Backcountry Journal: Summer 2024 Backcountry hunters and anglers value wild country, clean water and intact habitat. It’s a founding principal of this organization, and one that remains a priority today. But we aren’t the only ones who know their value. Five years ago I teamed up with rancher Bill Fales to advocate for protecting Colorado’s Thompson Divide from proposed oil and gas development. Bill and his family ranch alongside the Crystal River, south of Carbondale. The ranch has been in ...

At Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, our mission is to protect our public lands, waters, and wildlife and the ability to continue hunting and fishing on those lands and waters. To that end, we support the designation of the Dolores Canyon National Monument as part of the Sportsmen for the Dolores alongside conservation partner Trout Unlimited, local stakeholders, and our membership nationwide.  On July 5, both of Colorado's senators released a statement regarding the proposed Dolores Canyon ...

The Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) chapter held their 15th Annual Rendezvous in the San Isabel National Forest west of Salida/Poncha Springs during June. A dozen hunters and anglers from around the state set up camp in a high-mountain meadow (known locally as the “goat wadi”) at 9,000-plus feet in the Sawatch Range. BHA has always been a “quality over quantity” outfit and this Rendezvous served to prove the point. Attendees included (in part): a former Colorado Parks and ...

“The solution to any problem–work, love, money, whatever–is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be.” John Gierach, Standing in a River Waving a Stick   Welcome to the Summer 2024 edition of the Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ newsletter! We're excited to bring you the latest updates from our chapter, including highlights from our successful Colorado Public Lands Day event in Gunnison, groundbreaking conservation initiatives, and notable recognitions ...

On June 12, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a legislative hearing which included the consideration of six bills supported by Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. Members of BHA have advocated for these bills which together would permanently conserve nearly 3 million acres of public lands and 3,600 miles of rivers and streams, as well as improve publicly available data for accessing federal waters. These priority landscapes contain ...