Adam Leitschuh, Chairman 

Adam was born in Colorado but spent majority of his youth growing up camping and fishing in the Sierra Nevada of Northern California. Adam started hunting shortly after high school and expanded his opportunities after moving to Idaho to attend college at Boise State University. Adam hunted in California on summer and winter breaks until he gained residency in Idaho to afford tags on a college student’s budget. He spent free time around school, work and rugby scouting, camping, hunting or fishing on public lands. After graduating with a construction management degree work took Adam to North Dakota and then Montana. While working on a project in Great Falls, MT Adam met his wife who is an Air Force Officer. His wife’s career took Adam back to North Dakota where he helped start the North Dakota Chapter of BHA and then on to Nebraska. Adam, his wife and their young son who was born in May of 2019 now reside in Plattsmouth, and Adam had to stay involved with BHA. As luck would have it, shortly after Adam's family moved to Nebraska, the new chapter was starting. In the past ten years, he has had the opportunity to hunt multiple western states full of public land including Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and New Mexico and eastern states such as Ohio which is at the opposite end of the public land spectrum. Growing up surrounded by public lands and waters and traveling and moving around the country Adam experienced firsthand how easy it is to take public lands and waters for granted. Without people acting that may not always be the case. No matter where that public land or water is how small or large it deserves our attention and protection.

Michael Storrs

Michael was born in Northern California. Growing up his family has lived in California, Alaska, Georgia and Nebraska. His family settled in the McCook area when he was 15. After Tech school he moved to Kearney to begin his career as an industrial electrician. In 2013 he moved his family to McCook where they currently reside. Michael grew up hunting a variety of species including pheasants, quail, and Sandhills mule deer. When he was 18, he went on his first Colorado elk hunt which helped instill his love for western hunting. His love of the outdoors is something he is trying to pass on to his two daughters. He looks forward to the day when his daughters are toting their own shotguns and chasing roosters on the high plains with him. But until then his family enjoys taking advantage of the many lakes Southwest Nebraska has to offer where they fish, hunt, hike and like to go boating.

Michael didn’t come from a family who had land rights. It would be impossible for him to carry on his love for the outdoors if it were not for public lands and waters. He joined BHA to help keep our public lands and waters in the public hands. He values the importance it will have for his kids, grandkids and the generations to come.

Kyle Broadfoot, Secretary

Kyle was born and raised in the mixed croplands and pastures of rural Southwest Nebraska. From an early age, Kyle’s dad was taking him on weekend adventures of chasing ringnecks, quail, turkeys, and deer, along with setlining the river for channel cats. Early on, he learned that fair chase, safety, and conservation were even more important than actually harvesting game. As Kyle grew older and access to private land dwindled, he began to seek out the wilder places that public lands in Western Nebraska offered. His quests for whitetails transitioned to mulies, Eastern and hybrid turkeys turned to Merriam’s and Rios, and his rifle was occasionally racked for a bow. His passion for public lands continued to grow, as well, the more he became involved in groups such as BHA, Pheasants Forever, and the Izaak Walton League. Currently, Kyle lives in Cambridge, NE where he works as a physical therapist assistant at the local hospital. He has a wife and three kids and one giant yellow lab, Ruger, who refuses to find downed birds.

Bill Grossnicklaus

Bill was born in the small South Central Nebraska town of Oxford but spent his first formative years growing up on the front range of the Rocky Mountains with his mother, older sister, stepfather, and two older stepbrothers. Family outings found him following his brothers or catching small animals along the trout streams and lakes while camping. After the birth of his younger brother and sister, the family returned to his hometown where he was reunited with his grandfather who would become the biggest influencer in his outdoor passion. Pheasants and duck led to bigger game and with the guidance of a brother and grandfather he found his ultimate passion in bowhunting. His first deer was a 3x3 mule deer buck at 17, and he has been fortunate enough to take trophy animals with both modern and traditional gear over the last 30 seasons. Bill has also been an avid trapper and predator hunter for over 25 years. Many weekends are spent checking long trap lines for bobcat, coyote, fox and raccoon. Bill often brags about being the best skunk and opossum trapper in Furnas county. Bill lives in Oxford with his wife of 24 years, his daughter and two sons — all avid hunters. Bill is very active in his community. He has been a member of the volunteer fire department for 25 years where he is the current Fire Chief. He is a past city councilman, president and board member of the local outdoor club/shooting club, and coach for Little League baseball, football and Peewee wrestling.

Loren Smith

Loren is a life member of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, a retired professor of wildlife management, and a Certified Wildlife Biologist. He has conducted wildlife habitat research from Alaska to Mexico working with numerous federal land management agencies (Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Interior) and state fish and game organizations. That includes working on Nebraska wetlands for over 25 years. Being mostly retired, Loren averages hunting and fishing on public lands on a weekly basis. He understands that the major barrier affecting hunting and fishing participation by the public is access. Therefore, his primary focus is on increasing the amount of public land available to the citizens of Nebraska, and on increasing access to existing public lands.

Cody Russell

Cody grew up in Southeast Nebraska (Beatrice) and has been obsessed with the outdoors ever since he was old enough to jump into a lake in an attempt to catch painted turtles—much to his parents’ chagrin. He began hunting pheasants and deer with his father and became an avid trap shooter in high school. He earned a spot on First Team, and his squad took second place high overall at the Nebraska State Trap Shoot—the first team from Beatrice to ever place at state.

For many years, he was a successful alcoholic. At the age of thirty, by the grace of God, he found sobriety. During his drinking years, he lost interest in his outdoor pursuits, but through sobriety, he rediscovered them. He first got into archery through crossbows and later transitioned to compound bows. Recently, he took his first buck with a compound bow and is now looking to increase the challenge through spear hunting.

By day, he is a Training Coordinator; by night, he is a content creator. A turkey nearly sat in his lap, and that video got him monetized. He enjoys sharing the opportunities public lands have to offer on his channels.

His favorite outdoor pursuit depends on the season—from saddle hunting deer on public land in the fall, chasing South Dakota walleyes on hardwater in the winter, teasing gobblers in the spring, to chasing anything with fins in the summer. Many men talk to God in a church; he talks to God 15 feet up in a tree or from his kayak on a desolate river.

He is married and a father of three. He shares his passion for the outdoors with his children in hopes that they will carry on the tradition. The impact that public lands and waters have had on his life is immeasurable. He wouldn’t be the man he is today without them, and he will do everything he can to protect them.

Jason Wurst

Jason grew up in central Nebraska in the town of Cozad. His introduction to the outdoors was early and the outings were often. In his younger years he enjoyed fishing, bowfishing, and small game hunting with his dad on local public lands. His passion for the outdoors grew as he grew and the focus shifted to bigger game. Now he enjoys chasing a variety of big and small game species, with pronghorn and wild turkey at the top of the list. These pursuits have led Jason to a variety of public lands in multiple states. Jason also enjoys fishing local reservoirs and practicing the art of trapping water critters when the weather allows. Currently, Jason works as an engineer at a power plant and lives in Sutherland with his wife, daughter, and two sons and cherishes the opportunity to introduce them to the outdoors.