O U R    N A T U R A L    R E S O U R C E S

Perched 60 feet above the ground and alongside a cliff at Mississippi Palisades State Park, first-time rock climber Joel Irizarry took a quick breather. Though he was exhausted, his arms at the point of collapse, Irizarry wasn't about to quit. He had to prove to himself that he could reach the summit. So grabbing hold of the specially designed gear, he hoisted himself up the remaining 20 feet to the jagged peak At the top, Irizarry paused to watch the backwaters of the mighty Mississippi River glitter in the early evening sun. This, he thought, is just so beautiful. Far below the dangling feet of the 19-year-old paraplegic rested his wheelchair, unoccupied for the first time since he awoke that morning.

Moving Mountains, a privately operated adventure program now in its sixth year, yanks people with spinal cord injuries from the concrete and metal inundated Chicagoland area and thrusts them into the wilds of the natural world, where they are put to the ultimate sports fitness test. Following short training sessions, participants rock climb with adapted climbing gear, kayak, hike, cycle and camp in an effort to challenge themselves physically and mentally. The annual three-day program, which occurred in early June at Mississippi Palisades State Park, is designed to remind people like Irizarry that their disability doesn't restrain them from performing almost all of the same feats an able-bodied person could do.

"My main goal was to climb that mountain, and I did it," said Irizarry, who is also afraid of heights. "I like taking risks."

He paused and then turned to his friend. "You think they'll ever do bungee jumping?" Moving Mountains merges rehabilitation nurses, occupational and recreational therapists, physical therapists, personal trainers and volunteers with men and women with spinal cord injuries for a weekend of sports challenges. Both rehabilitation workers and patients compete in the activities. Program co-founder Pat Maher, who is spinal cord injured, said the goal for the 45 or so health care workers and 15 wheel-

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chair-bound participants who attended is team building and the opportunity for those with spinal cord injuries to prove they are able to triumph over adversity. "This disability magnifies your life challenges," Maher said, "and the program puts them through a lot of new challenges. They go home with new energy and added confidence." And often, gaining back confidence and self worth is critical to the rehabilitation process after a person has become spinal cord injured. Other problems, including respiratory ailments, bladder infections and pressure sores, often. plague a person with a spinal cord injury. "When an injury happens, it is just so hard to adjust to the change. There's so much to deal with," said Mercedes Rauen, executive director of the Illinois Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. "They have to go from being totally self-sufficient to relying on others." The outdoor excursion unites people with spinal cord injuries with others who are having similar problems and dealing with the same situations. The National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) estimates that 250,000 to 400,000 people nationwide live with spinal cord injuries, rendering them unable to walk or use their entire lower body. Add to that an estimated 10,000 people who are spinal cord injured each year. Rauen said that while recovery initially begins in area hospitals and rehabilitation centers, conversing with people who have gone through the same ordeal is the capstone of the healing process. Those recovering from spinal cord injuries share important information with each other, such as how to cope with the mental strain that an injury causes and how to deal with medical or family situations. Rauen said this is just another reason why the Illinois Chapter of the NSCIA is the prime sponsor of Moving Mountains. "Health organizations do a wonderful job of rehabilitating a person but until that person has talked to someone who's gone through what they have, it's just not the same thing," she said. "Peer support is an invaluable experience." With so many changes, it's overwhelming in the beginning, but with a good support system, both medical and from friends and family they can cope with it and have a good life." Moving Mountains originated in 1995, a year after co-founder Eric Larson and two other able-bodied men climbed Mount Rainier in Washington as part of "Climb for a Cause," an effort to raise awareness of spinal cord injuries. In conjunction with the Illinois Chapter of the NSCIA, Larson and Maher proposed a similar adventure challenge, but one that would take place in Illinois and include people with spinal cord injuries. In August 1995, Maher, Larson and two others completed a four-day program of cycling, canoeing and rock climbing to prove it could be done. Only Maher was in a wheel-chair for the initial outing, but the annual event has attracted more people with spinal cord injuries each year. The number has increased from three in 1996 to 15 this year. As the participants amassed, so did the amount of activities, with program costs being borne primarily by the participants. Statistics indicate 82 percent of injuries occur with men, reflected in the fact that those who attended this year were entirely male, although women have participated in past years. The rehabilitation organizations—all from the Chicago area—that took part were Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Marionjoy Rehabilitation Hospital and Clinics, Governors State University and Advocate/Christ Hospital and Medical Center. Although the newly anointed sportsmen in the Moving Mountains events are able to receive assistance from the workers, it's still a long way from the structure of Chicago's

Joel Irizarry summits a cliff overlooking the waters if the Mississipi River at Mississippi Palisades State Park.

