When Richard Kiessel, a Michigan volunteer hunter education instructor who lives in Roscommon, learned that a blind 17-year-old with a terminal illness wanted to learn more about hunting and shooting safely he was slightly reserved but positive his team could make it happen.

Kiessel worked with the DNR's Hunter Education Section to obtain audio cassettes that covered parts of the course and received other instructor-related materials that made teaching Nick Bennett of St. Helen a positive experience for everyone involved. The young man's illness is the cause of his blindness.

"Having Nick in class was a challenge at first, but what he brought to the class in his determination and motivation made it the most rewarding class I've ever had," Kiessel said. "Nick was assigned a mentor instructor to assist him during class and he also taught us a few things as well -- it was an experience I wouldn't trade."

After Bennett successfully passed the course and obtained his hunter safety certificate, the Northeast Chapter of the Safari Club International helped him participate in a 2006 black bear hunt in the U.P.'s Newberry Bear Management Unit.

Bennett was able to take advantage of the DNR's program that allows successful applicants in the bear and elk drawings to transfer their permit to a youth and or hunter with an advanced illness.

"Although we didn't come across a single bear, I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed being out there," Nick said. "It was an awesome experience."

Just a few weeks later, Bennett harvested a good-sized, eight-point buck in Alpena County with the aid of a mentor and laser sighting device.

From modifying its hunter education classes to issuing special permits and establishing special hunting seasons, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is working to improve the outdoor experience for all hunters with disabilities.

Hunting laws have been changed or modified to make possible what might have been impossible before:

• Hunters with certain injuries or a permanent impairment may apply for a crossbow permit or a modified bow permit, which allows certain modifications to be made to a compound bow.
• The use of laser sights by visually impaired hunters is permitted under certain conditions.
• Persons with disabilities also are allowed to operate off-road vehicles, including Argos, at places and times that otherwise would be closed. The permit, for instance, exempts users from the quiet-hours restriction during the firearm deer season in November.
• A person who is permanently disabled and unable to walk and unable to enter and exit a vehicle may apply for a permit to hunting from a standing vehicle.

Persons issued a permit to hunt from a standing vehicle will have an opportunity to hunt deer on private lands in a special season Oct. 20-21. This special season, which has taken place in Michigan since 2002, allows those hunters to take a deer of either sex with a valid firearm deer or combination deer license on private lands with proper permission in all 83 counties.

In 2006, the Natural Resources Commission modified this season to also allow hunting on public lands that require a permit for access. As a result of this change, the Fort Custer Training Center near Battle Creek is holding a special deer hunt for disabled individuals in conjunction with the statewide hunt.

Legislation also was enacted this year that allowed disabled veterans to also take part in the special youth deer hunt Sept. 22-23. The pilot project took place in Marquette, Mason and Oceana counties.

In addition to these fall deer hunts, for the past two years, the DNR has partnered with the National Wildlife Turkey Federation and the Fort Custer Training Center to offer a hunting opportunity for properly licensed hunters with a disability during the spring wild turkey season.

The DNR also has partnered with other organizations, over the years, to make many of the state game and state wildlife areas in southern Michigan more accessible for individuals with disabilities.

In 1991, DNR wildlife staff, with the assistance of Outdoors Forever, local businesses and St. Johns High School, built the state's first accessible duck blind at the Maple River State Game Area and later built an accessible bowhunting blind.

The Harsens Island and Fish Point wildlife areas have accessible duck hunting blinds, and at the Allegan Farm Unit, the recent improvement of access trails to the hunting cover corn strips has opened the area to more disabled hunters.

The Wildlife Division also is going to receive nearly $100,000 in grant monies from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to make improvements and upgrade a number of hunting blinds at other state game and wildlife areas.

"In addition to these improvements, we're taking a look at other areas where opportunities exist for the construction of other accessible facilities," said Scott Whitcomb, a public land specialist in the Wildlife Division. "But the list is long and money is not as readily available as it was."

All six of the DNR-operated shooting ranges in southern Michigan are universally accessible, including the Rose Lake Shooting Range in Bath (Clinton County); Sharonville Shooting Range in Grass Lake (Jackson County); Island Lake Shooting Range in Brighton (Livingston County); Ortonville Shooting Range in Ortonville (Lapeer County); Bald Mountain Shooting Range in Lake Orion (Oakland County) and Pontiac Lake Shooting Range in Waterford (Oakland County).

Last March, DNR Director Rebecca A. Humphries announced the formation of a new advisory council to help the DNR improve access to natural resources and outdoor recreation opportunities.

She charged the council to work on new collaborations and partnerships to improve accessibility to the outdoors for Michigan citizens and tourists. The goal is to ensure that everyone has access to the DNR's natural resource programs, facilities and services.

"Nearly one in five of our citizens has a disability and the DNR is committed to making Michigan's natural resources available to all," Humphries said.

For more information on getting access to Michigan's outdoors, visit the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr, and click on "Inside DNR" to locate the "Accessible Recreation" page, or contact your local DNR Operations Service Center.