmouth river, or cooking down maple sap on his grandparent’s land. Once his older brother, Sam, bought his first truck, the two of them spent nearly every free moment prowling public parcels with 12 gauges, steel traps, or fishing rods in hand. Zach pursued a career in natural resource management, receiving an education in forestry and ecological restoration. During his college years, he introduced himself to the mountains of western Montana, and eventually the Dakota prairies, and found a deep connection to both landscapes. As luck would have it, he found the best of both worlds and now works as a rangeland ecologist in Malta, MT. You’ll probably find Zach outside somewhere, engaged in some pursuit with his bird dog, Poke, by his side. He does a little bit of everything, but between him and Poke, grouse are their favorite.
Josh Liljedahl - Missoula Valley Board Member
Josh grew up in western North Carolina in an outdoor obsessed family. Much of his childhood was spent fly fishing local streams, hunting whitetails or hiking in the mountains. After earning his degree from North Carolina State University, he visited Utah a few times and fell in love with the west. After bouncing around a bit he recently settled in the Bitterroot Valley, where he spends his free time pursuing elk, fly fishing and mountain biking.
While introducing his wife, Charlotte, to hunting Josh realized the barriers to entry novice hunters face and the importance of having a good mentor. This spurred him to get more involved with BHA. He joined the Utah Chapter Board and launched and led their Hunting for Sustainability Program. As part of the Montana Chapter board Josh, hopes to help preserve our wild places and public land hunting opportunities for future generations.
Russell Fruits, Capitol Conservation Policy Leader
Russell grew up in Wyoming hunting and fishing with his grandfather and father. Some of his earliest memories are of walking to his grandfather's house before dawn so they could be on the water before sunrise. Those trips instilled a love of the outdoors that has never left him.
After college at the University of Wyoming, Russell worked as an archaeologist, conducting cultural resource surveys across the West. That career put him directly in the middle of land use decisions, working on projects where development, public land policy, and resource protection all intersected. He gained a ground-level understanding of how those decisions are made and what is at stake when they go the wrong direction.
Russell has served on numerous open space and parks advisory boards, bringing that same land use perspective to local conservation decisions. That volunteer work reinforced his belief that protecting land and expanding access requires consistently showing up at the table, not just when a headline issue arises. It also sharpened his attention to how state and federal policy decisions ripple down to the local level. Decisions made in Helena and Washington about public land management, wildlife funding, and access don't stay abstract for long. In Montana, they show up in the places people hunt and fish, and in whether those places remain open to the public at all.
That concern for policy drives much of what Russell cares about in conservation. He follows federal land management closely and understands that the current fights over public land transfers, road policy, and wildlife habitat will define what Montana looks like for the next generation of hunters and anglers.
One of Russell's deepest commitments is to youth outdoor education. He has taught hunter education in multiple states and has seen firsthand how a single mentored experience can set the course for a young person's relationship with hunting, fishing, and conservation. He believes that getting kids outside, teaching them to be safe and ethical in the field, and connecting them to wild places is as important as any policy fight. Hunters and anglers must be made, and that work starts young.
Russell now lives just east of the Continental Divide outside Helena, where he spends as much time as possible outdoors with his wife and daughters. He joined BHA because it does the work that actually moves the needle on public lands, access, and wildlife. He is glad to bring his background in land use, hunter education, and a lifetime in the field to the Montana chapter board.
Beth Brennan – Madison Valley Board Member (Ennis, MT)
Originally from Ohio, Beth fell in love with the West at age 12 while attending summer camp in Wyoming, where hiking, pack trips, and fishing sparked a lifelong connection to wild places and public lands. She now calls Ennis home and represents Madison Valley for BHA.
With more than a decade of experience in the outdoor and automotive industries, Beth helps companies understand enthusiast audiences, build brands, and tell stories that connect with consumers. She brings that same expertise to her work with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, focusing on conservation, public-land access, and fostering broad, nonpartisan support for protecting Montana’s landscapes. Beth believes public lands have the power to unite people across political and cultural divides, and that protecting them is a shared responsibility that transcends partisanship.
Beth also serves on the boards of the Montana Public Land Water Access Association, The Overland Expo Foundation and SEMA Businesswomen's Network. She is passionate about conservation and creating opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy and protect Montana’s wild places for generations to come.
