antiquity
09-01-2002, 11:36 PM
Waterfowl group creates opportunities for disabled hunters
By THOM GABRUKIEWICZ
Scripps Howard News Service
September 01, 2002
TULE LAKE, Calif. - Bill Rutherford, Jim Rhodes and the rest of the California-Oregon Wetlands Waterfowl Council expect disabled hunters - from those bound to wheelchairs and others with mobility problems from strokes or artificial hips and knees - will limit out on geese and ducks at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex once their new blinds are in place.
How?
"We asked them what they wanted," said Rhodes, a resident of Merrill, Ore. "We said, 'If you've seen anything that would help you shoot, tell us.' We included all the ideas into the design."
The 150-member organization is nearing completion of four new disabled hunter blinds and will have the outposts ready for the season opener Oct. 12. The project, just an idea a year ago, was pushed along by a $2,500 grant from the California Waterfowl Association.
"We've spent triple of that," said Rutherford, a former California Highway Patrol investigator who retired to Bonanza, Ore. "We're still looking for the wood to put the decking on the ramps - and a donation for that.
"Most likely, it's gonna come out of my own pocket, and when the wife finds out, she's gonna kill me."
What's a teeny bit of marital strife, when you consider the big picture?
The Klamath Basin NWR Complex includes the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake refuges along the Oregon-California border just outside of Dorris. The wetlands were first set aside for conservation in 1908, making the Lower Klamath Refuge the first waterfowl reserve ever established in the United States. The basin's wetlands are vital for three-quarters of the waterfowl that travel along the Pacific Flyway, from wintering grounds in Alaska and Canada, to summer ranges in the Sacramento Valley and farther south.
The refuge complex is home to 263 species of birds and 430 species of wildlife. It is the largest wintering ground for bald eagles in the continental U.S.
Both Tule Lake and Lower Klamath refuges have disabled hunter blinds, but Rutherford said their placement was tough for the hunters to have a top-notch shoot.
"This condominium you see here sitting on the levee?" he asked while pointing to
a green wooden shed. "I know a disabled guy that didn't get a shot off in it last year. His five helpers, sitting across the water, tore them up. It's about getting the hunter to where he can be successful."
That's exactly why the project appealed to the California Waterfowl Association, according to director Bill Kent of Redding.
"It's a step in the right direction," Kent said. "We thought it was hell of an idea. I hope we can get more money for them."
Rutherford and Rhodes designed and are building the four blinds. Two will float; the hunter and helper can dock a boat, then shoot from the platform while still comfortably seated in the craft. The disabled hunter will be brought out to the blinds from two new ramps that already have been sunk on the Lower Klamath NWR.
The idea is to lift the hunter into the boat while it's still on the trailer, then ease it into the water.
The other two are field blinds that are designed like final-approach blinds, the coffin-like contraptions where hunters lay down and spring the doors once the waterfowl gets into range.
"Only, we designed them for the guy in a wheelchair," said Rhodes, a retired houseboat builder. "He can drop the gates and shoot from either side."
The pair has 91 hours invested in the two prototypes and still has several hours to go to build the final two blinds. Both designs - built from scratch and without blueprints - required Rhodes and Rutherford to think on the fly.
"We were told that the things had to comply with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards," Rutherford said. "But there are no standards for hunting at all in the thing. That's why we asked the disabled hunters what they wanted to see and what they wanted."
The boat blind is built out of angle iron and metal electrical conduit, wood, 14 plastic drums and a special black epoxy paint; the field blinds, which seat two, are constructed out of a nylon fabric that's used to collect algae on Klamath Lake.
"We had a hell of a time figuring out how to cut it," Rhodes said of the sturdy white material.
Both designs have angled sides and gates that drop so the hunter has a shooting lane. The boat blinds also have doors where a dog can get in and out and an interior platform to store gear and even set up a camp stove.
"With the angles, these are going to be stealth from the air," Rutherford said.
"The angles are basically the same technology that stealth aircraft use. Then we'll cover them all up."
The field blinds will be camouflaged with grain stalks; the boat blinds will be disguised with tules. The waterfowl organization will have a work party stating at 8 a.m. Sept. 14 to cut the tules, bundle them and attach them to the blinds. The group also will need help to tow the floating blinds out to tether lines in the marshes. Those wishing to volunteer can call (541) 798-5098; people can meet the work party at the main entrance to the Lower Klamath NWR Sept. 14.
"We figure we can all get it done in one day," Rutherford said.
The boat blinds will be placed in the Lower Klamath Refuge's Unit 1 and Unit 5 marshes (however, Unit 1 is still dry and will not be filled for the opener).
The final-approach blinds will be placed on the Tule Lake Refuge's fields. The areas are currently off-limits to able-bodied hunters and are hidden from view from the popular bird-watching auto tour, photo blinds and canoe trails.
"And we wanted it that way," Rutherford said. "Some general public hunters might complain, but the impact's gonna be minimal. We put the disabled guy in a real good unit, get him a limit and get him out of there in a couple of hours.
"Hunters are still gonna have their areas to hunt, and the guy who doesn't move so well gets a quality hunt, too."
The Cal-Ore WWC also has proposed that only two hunters - the disabled person and one helper - be allowed to shoot from the new blinds.
"That'll cut down on the impact as well," Rutherford said.
