Jeffrey Edwards – President

Q: What is your hunting/fishing/outdoor background?

A: I've grown up surrounded by hunting and fishing. My earliest memories are panfishing in northern Wisconsin with a Scooby-Doo rod and sitting on the platform of a homemade ladder stand, pockets filled with candy, picking apart the woods in search of the elusive whitetail - not much has changed!

Q: What are you majoring in?

A: Wildlife ecology and management.

Q: How/why did you get involved with BHA/UWSP BHA?

A: My final tipping point to becoming involved in BHA, and ultimately UWSP BHA, came from my first backcountry archery elk hunting trip to Colorado last fall. While camping out with my brother at 10,000 feet above sea level and 7 miles deep in a designated wilderness area, I fully understood why these public lands are worth fighting for. Without public lands to recreate on, adults and kids alike would never experience the outdoors, and frankly the potential societal and emotional impact is beyond our comprehension.

Q: What are your goals career-wise and as a BHA club leader?

A: Career-wise, I fully intend to pack up and move out West working with wildlife habitat and, if lucky enough, work on researching and enhancing wildlife corridors to promote safe and natural migration patterns. As a BHA club leader, I strive to educate as many people as I can on the importance of preserving public lands, utilizing hunting as a tool for wildlife management and for sustenance, and finally, maintaining the integrity and natural beauty of our streams and rivers. Amongst all of this, I believe that building relationships with our local businesses and local outdoor community is an important key to our success as a group.

Harrison Stasik – Vice President

Q: What is your hunting/fishing/outdoor background?

A: My hunting, fishing and outdoor background stems from generations of my family hunting and fishing. I was kind of born into this background. I vividly remember fishing trips at my grandfather’s cottage since I was five, and from there my dad planted the seed that I should hunt. He got his wish when I turned 12 and shot my first deer, a spike buck, during my first gun deer season. From that day on hunting has been a passion of mine, and I took the idea to a whole new level in my hunting group. Before I was old enough to hunt, no one in my group bow deer, duck, pheasant, coyote, bear, and barely turkey hunted. I began to have interests in all of these, and it kind of spread like wildfire. I no longer have a free weekend come early September. I never thought a single hunt would give me something to be so passionate about, and I look forward to what comes next in the future of hunting, fishing and the outdoors.

Q: What are you majoring in?

A: I am majoring in wildlife ecology and management with a minor in biology and captive wildlife.

Q: How/why did you get involved with BHA/UWSP BHA?

A: UWSP BHA was introduced to me by our president and my friend Jeffrey Edwards. He brought it up during a game of pool we were playing, and the idea stuck. A club about hunting and fishing while promoting management of public lands was something I could not turn down.

Q: What are your goals career-wise and as a BHA club leader?

A: For my career goals I would either like to work in a captive wildlife setting as a zoologist to better understand and study how animals behave in captivity or I would like to take the more remote job as a wildlife biologist to study animals in their natural habitat. That will all depend on where I am at in my life when I graduate. I have been brainstorming goals for BHA for a while now. My main goal for UWSP BHA is to make it more well known to the students on campus and to really get the club out there. Some of my other goals would be to make the meetings more engaging by bringing in guest speakers and different types of workshops revolving around hunting and fishing. Another important goal of mine would be planning trips and outings that the club members can participate in.

Adam Nyhus – Treasurer

Q: What is your hunting/fishing/outdoor background?

A: I grew up living in Montana for eight years and learning how to hunt big game and fish for trout on public land/waters. This made me respect the fish and game I was pursuing and their habitat on a whole other level. I also had family in Colorado, so my boots were quite familiar with Rocky Mountain terrain. My dad’s side of the family lived in Wisconsin, so I was given the opportunity to get the outdoor experience of fishing from boats and hunting deer from tree stands as well. My family moved back to Wisconsin seven years ago. Since then I have carried out my passion for hunting on public lands by pursuing waterfowl and turkeys, which I have fallen in love with. Over the years of being outdoors, I have learned the ethic of fair chase and how important public lands are to me as an outdoorsman and to future generations. Having access to public land allows me to get outside and do what God put me here to do, which is hunt and fish!

Q: What are you majoring in?

A: I’m majoring in wildlife ecology and management with a minor in biology and a certificate in wetland science.

Q: How/why did you get involved with BHA/UWSP BHA?

A: I honestly wasn’t aware of BHA until I came to UWSP. When I was first introduced to the organization last fall, I knew that I needed to be a part of it. Everything that BHA stood for directly related to my thoughts on the outdoors/public lands. I was blown away that I had never heard of it before, but I’m stoked that I can be a part of this family for the rest of my life.

Q: What are your goals career-wise and as a BHA club leader?

A: My career goal is to ultimately become a waterfowl biologist. I want to study ducks, work on habitat projects, and do everything in my power to put more birds in the sky for future waterfowl hunting generations. As a BHA club leader, my goal is to help inspire others to support our public lands and give them clear/hands-on experiences that will drive the future of outdoor recreation to the public.

Calvin Dee – Social Media/Public Relations

Q: What is your hunting/fishing/outdoor background?

A: Ever since I was little I have been a fisherman, bass fishing in particular. Over the years I progressed in my fishing, and in high school, I progressed to fishing in ISHA bass tournaments. I did not own a boat, so that restricted me to the back of the boat where freedoms are limited. A search of freedom led me to kayak bass fishing tournaments, in which I still participate today. Moving from the suburbs of Chicago to Stevens Point expanded my horizons of fishing. I have fallen in love with trout fishing and have dabbled in muskie fishing. 

Q: What are you majoring in?

A: I am majoring in natural resources planning.

Q: How/why did you get involved with BHA/UWSP BHA?

A: My friend Eli introduced me to BHA during my sophomore year. I had been to a lot of clubs, mostly involving fishing, and I liked BHA because it was a change of pace. The fact that we had the chance to work toward a common goal was exciting for me.

Q: What are your goals career-wise and as a BHA club leader?

A: Career-wise my main focus is to secure an internship over the summer related to natural resources planning. As a club leader, I would like to get more involved with other clubs on campus, hopefully recruit more passionate members, and possibly plan a club fundraiser.