Hunting and fishing access is a major problem when you are confined to a wheelchair. Not because you are not physically able because chairs such as the Tank will take one almost any place. The problem is with government bodies that are stuck in their thinking about what a disabled person can do with adaptive equipment and having barriers that these same government bodies place on the land removed.

I live in Washington State. The Washington State Despartment of Fish and Wildlife is committed to providing access but the wildlife that they manage live on land managed by the state and a bunch of federal agencies and the federal agencies such the Bureau of Land Management and especially the United States Forest Service continue to block access even though ADA and the agencies own policies and guidelines declare that they do not discriminate against the disabled.

Fileing a grievance against the United States Forest Service through the United States Department of Agriculture does nothing. I know, I did it and even though I provided plenty of documentation with photographs of the berms and ditches and gates with no passage for a wheelchair that the Forest Service continue to use to block passage of motorized vehicles the grievance was dismissed by the Department of Agriculture. I even used my states Fish and Wildlife Disabled Access coordinator as a collaborating witness.

BUT.......I did not give up......I kept contacting disability groups until one got back to me. I now have the Wounded Warriors interested in the situation.


SO WHAT AM I ASKING FOR on this group is input from you hunters, fishers and enjoyers of nature in the states so that your lack of access stories can be heard.

My goal is to embarass the Forest Service and other agencies enough that they have to follow the regulations and do things as they are supposed to to ensure access for all not just those with usable legs.




Randall Knapp

I am very sorry to hear that you seem to have had some negative experiences with access to outdoor activities.

Just so that you are aware, I work for the US Forest Service. I am an Information Receptionist on the Coconino National Forest in Arizona; I am one of those "front desk people" who has daily contact with the public, and is previlegded enough to help people have positive experiences on the land everyday. I sympathesize with your situation but do not agree with your conclusions. One of the reasons that I chose to work for the Forest Service is that they, the agency, really makes every effort toward equality and inclusion, not only in employment and workplace situations, but also in the outdoor environment so that all people can enjoy themselves however they choose. The USFS may do a lot of things, but discrimination on the basis of ability is not one of them. The saying "An equal opportunity provider and employer" is taken seriously.

I am doing my thesis project on the effect of communication on paticipation in outdoor activities, and focussing specifically on those with disabilities. Due to this I know the laws; and I know that all 1.8 million acres of the Coconino National Forest is just as open to me as it is open to anyone else.I know that as a US citizen, I am a stakeholder on the land and have every right to recreate on it just like everybody else does. I know that public land is public land.

I also know that as a human being the equal rights that I enjoy require me to follow the same rules as everybodcy else, in order to be treated like everybody else. No special treatment.

You asked for input on outdoor access problems, and, truth be told, I haven't had any. I am heavily into the outdoors- though admittedly not that much of a hunter (personal preferences)- but outside is where I'd rather be, camping, hiking, boating, some climbing, backpacking, horseback riding. One would think that if there were problems with access to be had, I'd have had them by now, as I've been at this disability thing for over a decade now. Therefore I have no 'problems' that I can share with you, but I do have a lot of success stories. The closest to a problem thqat I've had is the attitudes of some ignorant people (both 'government bodies' as well as fellow visitors) who make assumptions about what I can and can't do. I counter this with quite a stubborn attitude of my own, and go ahead show them what I think of their assumptions!

My suggestion is not to file a grievance through USDA, but to talk with the Accessibility Coordinator on your local forest and that person can help you get in touch with the Recreation people (who are truly on the land daily) and can work with you to fix any access problems that may be present. There is also a National Accessibility Coordinator who works in D.C. (also a chair user, and active wilderness visitor), whose job it is to help with access problems such as those you are describing. There is no reason to "embarass the Forest Service".

Good luck!

I love the outdoors, myself,, and understand the problems we have in accessing them in the ways we would like,,, but,, there are places that could be damaged by allowing motor vehicles of any kind to enter them. The right to go must be tempered by the knowledge of the damage going will do.

As we have seen with handicapped parking placards,, doctors seem a little too ready to sign the needed documents. I would not like to see the same abuse used to take vehicles into places that they would otherwise be denied.

I have the right not to,,,, but I still brake for squirrels.
ed

I used to be into fishing before my injury, now I value all life more and have no interest in killing anything. Not withstanding that though, I find that sometimes the barriers put up to keep out the irresponsible quad riders, mountain bikers, 4WD bush bashers and anyone else who endangers others by their form of "enjoyment" (aka destruction) of the wilderness also prevents a lot of disabled people getting out in power chairs, quad bikes and 4WD's also.

Personally I would like to see some sort of special access permits granted (subject to spark arrestors, etc on quads and small personal offroad vehicles) like the mobility parking scheme to allow better access for disabled people to the wilderness. For some of us, just driving to the edge of the forest or bush or desert isn't enough any more as technology evolves to get us where we would like to go. Barriers to us should be flexible enough to keep the morons out but allow others with special needs in, whether that be for hunting, fishing or whatever.