Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) held our 4th annual “Beer, Bands & Barbed Wire Strands” Colorado Public Lands Day event at the I-Bar Ranch in Gunnison during May 15-16, 2026. Among the over 125 attendees was West Slope BHA member Jodi Brown, who also had a photo of her first bull elk included in the “Backcountry Bounty” section of BHA’s Spring 2026 Backcountry Journal.

 

 

Jodi was born in Northern Colorado and is a fifth generation Coloradoan. Her mom’s family ranched along the Colorado-Wyoming border and her dad’s ranched on Colorado’s West Slope, and they still have the land that they ran cattle on originally. When she was nine years old they moved to Laramie, Wyoming where she graduated from high school.

“My first memory of fishing is ‘with’ my mom’s dad, Grandpa Red, on Devils Creek on the ranch,” Jodi said. “His grand master plan was to nap while I messed around. He gave me a reel and put a worm on, went to lay down to nap until I had a fish on. I remember loving it and loved even more sitting on the picnic table overlooking my family’s ranch eating the fish I caught.”

“I remember my grandpa, uncles, and dad hunting—mainly deer because it hung from the swing set off the saddle shed that my grandpa made,” Jodi added. “Growing up in Wyoming, we were required to take hunters safety and back then I never would have guessed I’d use it or be stoked on it as much as I am. But I was subjected to many hunting stories and mainly recall the ones about my dad’s father and his uncle hunting up in the Flat Tops.”

Jodi was a non-traditional student and went back to school/college in her late 20s/early 30s after completing a Telluride ski bum stint. “When I returned to school, I moved out to California where I fell in love with the ocean so everyone encouraged me to get a degree in marine biology, but my gut told me to get a BS in zoology in case I returned to Colorado or Wyoming,” she explained. “Which fit with my work in research collections, in particular bivalve and avian collections.”

After moving back to Colorado Jodi obtained her substitute teaching license and was hired by Ridgway Elementary School. “It was only supposed to be temporary, but temporary kept getting extended and the 5th grade class that I was subbing for and I got attached to each other,” she said. “Next thing I knew I was getting my teaching license, and I’ve been a classroom teacher ever since and love it!”

Jodi didn’t start hunting until returning to Colorado, where she has taken up turkey, goose, and elk hunting. “I hunt units 64/65 and 70 but I fish all over the state,” she explained. “I mainly hunt for elk and have started collecting points for deer and moose. I want to hunt moose after watching my cousin harvest one with a muzzleloader out of the Rawah Wilderness. That was a surreal hunt! I started hunting turkeys around here too, about 5 years ago.”

“I am also getting a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon and am so excited to extend my hunting season and broaden it to bird hunting (upland and waterfowl),” she added. “I hunt with a rifle, a heavy old 270 Winchester and then another old 12-gauge Winchester. Both hand me downs.” She has also put two elk in the freezer already, including her “Backcountry Bounty” bull! The story of that hunt is included below.

My November 2025 elk hunt was a bit surreal. I got a later season leftover tag, not my usual either sex tag for first rifle, and took the Friday off before the season ended to hunt hard. I went up in the Cimmarons and just kept getting bumped by guys on 4-wheelers, so I went up higher but couldn’t find any elk.

On Saturday I went to my normal spot under the Sneffels range and took a friend out who is a bird hunter and has done some big game hunting. We covered a lot of ground and found a herd with two bulls, including a good-sized bull and a spike. We both thought for sure that was my moment, but the wind shifted, they spooked, and we walked out.

On Sunday, the last day, I was up early and hunting solo. I sat where we saw elk the day before and then visited some other spots where I had encountered elk but no luck. At 2 pm I decided to call it a day and catch the Broncos game. As I was walking out it seemed so magical with the golden leaves and warm breeze. I was bummed I didn’t get one but also just happy to have this place to hunt and enjoy.

Then I heard a bugling bull and cows below me in an aspen groove. I sat, listened, and did something I have never done before. I pulled out my Hoochie Mama and thought, “What the heck, I’ll just try it. I’ve got nothing to lose.” Well, the bull responded and started to move towards me! I couldn’t see him but could hear him. This went on for about an hour. Then the wind shifted, dropped my scent to him, and they spooked.

 

 

On the way out I spike appeared walking the same path! He had no clue I was there, as the wind was pushing into him. I followed, hoping he’d lead me to something legal. Then he heard me and bolted into the dark timber. Again, I was just stoked to have had that experience but nearing the “home stretch,” not far from the truck, I caught movement on my right and looked over to find two bulls moving through the aspens.