E-mail Thom Gabrukiewicz at tgabrukiewicz(at)redding.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By THOM GABRUKIEWICZ
Scripps Howard News Service
September 01, 2002
TULE LAKE, Calif. - Bill Rutherford, Jim Rhodes and the rest of the California-Oregon Wetlands Waterfowl Council expect disabled hunters - from those bound to wheelchairs and others with mobility problems from strokes or artificial hips and knees - will limit out on geese and ducks at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex once their new blinds are in place.
How?
"We asked them what they wanted," said Rhodes, a resident of Merrill, Ore. "We said, 'If you've seen anything that would help you shoot, tell us.' We included all the ideas into the design."
The 150-member organization is nearing completion of four new disabled hunter blinds and will have the outposts ready for the season opener Oct. 12. The project, just an idea a year ago, was pushed along by a $2,500 grant from the California Waterfowl Association.
"We've spent triple of that," said Rutherford, a former California Highway Patrol investigator who retired to Bonanza, Ore. "We're still looking for the wood to put the decking on the ramps - and a donation for that.
"Most likely, it's gonna come out of my own pocket, and when the wife finds out, she's gonna kill me."
What's a teeny bit of marital strife, when you consider the big picture?
The Klamath Basin NWR Complex includes the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake refuges along the Oregon-California border just outside of Dorris. The wetlands were first set aside for conservation in 1908, making the Lower Klamath Refuge the first waterfowl reserve ever established in the United States. The basin's wetlands are vital for three-quarters of the waterfowl that travel along the Pacific Flyway, from wintering grounds in Alaska and Canada, to summer ranges in the Sacramento Valley and farther south.
The refuge complex is home to 263 species of birds and 430 species of wildlife. It is the largest wintering ground for bald eagles in the continental U.S.
Both Tule Lake and Lower Klamath refuges have disabled hunter blinds, but Rutherford said their placement was tough for the hunters to have a top-notch shoot.
"This condominium you see here sitting on the levee?" he asked while pointing to
a green wooden shed. "I know a disabled guy that didn't get a shot off in it last year. His five helpers, sitting across the water, tore them up. It's about getting the hunter to where he can be successful."
That's exactly why the project appealed to the California Waterfowl Association, according to director Bill Kent of Redding.
"It's a step in the right direction," Kent said. "We thought it was hell of an idea. I hope we can get more money for them."
Rutherford and Rhodes designed and are building the four blinds. Two will float; the hunter and helper can dock a boat, then shoot from the platform while still comfortably seated in the craft. The disabled hunter will be brought out to the blinds from two new ramps that already have been sunk on the Lower Klamath NWR.
The idea is to lift the hunter into the boat while it's still on the trailer, then ease it into the water.
The other two are field blinds that are designed like final-approach blinds, the coffin-like contraptions where hunters lay down and spring the doors once the waterfowl gets into range.
"Only, we designed them for the guy in a wheelchair," said Rhodes, a retired houseboat builder. "He can drop the gates and shoot from either side."
The pair has 91 hours invested in the two prototypes and still has several hours to go to build the final two blinds. Both designs - built from scratch and without blueprints - required Rhodes and Rutherford to think on the fly.
"We were told that the things had to comply with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards," Rutherford said. "But there are no standards for hunting at all in the thing. That's why we asked the disabled hunters what they wanted to see and what they wanted."
The boat blind is built out of angle iron and metal electrical conduit, wood, 14 plastic drums and a special black epoxy paint; the field blinds, which seat two, are constructed out of a nylon fabric that's used to collect algae on Klamath Lake.
"We had a hell of a time figuring out how to cut it," Rhodes said of the sturdy white material.
Both designs have angled sides and gates that drop so the hunter has a shooting lane. The boat blinds also have doors where a dog can get in and out and an interior platform to store gear and even set up a camp stove.
"With the angles, these are going to be stealth from the air," Rutherford said.
"The angles are basically the same technology that stealth aircraft use. Then we'll cover them all up."
The field blinds will be camouflaged with grain stalks; the boat blinds will be disguised with tules. The waterfowl organization will have a work party stating at 8 a.m. Sept. 14 to cut the tules, bundle them and attach them to the blinds. The group also will need help to tow the floating blinds out to tether lines in the marshes. Those wishing to volunteer can call (541) 798-5098; people can meet the work party at the main entrance to the Lower Klamath NWR Sept. 14.
"We figure we can all get it done in one day," Rutherford said.
The boat blinds will be placed in the Lower Klamath Refuge's Unit 1 and Unit 5 marshes (however, Unit 1 is still dry and will not be filled for the opener).
The final-approach blinds will be placed on the Tule Lake Refuge's fields. The areas are currently off-limits to able-bodied hunters and are hidden from view from the popular bird-watching auto tour, photo blinds and canoe trails.
"And we wanted it that way," Rutherford said. "Some general public hunters might complain, but the impact's gonna be minimal. We put the disabled guy in a real good unit, get him a limit and get him out of there in a couple of hours.
"Hunters are still gonna have their areas to hunt, and the guy who doesn't move so well gets a quality hunt, too."
The Cal-Ore WWC also has proposed that only two hunters - the disabled person and one helper - be allowed to shoot from the new blinds.
"That'll cut down on the impact as well," Rutherford said.
E-mail Thom Gabrukiewicz at tgabrukiewicz(at)redding.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------------