Roadless: Throughout Colorado’s long, tedious, and ongoing roadless area review process, CBHA has been a lead player. A few high points:
     * West Slope co-chair Dave Petersen served as a member of the Governor’s Roadless Areas Review Task Force.
     * Since the Task Force issued its controversial recommendations, CBHA has been active in lobbying Gov. Ritter, Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Harris Sherman, and other elected officials to patch problems in the petition that weaken roadless protections in favor of logging, skiing, mining, public lands ranching, and other special interests.
     * CBHA has worked closely and successfully with the media — via press releases, interviews with reporters, editorial board meetings, and member-written letters to editors and op-eds — to share our message and concerns with the widest possible public audience.
     * While strictly maintaining our independence, CBHA has worked closely with a wide variety of likeminded Colorado sportsmen and conservation organizations to assure maximum permanent protections for Colorado’s 4.1 million acres of roadless public lands and wildlife habitat.
     * As Gov. Ritter’s roadless areas protection petition goes forward in coming month via the Rulemaking process, CBHA will remain active players, continuing to urge the Governor to drop the relatively weak state petition in favor of the far stronger, reinstated 2001 Rule. At the same time, to cover all bets, we will continue struggling to strengthen the Ritter petition.

Wilderness: During late 2007 and into 2008, several wilderness campaigns will be launched on the West Slope, including both new wilderness and expansions to existing wilderness, on both National Forest and BLM lands. In every case, significant watershed, fish and wildlife values are involved. Consequently, CBHA will be an active player. In these campaigns our new website will play an important role in keeping members informed and facilitating member involvement and action on the local level. Stay tuned.

Motorized abuse and overuse: For traditional sportsmen and women who spend a lot of time out there, “boots on the ground,” it becomes difficult to separate the need to protect public hunting and fishing lands as wilderness and roadless backcountry, from the necessity to fight the explosive OHV/ATV nightmare. How many of us don’t have horror stories about hunts, hikes, camping trips, and family outings ruined by the rudeness and racket of thoughtless people on loud, powerful machines? One example: On opening weekend of the 2007 Colorado archery elk season, West Slope co-chair Dave Petersen, 61, backpacked three miles into an area closed to all motorized traffic off the primary roads. A previous scouting trip into this area revealed good numbers of elk and high elk activity. When he returned for his backpack hunt, excited at the prospects for a productive hunt and quiet backcountry experience, he was greeted with the fresh tracks of an illegal ATV intrusion. Consequently, elk activity had shut down and Dave didn’t hear a single bugle.

CBHA is loud and proud in saying “Enough!” to the destruction of wild nature and traditional quiet-use backcountry values.