My borrowed binoculars had a range finder built in: 116 yards. Two shots later I knew I hit him but he wasn’t down. It was tough going because there wasn’t any snow on the ground, making tracking difficult. I was only able to find small disturbances combined with a strong elk smell. Regardless, I kept going and then looked through the aspens, where I had been hoping to see the bulls pop out, and there was one bull looking back my way and I knew I had him. He was tangled up between aspens, breathing slowly.

I couldn’t believe it! I cried and said thank you as I approached him. I just couldn’t believe it. And then I thought, oh boy, here’s the hard part. I started trying to text and call anyone I knew to come help. My phone glitched out and only one text went through. Luckily, this friend was with a local rancher having dinner and asked him if he wanted to help get an elk out. This rancher is all about the adventure and rallied.

And, of course, it started to snow. So here I was with this 5x6 bull elk in complete shock of what I had accomplished and getting soaked and cold. They arrived and helped move the elk off the hillside and into the back of this funky little ranch truck. The rancher then called the local meat processor, Orvis, to see if we could drop it off since my phone wasn’t working. We dropped it off after dark and I brought the head home.

I was so tired and shocked, especially since my friends helped me get a private land tag in February and I was able to harvest a cow elk. I thought, oh man, what a year—a cow elk, a spring turkey on opening day, and now this 5x6 bull elk! When I shared the news with my family, my ex’s dad asked if he could do a European mount for me. Which I thought would just make this once in a lifetime bull that much more special and meaningful. Now, for the first time ever, I have a mount in my house, and it reminds me every day that I can do hard things and do them alone too.

 

 

Jodi is also mentoring new hunters. “It has been fun to share as more women have approached me about getting out to hunt,” she explained. “I’ve actually been taking a parent/friend out turkey hunting for the first time ever. So that’s been really interesting and fun. Plus, sharing hunting stories with my students has piqued their interest in hunting.”

“My desire to encourage others to hunt (women, men, and children) and preserve our privilege of hunting on public lands overrides my desire to remain quiet as I’ve learned that when I share my story with others it piques their interest and they are shocked to learn that I hunt,” Jodi added. “And when I share, they become curious about my stories and ask more questions rather than criticize. Which has been an eye opener for me and made me realize in order to preserve all that I love and others love, I have to be brave and share.”

As Jodi (and all of us) learned during the BHA “Beers, Bands, and Barbed Wire Strands” weekend, public lands work projects, like pulling barbed wire fence, are great ways to build bridges, creating better understanding and developing working relationships between hunters, non-hunters, and everyone in between.

And it’s just very satisfying work all-around! As my friend Diane Bachman explains, “Camaraderie ranks high on my list of life’s earned treasures. When friends, or strangers, come together and pursue with gusto a common goal, and gather lasting precious memories … lives are truly enriched.” As they were during our Colorado Public Lands Day weekend.

“Beers, Bands, and Barbed Wire Strands Year 4 is a wrap! … Habitat conservation projects only work with fantastic partners like @coloradowildlifecouncil and @cblandtrust,” we posted on Colorado BHA’s Instagram account. “Five miles of retired fencing and posts only come out when 125 volunteers show up! The best Colorado Public Lands Day project and party only happens when you get support from an incredible list of sponsors from near and far! And when you finish the weekend with 2 world class bands like @thebandlorian and @bard_edrington_v at the one and only @ibarranch the results are legendary! Thank you to everyone who made this event happen, can’t wait to see you next year!”

Jodi became a BHA member during 2020 after searching for a nonprofit that aligned with her love for fishing, hunting, and public lands. “I read up on it at that time and just felt that it was an organization that resonated with all that I love (public lands and fishing) and have come to love (hunting),” she explained.

As Jodi knows from hard-earned elk hunts and other experiences, nothing truly good in life comes easy, as we are finding out in spades today, facing a multitude of threats to our great public lands estate and hunting-angling heritage. Our job, our responsibility to past, present, and future generations is to “do what we can with what we have where we are,” as Theodore Roodevelt said. When everyone does a little, we can accomplish a lot. Join us!

Founded by Mike Beagle, a former U.S. Army field artillery officer, and formed around an Oregon campfire, in 2004, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our nation’s wild public lands, waters and wildlife. With members spread out across all 50 states and 13 Canadian provinces and territories—including chapters in 49 states, two Canadian provinces and one territory, and Washington, D.C.—BHA brings an authentic, informed, boots-on-the-ground voice to the conservation of public lands. The Colorado BHA chapter was founded by David “Elkheart” Petersen (a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) in 2005 (the first official BHA chapter)