Independence Hunt event at Sharonville State Game Area Oct. 16-19

Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 8, 2014

 

Contact: Tom Jones, 734-612-6677

 

 

Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors hosts Independence Hunt event
at Sharonville State Game Area Oct. 16-19

 

Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors will host the first annual Sharonville Independence Hunt event Oct. 16-19 at Sharonville State Game Area in Jackson County. It's an opportunity for those who are eligible to participate in the 2014 Independence Hunt to connect with assistive resources and programs.

 

Each day of the Sharonville Independence Hunt will include breakfast from 5 to 7 a.m. and a midday lunch and check-in – with opportunities to learn more about Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors and share stories – from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Breakfast and lunch both will take place at the Sharonville barn, located at 5754 Fishville Road in Grass Lake (directional signs will be posted, as online mapping sites place the barn around the corner from the actual location).

 

Assistive resources available to participants include hunting guides; tracked wheelchairs; pop-up and permanent hunting blinds; access to approximately 9 miles of mowed trails; rooms at the Chelsea Comfort Inn; and transportation assistance. These resources are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Maps of the area, trail locations and information will be available for everyone.

 

The Independence Hunt is a firearm deer hunt that will take place on private lands, or public land requiring an access permit and open to the hunt by lottery from Oct. 16-19. To qualify to participate in this hunt, an individual must meet one of the following criteria:

• Be a veteran who has been determined to have 100-percent disability, or is rated as individually unemployable by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Have been issued a permit by the Department of Natural Resources to hunt from a standing vehicle.
• Have been issued a permit by the DNR to hunt using a laser-sighting device.
• Be blind. “Blind” means an individual who has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correction, or has a limitation of his or her field of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angular distance not greater than 20 degrees.

During this hunt, a deer or deer combo license may be used for an antlered or antlerless deer. The bag limit for this season is one deer, and antler point restrictions do not apply. All hunters participating in this season must wear hunter orange.

 

To enter the lottery for the Independence Hunt on Sharonville State Game Area, a hunter must submit his/her full name, residential mailing address and telephone number to Tom Jones, Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors coordinator, by calling 734-612-6677 or e-mailing the information to tjones@zero-day.us. Each lottery applicant will receive a confirmation number that will be used to enter into a random drawing from applicants meeting the eligibility criteria. Confirmation numbers must be received by applicants no later than noon Monday, Oct. 13. The drawing will take place at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 13 and applicants will be contacted via telephone later that afternoon with their drawing results (if a message cannot be left, the permit will be forfeited).

 

Fifteen access permits will be available. The permits will not be valid without evidence of eligibility (e.g., copy of permit to hunt from a standing vehicle). Access permits shall not be transferred or altered.

                                                                                                                                                           

The Sharonville State Game Area also is open for archery deer hunting season. Those who do not apply for, or successfully draw, an Independence Hunt access permit may contact the Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors coordinator about assistive resources to bow hunt on the public land, and are welcome to partake in breakfast and lunch activities.

 

Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors is a cooperative partnership between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Camp Liberty, Zero-Day, Eisenhower Center, the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, Passing Along the Heritage Foundation, Safari Club International Foundation, Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Disabled American Veterans and others. Its mission is to provide improved outdoor recreation opportunities for wounded veterans and individuals with health challenges and to coordinate a support network that facilitates their recovery through connecting with nature.