Trenton Budish - Assistant Regional Director
Trenton was born in Minnesota and raised in Loveland, Colorado. He started hunting and angling at around three years old. “My entire
family is made up of hunters and fishermen, but my dad has always been my biggest outdoor mentor,” Trenton said. “I spend most of my time in northern Colorado hunting deer and elk, as well as chasing any fish that will bite.” He primarily hunts with a
compound bow.
He’s also a carpenter and college student pursuing a degree in fermentation science with a possible double minor in forestry and will be transferring to Colorado State in 2022. In addition, he’s a veteran and served as an Army Combat Engineer at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Trenton joined BHA in early 2020 after hearing about us from a Steven Rinella book. He lives in Loveland.
Graham Geary - Assistant Regional Director
Graham was born in Greeley, Colorado, and raised on a small ranch east of there on the edge of the Great Plains, a location from
which you can see the snowy peaks to the west and to the east the vast grasslands of the nation’s interior spread as far as the eye can see. “We raised a few cows and rode some good horses and lived a pleasant country life,”
Graham said. “I also split time in Loveland, Colorado, at the base of the foothills as a kid and explored the rivers and mountains there.”
He started fishing at a young age in the waters of Northern Colorado. “I was always enamored with fishing and being in the water and exploring,” he added. “I have many memories of wading into the Big Thompson River in my blue jeans just so I could cast my bubble and fly a little bit further to where the fish must be. Eventually my father recognized my obsession and bought me my first set of waders and fly rod when I was probably 10 years old, and I never looked back. I also spent a fair amount of time fishing with my grandfather in the lakes and streams of Iowa and on the occasional family trip to Northern Minnesota.”
However, Graham didn’t grow up with hunting. He didn’t really have any introduction into the sport and lifestyle until a good friend, Logan Hostetter, convinced him to get his hunter’s safety in 2017 so they could hunt pheasant in eastern Colorado. “We had become friends in middle and high school because we liked to fish and be outdoors and had a lot in common,” Graham said. “His family had always hunted so if I went to their house to study or stay over, dinner would often be a delicious meal of fresh fish or wild game.”
“That first pheasant hunt we shared was incredible and the experience of a beautiful wild bird flushing noisily out of the edge of a field, crumpling with a surprisingly well placed shot, being delivered back to hand by a good dog, only to be later turned into a delicious meal had me hooked,” he added. “I knew I had to go on more hunts and learn as much as I could about new species and new environments and look at land in new ways. Over the years I had developed a sense of how to read a river to find fish but I have spent the last several seasons finding ways to read the land. Where once I saw empty space now I see habitat.”
Graham has tried to hunt nearly everything Colorado has to offer. From mule deer and elk to turkeys and bears to grouse and pheasant and beyond! “Very much a generalist when it comes to the hunt and I look forward to the opening of different seasons and different species to chase,” he said. “Calling for spring turkeys and glassing for mule deer during rifle season are two favorites. As an angler I feel that I have been a lot more specialized in learning how to effectively catch trout out of a stream with a fly rod. I love to cast hardware or bait in still water as well but haven’t done that nearly as much and feel that I have much more to learn in that discipline.”
He hunts with a rifle, compound bow and a “trusty old Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun.” Graham first heard about BHA from an interview with Land Tawney on the Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast with Tom Rosenbauer, which led him to research BHA and the role we play in advocating for access. Graham went to Aims Community College in Greeley, studying environmental design, renewable energy and construction management.
“I am currently a project manager for a small residential remodeling firm in Fort Collins doing high end remodels all over Larimer County,” he added. “I am a carpenter by trade having learned some of my skills growing up in a house that was always under construction on a small ranch where something always needed to be done. I am recently considering a career change into the realm of land and water resources and conservation.”
Aaron Lingwall - Assistant Regional Director
Aaron was born and raised in Wahpeton, North Dakota, and spent a lot of time in nearby central Minnesota with extended family. “My brother and I would follow my father afield before we were old enough to carry a firearm,” he said. “We hunted pheasant and waterfowl in North Dakota. Fished for walleye, panfish, and pike and hunted whitetail and grouse in Minnesota. My dad and both of my grandpas were integral figures in raising me with a passion and respect for the outdoors.”
After completing a B.S. in Geology, Aaron worked in that field for about a decade. “A passion for woodworking led me to a management position in the hardwood lumber industry,” he explained. “I have been a manager at Western Hardwoods since 2020.” Most of Aaron’s hunting and fishing takes place in Colorado these days, with occasional trips to Wyoming and Nebraska, and trips back to Minnesota to hunt or fish with family.
“I hunt waterfowl, pronghorn, deer, and elk in Colorado,” he added. “I typically target trout and walleye across Colorado and Wyoming. I enjoy ice fishing and often make a trip back to Minnesota in the winter to chase walleye and crappie through the ice.” Aaron hunts most often with a rifle, but also occasionally uses a bow or muzzleloader. “Anything that allows me to get out in the wild more each season,” he said.
Aaron is a trainee in CPW’s Hunter Ed Volunteer program and hopes to start teaching classes this year. He attended his first Backcountry Hunters & Anglers event in Minnesota during 2018 after hearing BHA mentioned multiple times on the Meateater podcast. He became a member after moving to Colorado in 2018. Aaron lives in Wellington, Colorado.