“People are the most important currency at BHA”

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) is incredibly effective thanks to the combination of a professional BHA headquarters staff combined with boots on the ground volunteer chapter leaders working directly with members and the public at large across the country and continent in order to help perpetuate and defend “our wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.”

 

Tireless volunteer leaders and selfless members engaging on a myriad of conservation issues and actions have propelled our BHA tribe forward for over twenty years. During this 20th year of the first state chapter—Colorado BHA, founded by David “Elkheart” Petersen (a U.S. Marine Corps veteran) in 2005—it seems appropriate to recognize one of our most accomplished Colorado BHA chapter leaders.

 

 

People are the most important currency at BHA, and the mantra “when we all do a little, we accomplish a lot” is what translates thoughts and ideas into actions and accomplishments. However, some go above and beyond to help make a difference. One such Colorado BHA leader during 2025 was Southwest Colorado Assistant Regional Director Jarret Childers.

 

Between February and November 2025 Jarret organized and led five stewardship projects or activities including: 1.) February: a regional ice fishing meeting/local engagement event; 2.) March: a fence pull with 11 volunteers removing a half mile of fencing combined with a two-mile pack out; 3.) June: a guzzler repair and installation with 8 volunteers; 4.) August: an illegal trail removal (1.5 miles) impacting winter big game and raptor habitat; 5.) November: a fence pull with 9 volunteers removing a quarter mile of decrepit public lands fencing.

 

Fence pulls, in particular, have been excellent projects for bringing hunters and non-hunters together to work on projects benefiting wildlife. “On Saturday November 22, six adult volunteers, one child, and three BLM staff came together outside of Mancos, Colorado, to remove a little over 1/4 mile of aged and damaged fencing which ran through some critical winter range for wildlife,” Jarret said (about the November fence pull). “The area is closed to protect wildlife December 1 - May 1 every year.”

 

As stated by Ally J. Levine, Soumya Karwa, and Travis Hartman in a July 2025 Reuters story (“Eroding protections for public lands,” 7/28/25), “Within the polarized and fractured political landscape, the geographic landscape may be the one thing that unites the left and right be they hiker or hunter.”

 

 

“Jarret has been very diligent leading up multiple habitat stewardship projects, including multiple fence removals and a guzzler repair,” Southwest Colorado Regional Director Alex

Krebs emphasized. “As far as boots on the ground efforts are concerned, Jarret has really been a humbling force.” And he’s not slowing down. For starters, in 2026, Jarret is leading up a wild game potluck in Mancos on January 24.

 

“Please join BHA and Alpacka Raft at Fenceline Cider Saturday January 24, 2026, for a community Wild Game Potluck. Try to bring foods harvested on our precious public lands, as we are celebrating the food we get from the shared spaces we cherish. Not all dishes HAVE to be wild game, other hearty, outdoor-inspired foods are more than welcome,” Jarret explained. “Bring out your grandma’s special recipe, make something out of the ordinary, have fun with it! This will be a great chance to connect with fellow public land advocates, adventurers, hunters, anglers, and conservationists from the local area. All are welcome, friends, family, kids, etc.”

As Jarret implies (in the words of BHA President and CEO Ryan “Cal” Callaghan), “BHA is a cross section of the outdoor community. If you love being outside you’ve found your group.” And as we all know, it has been a hell of a year for anyone who cares about our wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.

 

 

The great public lands estate and legacy that we are fighting for today was brought forward to us by multiple past generations of hunter-angler conservationists and many others. We stand on the shoulders of giants, but the giants of today—BHA and others in Colorado and across the continent—are collectively making a difference too. Jarrett is one of them.

 

I recall a Winston Churchill quote: “It’s not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.” And that’s what Colorado BHA leaders like Jarret and many others have done every year since BHA was founded by the “Gang of Seven” around a southern Oregon campfire in March 2004.

 

“BHA is also the one organization that is willing to take a stand for public lands when it matters most and always leads the way. In this, BHA is part of a proud tradition, led by volunteers, of defending our public lands from the numerous threats they face. As I like to put it, if Theodore Roosevelt were alive today, he’d be a BHA member.”

 

“Selflessness is an uncommon virtue, and seemingly increasingly so these days,” chapter co-chair David Lien said. “Thank you for your selflessness, your incalculable efforts to protect wildlands and wildlife for current and future generations. When we all do a little, we accomplish a lot!” But as BHA founder Mike Beagle (a U.S. Army veteran) says, “The best is yet to come.”

 

 

Additional/Related Information -“CO BHA Appoint Jarret Childers to Southwest Colorado Assistant Regional Director Position.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 7/15/24. -Jarret Childers. “EVENT RECAP: Phil's World Fence Pull and Clean Up.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 4/8/25. -Jarret Childers. “Animas Mountain Trail Removal 2025 Project.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 10/28/25. -Jarret Childers. “Aqueduct Fence Removal Report - Manco, CO.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 12/15/25.

 

Colorado BHA Accomplishments

-See some of our Colorado BHA top 2025 accomplishments, as posted on the Colorado BHA Instagram account (on 12/1/25): “With a month to go in 2025, Colorado BHA’s year has looked like this …”

-Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (1/11/26). “Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) chapter Strategic Planning Session: Colorado Springs (1/10/26).” -Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) 2025 Highlights (video): “This is why BHA was built. For this opportunity. For this fight!” -Colorado Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) chapter Strategic Planning Session (photos): Colorado Springs (1/10/26).

-I recall a Winston Churchill quote: “It’s not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.” -FF (5/15/21). “Darkest Hour | Churchill’s Triumphant Speech: ‘We Shall Never Surrender!’” -Colorado BHA Recognitions And Awards.

 

BHA History/Accomplishments -“A Brief BHA History III: Taking The Initiative and Raisin’ Hell.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 6/29/25. -“Freedom & Fire: A Brief BHA History II.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 2/24/25. -“Stalking Wildness: BHA’s Wilderness Warriors.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 2/13/24. -“Hunting For Experience: Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Oral History Project.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/28/24. -“The Patron Saints of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 3/12/24. -“Public Lands (& Freedom) Unite Our Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Tribe.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 1/5/24. -“Conservation (& Conciliation).” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 9/15/21. -“Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/30/20.