During May 2023 I crossed paths with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) founder Mike Beagle in Denver, nearly four years after we last got together at a watering hole not far from Mike’s home in southern Oregon. Catching up with Mike or any other BHA members always reminds me of the three things you can count on at any BHA gathering: good people, good food, and good times. Mike recruited me into BHA during March 2005. “Consider our organization, there are none like it anywhere,” he ...

Janet George volunteered as a Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Habitat Watch Volunteer for the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest. She was born and raised in southwestern Michigan. More specifically, the area between Grand Rapids and Holland, only 15 miles from Lake Michigan’s shoreline. “My Dad started taking me fishing when I was 4 years old on pan fish and I started small game hunting at 12 years old near my parent’s home in Michigan,” Janet said. “We continued to enjoy time ...

Paul Painter was named Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) Denver Metro Area Work Projects Liaison. Paul was born at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois, but raised in the little Appalachian coal town of Plumville, Pennsylvania, which is about 15 miles from Punxsutawney Phil. Paul is a graduate of IUP, not Indiana University Purdue, rather Indiana University of Pennsylvania. “I’m a computer geek so being outdoors is my release,” Paul said. “Being raised in Pennsylvania where the first ...

Alex Krebs BHA Member of the Month: June 2023 (Colorado BHA Southwest Group Assistant Regional Director) During the spring of 2022 Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Southwest Group Assistant Regional Director Alex Krebs got wind of a proposed mountain bike trail system in the Jackson Mountain area north of Pagosa Springs. Alex is an elk hunter and knows the Jackson Mountain area includes critical habitat and migration corridor for elk and deer. And with increasing development and ...

Colorado BHA 14th Annual Rendezvous Report: Gunnison National Forest (June 9-11, 2023) The Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers 14th Annual Rendezvous was held in Gunnison National Forest south of the West Elk Wilderness at the Soap Creek Corral dispersed camping area west of Gunnison during June 9-11, 2023. A group of 15 or so hunter-angler-conservationists—along with a multitude of canine companions—from across the state met up for a picture-perfect weekend filled with abundant hiking ...