Garrett Drum, Co-Chair
Garrett grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hunting mostly public land. He has hunted everything from bears, to deer, to small game. Growing up right outside a major east coast city, the hardest part about going hunting was finding somewhere to go. The public land access was few and far between, and if you didn't have access to private land then you probably just gave the activity up. As for Garrett, it was hopping in the truck and driving 1.5 hours to the nearest public land every weekend.
When he moved out to Iowa for work, following graduation from Penn State University, Garrett joined BHA because he loved their mission statement. His struggle to find public land opportunities in the past burned a passion in him to become a board member of the BHA Iowa chapter, so that future hunters have easier access to hunting/fishing than he did.
In 2022, Garrett will be going on his first two public land hunts out west. A Spring Bear hunt and a September Elk hunt, both in the Frank Church Wilderness Area in Idaho.
Chris Ford, Co-Chair
I was born in Iowa and currently live in Central Iowa with my wife and 2 children with a baby on the way. I enjoy hunting all of Iowa’s game animals on both public and private land. I am a member of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, as well as Pheasants Forever. I spent many summers fishing the trout streams of the Black Hills in South Dakota. I was recently able to harvest my first antelope on Wyoming’s public lands this year. I love spending time outdoors and want to protect our public lands so my children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy the outdoors as I have.
Marcus Dyer, Treasurer
Marcus grew up in Buffalo, Iowa hunting and fishing almost exclusively on the public lands and waters of the state through his high school years. After a serving an enlistment in the US Marine Corps, Marcus moved back to the state and resumed his outdoors pursuits along with 3 years in the Iowa National Guard.
Currently residing in North Liberty with his wife and two children, Marcus continues to pursue outdoor activities on the public lands and waters of Iowa, and has begun taking trips west to pursue public land big game. Introducing his children to the joys of hunting, fishing, hiking, and foraging on public lands has become a passion and BHA’s mission to preserve and increase access to public lands and waters goes hand in hand with this passion.
Brandon Luety, Secretary
I spent the first half of my childhood in southern Wisconsin. After my family relocated to Iowa we had no connections to anyone. My dad and I would hunt various tracts of public land near our home in eastern Iowa as well as travel to other public locations around the state for hunting and fishing trips. My first 8 years as an outdoorsman were completely reliant on public land opportunities in Iowa. While it was a struggle, we had a fair amount of success and I learned a lot from these pieces of land. Now that I’m older, I’ve gained access to private properties but find myself often traveling to “new to me” public land in search of new adventure.
I support BHA and their mission to protect the privilege we all share to access land and waterways for current users and generations to come. Without the access I had to public lands I would not have the same passion for the outdoors as I do today.
I currently live in the Des Moines metro with my wife and two dogs working as an IT Project Manager. Our first child is on the way and I very much look forward to introducing them to the land, nature, and lifestyle I love.
Derek Clark, Board of Directors
Derek grew up in Central Iowa. As a kid he began fishing the local streams and rivers with his dad and uncle. Derek was also involved in Boy Scouts which helped him grow his attention to land stewardship. In high school he began pheasant hunting on both private and public lands around central Iowa. Through college his love for hunting and camping continued to grow with primary focus on deer and pheasant hunting. After college he stayed connected with some of his friends through hunting and began waterfowl hunting public lands in western Iowa.
Now living in Ankeny and being a Scout leader for his sons, 9 and 5, he finds it very important to continue the preservation of public lands for future generations as Iowa only has roughly 3% public land ranking as one of the lowest in the nation. In 2019 Derek became involved in BHA through friend Mike Webb and joined the board following the 2021 State Rendezvous.
Rick Henley, Board of Directors
I am a native Iowan that found my own way to the outdoors for the most part as I did not grow up in a hunting or fishing family. Because of this I had very little private land opportunities available to me and spent much of my time hunting and fishing on public land in Iowa, and continue to do so. Starting out as an upland and waterfowl hunter, I have more recently become obsessed with Iowa deer and turkey hunting, both of which I hunt exclusively on public land. I have also started looking at public land opportunities out West for mule deer and elk.
Hunting and fishing have enhanced my understanding of why we must protect wild animals and wild places, and fighting for our public lands is the best way to do so. This is what brought me to Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and I am excited to do my part along with the rest of the Iowa BHA Board of Directors and BHA members around the country.
Mike Webb, Board of Directors
I grew up in Indiana hunting on private ground and fishing public waters. Once graduating from college and moving to Iowa to begin my career, I became wholly dependent on public lands for all my adventures. Over the last 12 years my love for public lands has grown every year and increased exponentially when in 2014 I began going west every year to hunt elk. After a few trips out west I heard of BHA and joined in 2016 as I believe in the mission of BHA and its focus on land and water protections.
I currently live in eastern Iowa with my wife and two children and work as a manufacturing engineer. I look forward to continuing the BHA mission to afford my children the same or greater opportunities in the outdoors as they grow older.
