The Missouri Chapter hit the ground running this spring. At the helm, new Chapter Chair Paul Keeven and new Vice Chair Caleb Condit helped to add four new board members to the chapter board: Alex Vollman, Mike Nelson, Casey Blystone and Nathan Woleslagle. These new board members bring an extensive background in conservation and have coordinated events from Springfield to Kansas City to St. Louis, expanded the engagement of the chapter through digital media, and have donated a three-day turkey/morel mushroom hunt for the 2023 season in the Mark Twain National Forest for the North American BHA Rendezvous!
In late March, Missouri BHA members coordinated a Stream Clean-Up at Wilson’s Creek near Nixa, Missouri, where they removed 16- 33 gallon bags of trash and 26 tires from the waterway. This area was in dire need of work, and the chapter partnered with the River Access Coalition to gather 11 members and provide the muscle in cleaning up these public hunting and fishing grounds in southwest Missouri.
The chapter has also engaged its membership in new ways it had not been able to do during the pandemic. A successful pint night just wrapped in St. Louis in collaboration with the Illinois BHA Chapter, and MO BHA will be holding one next week in Kansas City at Barrel City Brewing + Kitchen. The chapter has signed on its first state sponsor in ALPS OutdoorZ, which donated gear for these events. The chapter continues to grow relationships with outdoor industry partners, NGOS, and legislators to help BHA become a force to be reckoned with in Missouri!