Backcountry Bucket List

10 Wilderness hunting and fishing trips you must do

before you die. (c) BHA 2014www.backcountryhunters.org

Gila Wilderness

State: New MexicoArea: 558,000 acresQuarry: Famous for trophy elk, but also Coeus whitetail, wild turkey, mule deer and native trout

Photo by: NM BHA member Oscar Simpson

Eagle Cap Wilderness

State: OregonArea: 360,000 acresQuarry: Mule deer, elk, black bear, mountain lion and high lakes trout fishing.

Photo by: OR BHA member Mike Beagle

Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

State: IdahoArea: 2.3 million acresQuarry: Elk, mule deer, black bear, bighorn, mountain goat, wolf, mountain lion, native trout as well as chinook salmon and steelhead.

Photo: ID BHA member Scott Stouder

Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex

State: MontanaArea: 1.5 million acresQuarry: Elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, moose, black bear, mountain lion, wolf, native trout including westslope cutthroat and bull trout

Photo by: MT BHA member Ryan Busse

Ruby Mountains Wilderness

State: NevadaArea: 93,000Quarry: Famous for trophy mule deer

Wilderness.net

Jim Bridger Wilderness

State: Wind River Range, WyomingArea: 428,000 acresQuary: High alpine lake fishing above timber line; bighorn sheep, mule deer and elk

Boundary Waters Canoe Area

State: MinnesotaArea: 812,000 acresQuary: Backcountry whitetail, moose, black bear along with lake fishing for pike, walleye

Photo by Mark Johnson, MN Deer Hunters Association

Key West Wilderness

State: FloridaArea: 6,197 acresQuarry: Made famous for bonefish, permit and other saltwater species, as written about by Zane Grey and Tom McGuane.

Wilderness.net

Mollie Beattie Wilderness/ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

State: AlaskaArea: 8 million acresQuarry: Caribou, Dall sheep, grizzly as well as native fish and furbearers.

Photo: ID BHA member Holly Endersby

Flat Tops Wilderness

State: ColoradoArea: 235,000 acresQuarry: Elk, mule deer, black bear, moose, amid the aspen.

Wilderness.net

Happy 50th Birthday to the Wilderness Act, protecting America’s finest hunting and

fishing habitats. www.backcountryhunters.org