Kyle Mitchell – Northeastern Montana Board Member
Growing up in Eastern Washington State, Kyle Mitchell's life revolved around the changing seasons and the pursuit of fish and game. Autumn and winter found him with a shotgun in his hand following a chocolate lab in pursuit of pheasants, ducks, and geese, while spring brought the thrill of turkey hunting. Summers were spent casting lines in the productive waters of Rocky Ford and the seep lakes. His passion for the outdoors was further fueled by his years working at an outdoor retailer during high school. Numerous trips to Montana with family and friends solidified an aspiration: to one day make Montana his home, drawn by its abundant natural beauty and unparalleled outdoor opportunities. Kyle earned a Bachelor's Degree in Technology Education and a Master's Degree in School Counseling. In 2005, he moved to Kalispell to teach shop classes. His summers were spent living the “dirtbag life” as a whitewater raft guide and a fly fishing guide in West Glacier, Montana.
Seeking a quieter life and a teaching position in a smaller town, Kyle moved to Montana's Bitterroot Valley. He spent many days each year flyfishing the Bitterroot River and supervised a summer youth program to control invasive weeds on public lands and waters. In 2013, he transitioned to Plains, Montana, where he teaches metalworking, woodworking, and computer-aided design. This location near the confluence of the Clark Fork and Flathead Rivers provides him and his family with diverse outdoor opportunities. For Kyle, being minutes away from thousands of acres of public lands and stepping out his back door to catch trout, smallmouth bass, and northern pike is a dream come true. Kyle holds the belief that public lands and waters, much like education, are great equalizers that provide immense opportunities and freedom to everyone. He is passionate about protecting wild things and wild places to ensure they remain available for future generations.
Jaron Laws – Southwestern Montana Board Member
Jaron was raised in Western Montana, where he has fond childhood memories of wild places, fishing mountain lakes in the summers, and hunting for rutting whitetail deer in the fall. During college and post-grad, Jaron worked as a seasonal for seven summers with the U.S. Forest Service on trail and fire crews in the Kootenai and Lolo National Forests. Through clearing trails, thinning, or digging line, he gained a deep appreciation for public land stewardship through sweat equity.
Today, Jaron loves taking his bow or rifle for a walk in the woods, wading rivers to spook trout (sometimes tricking one), and exploring mountain lakes on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest with his wife, son, and daughter. Jaron is an advocate for finding common ground—we want our future generations to inherit the same public land outdoor opportunities we have cherished. He believes hunting and fishing are privileges that must be valued and upheld by actions that honor fair chase and respecting wildlife. Jaron is humbled to serve as a representative of Montana BHA and is excited to take to action to preserve our shared heritage through conservation and collaboration.
Jeremy Prather - Helena Valley Board Member
Jeremy grew up in the mountains of northern California, where he developed a deep passion for the outdoors. After graduating from UC Davis, he served as an Army officer for eight years, relocating frequently across the country. Whether fly fishing small creeks in Missouri or camping in North Carolina’s mountains, he consistently sought time outside to recharge.
After leaving the Army, Jeremy used the GI Bill to earn an MBA from UT Austin and began working in Houston for Chevron in the oil and gas industry.
After several years in the city, Jeremy and his young family moved to Helena, Montana, to be closer to family and the outdoor spaces they love. He believes public lands endure because of those who have fought to protect them, and through his work on the Montana Chapter board, he is committed to preserving wild places for his children and future generations.
Board Members - Officers
Jake Schwaller: Board Chair - Billings
John Sullivan: Immediate Past Chair - Missoula
Thomas Baumeister: Vice Chair
Dan Tracey: Board Treasurer - Missoula
Sunni Heikes Bodogaard: Board Secretary - Ennis
Graham Coppes: Western Montana Conservation Leader - Missoula
Board Members - Regional
Caleb Teigen: Gallatin Valley Board Member - Bozeman
Zach Cason: Northeastern Montana Board Member - Malta
Josh Liljedahl: Missoula Valley Board Member - Florence
Kyle Mitchell: Northeastern Montana Board Member - Kalispell
Jaron Laws: Southwest Montana Board Member - Dillon
Jeremy Prather: Hellena Valley Board Member - Helena
Board Members - Specialists
Russell Fruits: Capitol Conservation Policy Leader - Helena
Doug Long: Events Chair -
Robert McQueen: Stewardship Chair - Missoula, MT