As populations and outdoor recreation grows in the west it’s imperative that trail planning and management consider the effects of roads, trails, and recreation activities on big game high priority (and other) habitats. Although the detrimental impacts of motorized/mechanized roads and trails on big game have been extensively studied and well documented since the 1970s, during recent years some elk herds in Colorado, for example, are dying off as a result. Multiple studies have clearly ...

During the late summer/early fall I spend several days in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado scouting rifle season elk hunting locales. I’m not looking for elk, specifically, but for where elk might be during late October and early November, come second rifle season. As my friend Stuart Osthoff (who started guiding elk hunters in Colorado’s Comanche Wilderness 25 years ago) says, “Elk aren’t predictable day to day, or year to year. You usually have to cover ground with your eyes ...

Battle At Bellyache Ridge Fence Removal  By Briant Wiles   It was the end of May 2024, and the BHA stewardship team was riding high after victories at Meeker, Rabbit Mountain, Perins Peak, and the momentous Beer, Bands, and Barbwire Strands event. I might say that we were a little bit smug having battled everything from 4 strand wire in scrub oak to woven wire embedded in thick sage. Overconfident and foolhardy I plunged the Toyota off the pavement onto the dirt road leading up Bellyache ...

Villa Grove State Trust Lands  Fence Removal By Briant Wiles   Looking up from the fence our eyes are drawn to a solid wall of mountains that sweep south lining the bathtub of sediment that is the San Luis Valley in South central Colorado. The breeze picks up and a gust of wind brings cool notes of autumn refreshing the smell of sage tinted air. With bolt cutters and fence pliers we drop the old, barbed wire from wind polished ceder posts. These weathered posts stood as mute testament to a ...

Have a skeptical family member or friend who thinks a big cat can only be a “trophy” and not table fare? Get your hands on some catamount meat and treat them to this mountain lion carnitas recipe, courtesy of BHA's Regional Policy Coordinator, Bryan Jones. Servings: 6 Ingredients: 3 pounds mountain lion meat (shoulder or hind quarter works well)½ pound of lard or other rendered fat1 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (store bought will work)3 cups water4 cloves of garlic1 tablespoon cumin2 ...