Among hunter-conservationists the story of the decimation of wildlands and wildlife during the 1700s-1800s followed by a remarkable recovery during the 1900s-2000s is well known. However, a week prior to the start of the 2024 spring turkey hunting season Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) Habitat Watch Volunteer Rick Hooley forwarded me a new YouTube documentary (“The Colonel & The Fox”) about two of turkey hunting’s foremost protectors and proponents.[1] During 2018 I wrote about ...

The Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) recently appointed Jerod Swanson to serve as an Assistant Regional Director for the Central Rockies region. Jerod was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, but his family eventually moved to Minnesota and he grew up in the Twin Cities (i.e., Minneapolis-St. Paul) northern suburbs. “I started hunting and fishing at a young age,” he explained. “My father first taught my brothers and me, but later I found friends in high school and college ...

In the words of former Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) Conservation Director John Gale, “Conserving large tracts of undeveloped public lands as national monuments is essential to America’s hunting and fishing traditions.”[1] “National monument designations offer a means to conserve large landscapes important to fish and wildlife and valued by sportsmen,” said Land Tawney, former BHA President and CEO.[2] “Numerous monuments are open to hunting and fishing, with recent designations—such ...

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) started around a campfire during March 2004, thanks to seven hunters and anglers, men and women, the “Gang of Seven.”[1] They were inspired by the political activism of Theodore Roosevelt, the Land Ethic of Aldo Leopold and the contemporary writings of hunting ethicist and renowned trad bow elk hunter David “Elkheart” Petersen.[2] In my mind these three, along with BHA founder Mike Beagle and the Gang of Seven, are the Patron Saints of BHA. As Mike said in ...

Briant Wiles recently joined the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) team as Colorado Habitat Stewardship Coordinator. Briant was born and raised in Lander, Wyoming, and grew up hunting and fishing with his father, who is still his hunting and angling buddy. He loves all types of birds and big game hunting but has a special fondness for waterfowl.     Briant has a Bachelor of Business Administration & Outdoor Recreation and a Master of Environmental Management from Western Colorado ...