“It’s nice,” James Chaney said, “because it helps me to let things go, let the past go, enjoy the water and the company I have with people with common backgrounds.”
This was Chaney’s fourth year at the Wounded Warrior Project hosted by Trout Unlimited. With trained fishing guides, Wounded Warriors from the Cheyenne VA hospital practice casting, fishing or just relaxing in the great outdoors.
The Warriors and members of Trout Unlimited went to a pond on the Upper Cedar Creek Ranch, owned by Tom Arthur, a Vietnam Veteran. “Tom is wonderful,” said Tony Seahorn, co-author of Tears of a Warrior and Trout Unlimited member. “This is what we call an in kind donation, that he just opens up this every year for this one day activity and he makes this all available.”
Seahorn stressed that the program would not be possible if it weren’t for fundraising and volunteerism, noting the donation of time and skill by the fishing guides. During the busy and profitable summer season, the guides give their time to the veterans to make their trip all it can be. “This is really beneficial for our vets and for all of us that work the program,” Jeff Streeter, Program Manager with Trout Unlimited, said. “And it also brings attention to the importance of our watersheds.”
Streeter emphasized that clear and clean water makes programs like these possible and it is vital to take action to keep the watersheds viable. “It matters on every level,” Streeter said. “Without the North Platte River, where would we be?”
The veterans were hosted at the Saratoga Resort and Spa, with half of the expenses paid for by donations to Trout Unlimited and half donated by the Resort itself. From there, they went on to the Upper Cedar Creek Ranch to ride horses, eat dinner and relax by the pond—fishing included. They were able to practice their casting and reeling for the float the next day, going from Treasure Island to Saratoga. “This is a great experience because it lets people come out to experience the people, the environment,” Seahorn said. The program started five years ago in order to give back and do something patriotic, according to Seahorn.
Kristi Ruben, Recreational Therapist at the Cheyenne VA hospital, loves the program for its therapeutic benefits. According to Ruben, it is very positive for the veterans suffering from brain injuries or post traumatic stress disorder to pack up their things, plan to stay in a hotel room with someone they don’t know, and learn a new skill.
Rich Steele, a veteran who has participated in the program for several years, explains that the benefit he finds is that you cannot be stressed out while preparing a fishing rod because it is hard to think of two things at once. Ruben agreed, but added that even when they are not fishing, the veterans make progress just going out in the open spaces and leaving their controlled environments.
The program is really all about the veterans, supporting what they need out of experience. “Even though we focus on fishing, it isn’t all about fishing,” Seahorn said. “If they want to fish, we support fly fishing, spin casting or spin fishing. It isn’t an elitist function. Anything they want to do is fine. We have people just come and sit and take it all in.”
The night slowed to a quiet sunset and the veterans laughed, joking with one another and taking photographs to remember the time they spent fishing.
Reader Comments(0)