(l-r) Erwin Rudd, MN State Council On Disability, Rydell NWR Staff Dave Bennett and Juancarlos Giese, and Options RCIL director Randy Sorenson and treasurer Dave Espinoza posing with the prestigious award. Photo by MCOD staff member

  On Thursday, November 6, the Minnesota State Council on Disability bestowed upon the Rydell NWR their 2008 Sports Innovation Award for accessibility in the outdoors.  Since its inception into the National Wildlife Refuge System in 1992, the Rydell NWR has worked closely with OPTIONS Interstate Resource Center for Independent Living and the Friends of Rydell Refuge Association(FRRA), to make sure that all the wildlife-dependant recreational opportunities are as accessible as possible to all members of the American public.  OPTIONS is a non-profit organization in East Grand Forks, MN that supports people with disabilities in their efforts toward independence, and the FRRA is a the volunteer organization dedicated to providing quality recreational and educational programs on the Rydell NWR.  Options and the FRRA have both been instrumental in applying for grants and lobbying on behalf of Rydell NWR’s accessible programs.

Collaborating with OPTIONS and the Friends of Rydell Refuge Association, the Rydell NWR has been able to pave over 5 miles of trails, and provide hard-packed granite and gravel surfaces for an additional 3 miles, through beautiful maple-basswood forest, prairie restorations, and picturesque wetlands teaming with wildlife. Accompanying wheelchair accessible outdoor recreation facilities have included 5 wildlife observation platforms, 5 hunting platforms, a permanently mounted outdoor spotting scope, an outdoor restroom, and a fishing pier.  Annually, the Rydell Refuge holds an accessible deer hunt for people with disabilities, as well as an accessible greater prairie chicken hunt on the Glacial Ridge NWR.   The Rydell NWR headquarters and visitor’s center have also been retrofitted to be universally accessible for people with disabilities.  Besides facilities, the Rydell NWR volunteers and staff provide wildlife refuge tours on two 8-passenger golf carts for people with mobility impairments throughout the spring, summer and autumn. 

Through the years, the Rydell NWR have been dedicated to providing a high quality outdoor recreational and educational experience for everyone throughout northwest Minnesota, and with the help of its many partners, the refuge will continue to be a model for other recreational areas interested in providing quality experiences for people with disabilities.