As a young man, if Dean Petersen could legally hunt it, he was hunting it. Sometimes he was in Wyoming or the Black Hills.
Even a rollover vehicle accident in 1998 that transformed him physically didn't temper his desire and interest. Perhaps, in fact, they were deepened.
Petersen, who is a quadriplegic, still pursues hunting with vigor and, as president of the nonprofit Capable Partners (capablepartners.org), he and colleagues get others with disabilities into blinds and atop fishing holes as often as possible.
Petersen, of Dawson, Minn., said the group of 250 to 300 members is about evenly split between people with disabilities and "able-bodied" members who show up to help coordinate events around Minnesota and provide support where needed at special hunts and angling outings.
Capable Partners debuted in 1986, four years before passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which this week celebrates 32 years of helping people with physical and other challenges live their lives more fully — including outdoors.
Organizing at least one event per month. Capable Partners' August calendar includes pontoon outings to fish on Lake Minnetonka and Lake Mille Lacs. Future events include big game qualification and weapon sight-in at the Monticello Rod & Gun Club. Most of the group's deer hunts are in wildlife management areas, he said, and in closed areas of federal lands. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are reliable partners, he added, offering guidance and soliciting feedback.
"Even though I look for help myself," Petersen said, "it is satisfying getting other individuals out there that need help."
Here are two additional opportunities in the outdoors for people with physical challenges: