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Hunters with Disabilities Welcome New Year at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge

Smyrna, Delaware - Along the shores of the Delaware Bay, hunters with disabilities, many of them veterans, welcomed the New Year with what is for them a unique and rare waterfowl hunting trip. 

On the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, refuge personnel, professional waterfowl guides, and volunteers from the National Wild Turkey Federation helped more than one dozen hunters with disabilities enjoy a morning filled with camaraderie; duck and geese calling from world champion waterfowl callers; and thousands of ducks and geese that winter on the refuge.

Thanks to The National Wild Turkey Federation's Wheelin' Sportsmen Program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Refuge System, these hunters saw the beauty and bounty within the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

"Hunters across America have enjoyed national wildlife refuges for more than one hundred years and we are proud to extend this opportunity to hunters with disabilities," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, Steve Williams.

The day began with a pre-dawn breakfast and welcome, providing an opportunity for professional guides and volunteers to meet the hunters.  After a short drive, the hunters settled into seven temporary blinds amid the decoys and winter wheat fields, watching as many as 100,000 snow geese, Canada geese, and ducks that visit the refuge during the winter months.

Chris Karinja, Regional Director for the National Wild Turkey Federation showed his pleasure saying, "The Wheelin' Sportsmen program is all about bringing people to the outdoors and when you can do that in a pristine setting like the Bombay Hook refuge, you create memories that last a lifetime."

Today's event is the result of a groundbreaking partnership between the National Wildlife Refuge System and The National Wild Turkey Federation's Wheelin' Sportsmen Program.  The partnership was created to develop new opportunities for people with disabilities to enjoy the outdoors.  The event is also sponsored by Bass Pro Shops, Delta Waterfowl, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and Larry McAllister's Metal Masters.                       

President Theodore Roosevelt created the first national wildlife refuge in1903.  Today, the National Wildlife Refuge System includes 545 wildlife refuges and thousands of waterfowl production areas covering approximately 100 million acres.  A wildlife refuge can be found in every State and several U.S. Territories often within an hour's drive of major cities.  Refuges have played a vital role in protecting wildlife habitat and offer Americans the opportunity to pursue such outdoor activities as hunting, fishing, photographing and viewing wildlife, and studying the natural world. 

The National Wild Turkey Federation is a 525,000 member grassroots, nonprofit organization with members in 50 States, Canada and 11 foreign countries. It supports scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands as well as wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport.  For more information on the National Wild Turkey Federation, visit their web site at www.nwtf.org.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 100-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas.  It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts.  It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.  

For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our website at www.fws.gov.

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