ID disabled veterans could get hunting permits
File photo. By SARAH D. WIRE Associated Press WriterBOISE, Idaho (AP) - Some big game hunting tags could be set aside for disabled military veterans under a program proposed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The department wants to reallocate unused hunting tags now reserved for children with life-threatening illnesses. Out of 10 tags allocated to organizations that provide disabled children with an opportunity to hunt, only three or four have been used in each of the three years since the program was started, said Sharon Kiefer, assistant policy director of the state agency. "Obviously it's got kind of a limited audience," Kiefer said. Only nonprofit organizations can sponsor an individual for the children's program, and the veterans' program would use a similar method, Kiefer said. Several veterans organizations would qualify as sponsors, but the department will learn which groups want to participate only after a program is initiated, she said. Hunt of A Lifetime spokesman Brian Hamel told The Associated Press his group used three tags to take ill children hunting in 2008. If disabled veterans were added to the pool of those eligible for the tags, 10 might not be enough, he said. "They'd probably have to increase the number of tags because of the number of disabled veterans," Hamel said. Hunt of a Lifetime is one of four national organizations that have used the tags, most of which go to out-of-state children for hunting in Idaho, he said. So far, one trip has been arranged in 2009 for an Idaho child. The program was unanimously approved in 2006 and does not have a financial impact on the state. Nor would a disabled veterans hunting program, Kiefer said. Officials at the Idaho Division of Veterans Services could not be reached by telephone for comment Monday. Many other states, including Oregon, Michigan and Pennsylvania, offer special hunting licenses for disabled veterans. The Department of Fish and Gam e's Web site says 15 Idaho hunting sites have some type of disabled access operation. The Fort Boise Wildlife Management Area near Parma has a duck blind that conforms to Americans with Disabilities Act standards and the Sterling Wildlife Management Area near Aberdeen has a similar hunting blind. Kiefer said the Idaho Division of Veterans Services has been approached by some major landowners who want to work with disabled veterans. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. |
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