Phil Hayes, Board of Directors
I am an enthusiastic float tube fly fisher and have hiked hundreds of miles to fish alpine lakes in public wilderness throughout the mountain west over the past 20 years.
I have been a BHA member since 2015, and BHA Corporate Sponsor who attended the 2018 Rendezvous.
I am a veterinarian living in rural Northwest Iowa since 1995 that has career experience negotiating policy with government agencies, as well as technical expertise in animal disease control.
I am also the founder & owner of Wilderness Lite...the ultralight float tubes, specializing in providing ultralight float tubing gear that makes it feasible for backpackers to float tube fish public land wilderness lakes many miles from the trail head on extended hikes.
Lance Brisbois, Board of Directors
Lance grew up in rural western Iowa and currently lives in the Loess Hills. Through his job at
Golden Hills RC&D, Lance leads a variety of projects focusing on wildlife habitat and low-impact outdoor recreation. Lance enjoys hiking, biking and paddling. He is new to hunting and fishing and eager to learn more. He is also on the board of directors for Iowa Prairie Network, Pottawattamie County Trails Association, and chair of the Loess Hills Alliance Stewardship Committee.
Remington Ostrem, Board of Directors
Remington grew up in central Iowa farm country, where opportunities to hunt were limited to small chunks of public land for deer and walking road ditches for pheasants. After graduating from community college, he joined the Marine Corps and lived in California when not deployed with his infantry unit. Once enlistment was over, Remington moved back to Iowa and rediscovered my passion for hunting and being outdoors. After chasing mostly deer for a few years, he expanded his pursuits to everything from small game to waterfowl to maximize the time outdoors. Remington also enjoys camping and hiking, particularly backpack-style camping out west. He joined BHA because in a state where most of the land is privately held, every voice counts when defending our public lands.
Justin Carothers, Board of Directors
Justin Carothers is a native of Ohio where he got his start in Livestock and Wildlife management. Here in Iowa, Justin serves as a Livestock Nutritionist, and moonlights as a bow hunter, and amateur angler. He holds a bachelor’s, and master’s in animal science, which he uses to promote both sustainable agriculture, and livestock management, with an emphasis on land conservation. After hours, you can probably find him working horses with his wife Miranda or taking his dog on a field trip. Come spring, Justin will be making some truly terrible turkey calls, and even worse buck grunts in the fall. He lives in Ames Iowa, and is excited to serve as a new Board Member for the Iowa Chapter of the BHA.
Jace Elliott, Board of Directors
Jace was born and raised in central Wisconsin, where he developed a strong passion for the outdoors at an early age through camping, fishing, and hunting—often on public land. This passion drove him to pursue a career in natural resources. After obtaining wildlife degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Auburn University, Jace became the State Deer Biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, where he continues to oversee the research and management of white-tailed deer in the state.
Jace is an avid hunter that pursues deer, turkey, waterfowl, and upland game almost exclusively on public land. He also frequents the cold-water streams of the Driftless Region in pursuit of trout with a fly rod. As a board member of the Iowa Chapter, Jace hopes to contribute to the critical mission of protecting Iowa's outdoor heritage through ensuring access and opportunity for all to enjoy Iowa's public lands.
Mike Martens, Board of Directors
Mike has lived in Iowa his whole life and currently resides in Kalona, Iowa with his wife. He has been hunting, fishing, and trapping, both public and private lands his whole life. From a young age, Mike learned the value of public lands and conservation when he began to hunt with his father.
He went to school for and now operates a business conserving and restoring private and public lands across the state. Mike enjoys traveling far and wide to experience hunting new species and areas. He looks forward to being a part of BHA’s fight to protect and improve access to public land in Iowa and across the country.
Scott Hendricks, Board of Directors
Scott grew up and lives in in Dubuque, Iowa where he hunts and fishes most of my time on public land. He is a Conservation Agronomist for the Dubuque County Watershed, where he works with farmers throughout Dubuque County to identify and implement conservation practices on their farms that benefit their bottom line and the county’s watersheds. He has worked in the agriculture industry for 8 years with a focus on soil health and helping growers improve their ROI. He also helps implement conservation practices on his own family farm south of Dubuque.
While his family owns some private woodland, most of his fishing and turkey hunting is done on public ground. Fly fishing in the Driftless Region is one of Scott's favorite activities, and having that public access is crucial. He loves to be outdoors as much as possible and to travel. He and his spouse love to travel to the Boundary Waters every year for a canoe trip and chase steelhead out of Lake Superior. He has hunted Colorado archery elk and have fished all around the west. Whether it’s chasing turkeys, or cheeky brown trout, Scott loves being outdoors.
Scott has a profound understanding of the land ethic, and how we should preserve our natural areas. He loves BHA’s message of saving and adding more public access in Iowa, as there is no better way to preserve our landscapes.