Colorado Chapter of BHA Appoint Aidan McCormick To Routt County Assistant Regional Director Position

The Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) appointed Aidan McCormick to serve as Assistant Regional Director for the Routt County Group.

Aidan started hunting and fishing as an adult. “My husband and I had both been interested in hunting and fishing our whole lives, and decided to learn how to do it together,” she explained. “Most of my outdoors pursuits take place in northwestern Colorado, but we occasionally take trips to Alaska, Florida, and Arizona to hunt and fish.”

She generally fishes for trout from spring through fall, then transitions to ice-fishing during the winter months with a saltwater fly-fishing trip to Florida mixed in. “I hunt for many different species, including dusky grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, Gambel's quail, waterfowl, elk, mule deer, Coues deer, antelope, rabbit, and squirrel,” Aidan added.

Aidan joined BHA a few years ago and attended events in Wyoming, then decided to engage more directly to make a bigger impact. “I started by volunteering at fence pulls in northwest Colorado. This year, with the help of Kylie Schumacher and Luke Fitzgerald, I hosted a BHA trivia night here in Steamboat Springs,” she said. “I had a lot of fun hosting the event. I think it was a huge success! I really like how BHA events are fun, engaging, and educational.”

“I feel that it would be rewarding to be a chapter leader,” Aidan added. “I think BHA strikes an amazing balance between being involved at a high level with national policy and really engaging at the grassroots level, where people can get involved locally and feel like they are making a difference on the ground in their own community. It’s this balance that really attracted me to BHA.”

“Routt County is an amazing place with endless outdoor activities,” she emphasized. “There is a really strong hunting and angling community here, but there are rarely events that bring these people together. As a chapter leader, I would like to work towards getting this community together more often.” Aidan also participates in Rocky Mountain Sports Women, an organization that helps introduce women to hunting and fishing.

“I think it would be difficult to define how much public lands and waters have really impacted my life,” she said. “They have been a part of nearly everything I love to do in my life. I have spent my whole career working in public lands, and I spend most of my free time recreating on public lands. I think public lands are one of our country’s greatest accomplishments.”

Aidan is a Forester with a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry from the University of Florida and a Master's in Forest Science from Colorado State University. “I have strong organizational and logistical management skills; education and experience in forest/habitat management; and a lot of local knowledge of the challenges and opportunities for the hunting and angling community of Routt County,” she added.

Are you interested in serving on the Colorado BHA Chapter Leadership Team? Learn more about our volunteer opportunities here.

Founded by Mike Beagle, a former U.S. Army field artillery officer, and formed around an Oregon campfire, in 2004, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our nation’s wild public lands, waters and wildlife.[1] With members spread out across all 50 states and 13 Canadian provinces and territories—including chapters in 49 states, two Canadian provinces and one territory, and Washington, D.C.—BHA brings an authentic, informed, boots-on-the-ground voice to the conservation of public lands. The Colorado BHA chapter was founded by David “Elkheart” Petersen (a former U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot) in 2005 (the first official BHA chapter)[2]

[1] David A. Lien. “Freedom & Fire: A Brief BHA History II.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 2/24/25.

[2] David A. Lien. “Where Hope Lives: A Brief BHA History.” Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: 11/30/20.