Seth Trokey, Co-Chair

Seth grew up in rural Southwestern Illinois and has been hunting and fishing his entire life. Growing up in rural IL helped fuel his passion for the out-of-doors from an early age. Seth started hunting public land in college when he attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The fact that SIUC was surrounded by Shawnee National Forest, the biggest chunk of public land in IL, his eyes were truly opened to the treasures that are our public lands and waters. While hunting Shawnee Seth got his first taste of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of what our public lands have to offer. His earliest memory of the concept of conservation came at about age 5 while mushroom hunting Morels with his dad. Seth’s dad said 8 words that were the catalyst for his love for conservation of our wild places and spending as much time as possible outdoors.

Seth is a crew leader, certified pipeline welder, and equipment operator for the biggest utility company in IL.

Drew Kazenski, Co-Chair

Drew Kazenski grew up in rural central Illinois and was raised from the beginning with a deep understanding and respect for hunting, fishing and conservation.  As an avid hiker, hunter and fly fisherman; he has had whitetails make him tremble in Illinois, chased Merriam turkeys in South Dakota, and landed West-slope Cutthroats in Montana, all due to public land and conservation efforts before him.  Drew believes if you are consuming or taking you should do some part to give back, one of his reasons for joining BHA.  Drew encourages everyone to find away to give back to the land we all consume from.

Currently, Drew still resides in central Illinois with his wife and golden retriever enjoying their passion for the outdoors.

Skylar Paul, Secretary

Skylar was born and raised in a small fishing community on the coast of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. It was here that he learned to appreciate wild places and all the valuable resources that they can provide. Moving to Southern Illinois for college and to help work on the family farm taught him the importance of all land and how important it is to protect these resources. Currently Skylar spends his free time passing on this care of the land through his career in agriculture and by teaching his young children the importance of having wild places. He is excited to bring this passion to the Illinois BHA to help conserve and protect our public lands and waters.

Brandon Tate, Conservation Officer

Born and raised in southern Illinois, Brandon primarily hunted private land until he moved away to college. Without access to local private ground, he began exploring the public resources available to him. Public accessibility has been an integral and often required part of his hunting and fishing ever since. Whether it is a public parcel to hunt, or an access point to legally wade or launch from, public lands and waters are what have enabled him to pursue his passions afield and on the water. It is because of this that he joined Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. He believes the benefits of public resources are not important only for those west of the Mississippi; they are critical for hunter retention and recruitment everywhere. To fund his hunting and fishing, Brandon works as an engineer for an agriculture company. 

Nate Towse, Board of Directors

Nate is a native and resident of Godrey, IL. He developed a passion for the outdoors at an early age. At a young age, he attended deer camp with my father and grandfather. It was through his father that he found an interest in quail and pheasant hunting. His interests continued to grow when he was introduced to bow hunting thanks to his stepfather in his late teens, and continues to enjoy duck hunting to this day. With children of his own, he is happy to able to teach his sons the same skills and create these memories with them. 

As an Illinois BHA member, he feels it is important to educate new and experienced hunters. One thing he finds extremely important is to bring awareness to the public land issues that the state of Illinois faces. He strives to bring a new generation of people to hunting and outdoor activities, whether it is a child just beginning to learn about hunting and hunter safety or someone who is experienced but is wanting to learn about new skills or technique, he looks forward to getting out in the community and helping others become connected to this great organization. 

Greg Legan, Board of Directors

Raised in a small farming community in east central Illinois, Greg is a lifelong upland game and waterfowl hunter (and later life fly fisherman).

A former director of the Illinois Conservation Foundation, Greg has been active for over 30 years in local and national efforts to raise funds and material support for programs that promote the safe and ethical use of the outdoors by young people. He is particularly excited about assisting BHA efforts to promote fair chase.

He currently chairs the Jackson County Natural Resources Economic Development Board and serves on the Kinkaid-Reeds Creek Conservancy District and the Shawnee Resource Conservation & Development Area Council.

Greg and his wife Peggy have three adult children and reside in southern Illinois.

 Click here to contact the Illinois chapter board.