Brian Sisson understands that by opening up his property and granting access to like-minded individuals, he’s doing his part in the collaborative effort to preserve wildlife and habitat.

Brian Sisson isn’t a fly fisherman though he enjoys having anglers visit his section of the Lower Animas River. He also understands the importance of how we all work together to fuel and fund conservation. So by opening up his property and granting access to like-minded individuals, he’s doing his part in the collaborative effort to preserve wildlife and the land.

Living in Southwest Colorado

Brian moved to his property south of Durango in 2020. Even as a farm boy growing up on the Iowa prairies, he’d always loved the mountains. So when an opportunity came, not to mention a polar vortex that caused a week straight of -30 degree temperatures, he sold his farm in Iowa and moved to Southwest Colorado. 

“The sun shines just about every day here,” Brian said. “Where I am, south of Durango, it stays relatively warm year around.”

Conservation

Brian has hunted his entire life though he never caught the fishing bug. Between ranching and working construction, when the weather was nice, he was working. Come winter when snow covered the landscape, he was able to relax a little and hunt.  

With both the ranch he had in Iowa, a whitetail deer refuge, as he calls it, and his property in Colorado, Brian works hard to keep them wild. He believes strongly in the power of conservation and how we all work together to preserve wildlife and habitat. Which is, in large part, why he chose to work with Expedition Outside.

Working With ExOut

Brian met our founder, Christian Barnes, not long after moving to Durango. They became friends over their shared love for the outdoors. They bonded through their deep beliefs in conservations.

“Conserving properties to keep them wild and connect with the outdoors is super important to me,” Brian said. “ExOut is giving people the opportunity to fish places they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. And in doing so the company is providing a lot of good in the way of conservation, including getting people interested in the concept so that we can work together to ensure the future of these outdoor activities.”

We work with landowners hand in hand to ensure their properties improve throughout the course of our relationship. People who fish with us, for the most part, are out to enjoy themselves. They’re conservation minded who care about the fish and the rivers and surrounding landscapes. 

“It’s all interlaced,” said Brian. “If we don’t conserve the wildlife and preserve the habitat, then there won’t be any place to go not only for us but for future generations.”

Sisson Water

Twenty miles south of Durango the landscape starts to change. As does the weather. And the fishing. Sisson Water is our southernmost property on the Animas River in Colorado where you might find yourself working a giant brown trout one minute and watching a nesting pair of bald eagles the next.

Sisson Water is easy to get to because it’s just off the highway. You can pull right up to the river. Brian has created a riverside area where you can enjoy a picnic or take breaks throughout the day. 

“The river and the views were quite the appeal of this place for me,” Brian said. “Probably because water and air create the basis for life.” We can’t disagree.