Responding to public comment overwhelmingly against a proposal that would have changed the qualifications for disabled-hunter status, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has reversed its proposal.
The department will recommend against removing a provision for counting a “100% service-related disability,” based on a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs, in Wyoming’s disabled-hunter regulations.
Such a disability qualifies disabled people to hunt for five days before the opening of regular big-game seasons.
VA 100% ratings have included disabilities that aren’t physically apparent, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The final decision is up to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, which is scheduled to vote on it during its meeting Tuesday in Sheridan.
Veterans’ advocates worried that the previously proposed changes would have taken away many opportunities for veterans to have therapeutic hunting trips.
They argued that many veterans qualify for special hunts because the VA 100% disability designation covers such issues as PTSD, inoperable internal shrapnel wounds, chronic migraine headaches, hearing loss or other injuries or conditions that might not visibly affect their overall fitness.
A few public comments supported the change based on concerns about essentially physically fit hunters taking advantage of the early hunting seasons. And also, some early-season rifle hunting overlaps with regular archery seasons, according to Game and Fish.
Public Overwhelmingly Against It
Game and Fish hosted public meetings regarding the proposed changes, and also called for online written comments.
There were 201 written comments submitted, of which “approximately 168” expressed opposition to the proposed change, according to Game and Fish.
“Some comments emphasized that the season extension is a reasonable accommodation that has a positive impact on mental health and might contribute to reducing veteran suicides. Several disabled veterans commented that their conditions were not always obvious to the general public and did not necessarily limit their mobility at all times, so this proposal would take away an existing benefit that is available to them,” a summary from the department to the Game and Fish Commission said. “A number of comments expressed that the proposal does not recognize the sacrifices that veterans have made for their country.”
Heard The Public ‘Loud And Clear’
Bill Brinegar, executive director of Hunting With Heroes Wyoming, told Cowboy State Daily he’s pleased with Game and Fish’s responsiveness to public outcry.
“They (Game and Fish) said they heard loud and clear from the public that they didn’t want the disabled-hunter regulations changed,” he said. “It’s nice to see the process working, and Game and Fish responding to the public.”
Hunting With Heroes arranges and hosts big-game hunts for disabled veterans, including those with invisible or less-visible wounds, he said.
“Heck, I know guys with prosthetic limbs that you wouldn’t know had them, unless I told you,” Brinegar said.
Another proposed change to disabled hunters’ tag allocations is opposed by Hunting With Heroes, he said.
It has to do with big-game tags that hunters can choose to donate to disabled people or non-profit groups that host disabled hunters.
Currently, disabled hunters are eligible for one donated big-game tag every year. Game and Fish has proposed changing that to two per disabled veteran during a five-year period, Brinegar said.
Hunting With Heroes favors leaving it at one tag per year.
‘The Brain’s A Muscle Too’
Jacob DeLong of Springfield, Missouri, served in an Army armored unit and saw combat from 2004-2007. He founded Vets 4 Huntn & Fishn, which accommodates trips for disabled veterans in Wyoming and other states.
He told Cowboy State Daily he’s thankful Game and Fish decided not to recommend eliminating the VA 100% disability designation.
Like many veterans, he said he still suffers from extreme discomfort in busy places and other lingering effects of combat.
The early hunts give veterans space and peace, allowing them to speak frankly with other veterans about what they’re going through, DeLong said.
“I’ve seen these guys; they get up and out of their basements. They get active, they get excited, they get moving in preparation for these hunts,” he said.
The opportunity for a Wyoming hunt can even stop troubled veterans from “drinking booze,” he added.
Mental wounds need rehabilitative therapy, just as physical wounds, and Wyoming’s wild country can provide that, DeLong said.
“The brain’s like a muscle too. It needs exercise,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
