Colorado BHA held its third annual member rendezvous in June. A group of over 25 attendees from around the state set up camp in the San Isabel National Forest west of Salida/Poncha Springs.

Camp was located in a high-mountain meadow at about 10,000 feet in the Sawatch Range south of the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. The Collegiate Peaks Wilderness contains eight summits exceeding 14,000 feet and five peaks over 13,800 feet. The Collegiate Peak’s 167,414 wilderness acres were protected by Congress in 1980 and it’s the fifth largest wilderness area in Colorado.

Since the Colorado BHA chapter was founded by David Petersen in 2005, we’ve grown to over 125 members along with 14 Forest Watchmen serving as our “eyes and ears” on 8 of 11 Colorado National Forests and 12 Life Members. We still have Forest Watchmen openings on the following forests: Arapaho (1), Grand Mesa (2), Gunnison (2), Pike (1), Routt (1), and White River (2).

As the great hunter-conservationist (and Medal of Honor winner) Theodore Roosevelt said, “The wildlife of today is not ours to do with as we please. The original stock was given to us in trust for the benefit both of the present and the future. We must render an accounting of this trust to those who come after us.”

BHA founder (who will hopefully attend next year’s rendezvous) Mike Beagle adds, “We will continue to be a voice for core values of solitude, challenge, freedom and tradition so badly needed in the world where outdoor pursuits risk becoming more about selling products and technology instead of exercising skill and woodcraft. BHA is getting better and better. The best is yet to come.”

For more photos from the 2011 Rendezvous, see THIS LINK.