Outdoor Guide
July-August 2022
Page 29
Minnesota parks add all-terrain chairs
Here’s something different. Visitors with mobility disabilities can now use all-terrain track chairs or an adaptive beach chair at six Minnesota state parks. The track chairs enable visitors to explore non-accessible trails and other areas within the parks. They are off-road, electric powered chairs that can be used on designated trails within the parks that are not suitable for wheelchairs. Users should call ahead to reserve a chair, and they will need to sign waivers. There is no charge, but all vehicles entering a park must have a state park vehicle permit,
which is discounted for cars with disability hanging tags. The chairs are located at: • Camden State Park
(507) 872-7031
• Crow Wing State Park
(218) 825-3075
• Lake Bemidji State Park
(218) 308-2300
• McCarthy Beach State Park
(218) 274-7299
• Maplewood State Park
starting this fall (218) 863-8383
• Myre-Big Island State Park
(507) 668-7060 The adaptive beach chair is also located at McCarthy Beach State Park.
The all-terrain track chair will go places no ordinary wheelchair can go. – Minnesota State Parks photo
COME PREPARED Riders who will need help getting into and out of the chairs will need to bring someone to do that; park staff will not be available. Transfer boards will be available. Riders should also remember a water bottle, bug spray, sunscreen, snacks, a sun hat, rain gear or extra layers depending on the weather. “Minnesota state parks are for everyone to enjoy, regardless of age
or ability,” Department of Natural Resources Assistant Commissioner Shannon Lotthammer said. “Adaptive equipment like these all-terrain track chairs allows visitors to explore the great outdoors. Along with other parks and trails providers across the state – like our partners in Olmsted County and the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center – we hope to provide a system of adaptive-supported recreation opportunities from backyard to backcountry.”
John Olin enters Waterfowler Hall of Fame Engineer and industrialist John Olin has been recognized for a lifetime of accomplishments with his induction into the Arkansas Waterfowler Hall of Fame. In a May 19 ceremony in Little Rock, members of the Winchester company accepted the posthumous award on his behalf. John Merrill Olin, born in 1892, was active throughout the early and mid-1900s. He held more than 20 patents and built an ammunition and manufacturing empire including Winchester-Western Ammunition, Olin Brass, Olin Corp. and more. Olin personally improved many early ammunition manufacturing processes and developed progressive burning powders and harder shot for increased velocity, pattern density and improved lethality on game animals, dramatically outperforming the available ammunition at the time. “We are very honored to accept this award that rec-
ognizes John Olin for his forward-thinking and significant contributions to the hunting and shooting sports industry,” said Matt Campbell, vice president of sales and marketing for Winchester Ammunition. “John Olin created a culture of innovation that still lives today through the Winchester brand.” WORK WITH LEOPOLD Olin not only produced guns and ammunition, but he also loved to use them in the field, hunting ducks in Stuttgart, Ark. and St. Louis and quail at his plantation in Georgia. A visionary, Olin recognized in the 1930s that for future generations to enjoy hunting as he did, something had to be done. With the help of his vast influence and personal wealth, he focused his attention on the problem of dwindling wildlife populations and degraded habitats and became one of America’s greatest unsung conservation heroes.
As chairman of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) Committee on Restoration and Protection of Game, Olin hired an aspiring young ecologist named Aldo Leopold to complete a game survey of the north central states. This monumental study was the first of its kind and led to a book entitled “Game Management” and propelled Leopold, now recognized as the Father of Wildlife Ecology, into active work in the field of game management. CONSERVATION GROUPS Olin also formed the Winchester Conservation department, which was tasked with researching early conservation concepts and promoting them to newly formed state game agencies and conservation groups through published manuals and videos. Thanks in part to John Olin’s endorsement and financial support, a young con-
servation group named the Game Conservation Society grew in influence and eventually became Ducks Unlimited. Despite his many contributions, John Olin never sought recognition or credit for his efforts. Skies full of mallard ducks and hedgerows full of quail for hunters and dogs to pursue were the only motivation he needed. If John Olin were here today, conservation leaders believe, he would be honored by this award and happy to see the positive result of that early conservation work that he and others spearheaded almost 100 years ago. Winchester is the largest small-caliber ammunition enterprise in the world and the leader in delivering innovative ammunition products to hunters, sport shooters, law enforcement and the military. To learn more, go online to Winchester. com. For more about the Arkansas Waterfowler Hall of Fame, go to waterfowlerhof.com.
There was nothing Olin loved more than a good hunting dog. – Olin Corp. photo
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