Top: Rehab workers are on hand to help participants with the many challenges. Bottom: Scales hoists himself up with the aid of specially designed climbing gear.

rehabilitation centers. Now in the natural territory of the palisades, they are focused on how to complete the challenges ahead of them. Also, for the majority of the Chicago-based participants, it is their first time in the outdoors, which can be a radical change from nights in the inner city to nights camping beneath the stars at one of Illinois' finest recreational areas. High bluffs bespeckled with lush trees, an array of trails for hiking and a breathtaking view of numerous, tiny islands in the crisp backwaters of the Mississippi are just some of the natural wonders of the state park. "For some people that have gone on Moving Mountains, it's the first time they've done anything physical like that since the injury," Rauen said. "It's a great adventure to them." So while Irizarry snapped pictures from his spot along the palisades 80 feet below him, a mile north another group set out kayaking for their first time ever. Cory Nagel, a program specialist for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, led the group in a brief instructional lesson on kayaking before preparing for the trek. Sitting comfortably in their wheelchairs. Tony Boatman and Cleven Head watched with two different sets of expressions as Nagel demonstrated how to maneuver the kayak in the water, paddling techniques and what to do if a kayak flipped. As Boatman sat with a smile that showed all teeth. Heads face was ashen and his goals simple. "Stay in the boat, that's my goal," he said "Just stay in the boat." Later, leaving their wheelchairs vacant, Boatman and Head were helped into the kayaks and paddled off. Even though neither had kayaked before, within moments they were gliding easily across the still waters, as some of their able-bodied counterparts lagged behind. Nagel said getting people with spinal cord injuries out paddling releases them from the confines of their wheelchairs and transports them out into a zone where everyone operates on the same level. "When they leave their wheelchairs on the bank and they're out on the water, you can't tell who's handicapped," Nagel said. And no one watching from the bank would have known which guys had only moments before occupied the four empty wheelchairs parked alongside the river. For out on the waters, the wheelchairs were no longer part of the men who now tobogganed across the muddy waters.

As they learned to maneuver the kayaks, Boatman and Head joked and teased each other about their paddling skills. When Head lagged behind, Boatman was there urging him forward. The rest of the group worked as a team as well, giving encouragement to those who needed just an extra push.

"I think it helps them more emotionally than anything else," Rauen said about the Moving Mountains experience. "They're proving to themselves that they can do it. Some may not reach the top of the mountain, but they tried, and there's great value in that."

And while everyone got the chance to hike, kayak, cycle and rock climb, many didn't reach the top of the cliff. Sheninga Seales, who as a quadriplegic cannot use his legs and the majority of his arms, managed to lift himself up about 35 feet by just using forearm strength, an amazing endeavor considering the physically rigorous exertion of lifting his body weight up the pulley system. Another paraplegic, 21 -year-old Terrance Harden, scaled 50 feet before becoming physically exhausted from a climb that would tire even avid rock climbers.

"Not bad on two bologna sandwiches, huh?" Harden joked. "My New Years resolution was not to break a sweat, and you guys made me break it."

Harden was grateful for the experience of

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OUR NATURAL RESOURCES

"seeing it all" from his cliff side location. And, he added, "I get to tell my daughter I climbed a rock"

Not every father can say that to his daughter, especially not a father who, for the most part, is confined to a wheelchair. And it's this knowledge that makes the altruism of Larson, Maher and the other rehabilitation workers in attendance all worth it. When the group wrapped up the activities on Sunday, after three days of gaining unique skills and meeting new friends, all agreed it was an intense weekend they're not likely to forget.

"I never wanted to come back in," reflected Boatman upon his kayaking experience. "The group radioed in that it was chow time, otherwise I would still be at it."

For Boatman, leaving his wheelchair on the shoreline and paddling into territory he had never before delved into left a lasting impression that no injury could ever take away. He just grinned at the memory, looking like a man who had just moved a mountain.

"I felt like I still had everything and lost nothing." *

BURKE SPEAKER
is a staff writer for Outdoorlllinois a publication of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. This article is reprinted with permission from the August 2000 issue of OutdoorIllinois

ADELE HODDE
is the staff photographer for Outdoorlllinois.

For more information about Moving Mountains, contact Eric Larson at 847.640.1515. Information about Mississippi Palisades State Park is available from the DNR Clearinghouse at 217.782.7498 or by accessing the Department's Web site: dnr.state.il.us/ lands/landmgt/parks/palisade.htm.

"When they leave their wheelchairs on the bank and they're out on the water, you can't tell who's handicapped," says kayaking instructor Corey Nagel.

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If you're planning a trip to a controlled pheasant hunting area this fall, you can reserve your spot online. Sportsmen can now apply on the Internet for their hunt at those sites with reservations being handled by the Springfield permit office, plus for all sites involved in the Illinois Youth Pheasant Hunt. Printable applications will be available on the website for hunters applying for reservations for areas with site operated reservation systems.

To apply, go to http://dnr.state.il.us then look under "Areas of Interest." In addition to regulations and information on the hunting program, the site includes links to each controlled hunting area's home page.

Conservation Police Officer Robert "Hank" Frazier—who along with his dog "Jack" comprise the first K-9 team in the history of the Department of Natural Resources—has been named the 1999 Officer of the Year by the DNR's Office of Law Enforcement.

"I hope Hank is as proud of his accomplishment as we are proud of him for achieving it," said DNR Director Brent Manning. "It is quite an honor to be so highly regarded by your peers and supervisors."

Frazier, 34, DeKalb, has been a Conservation Police Officer for 10 years and is assigned to Bureau, DeKalb, LaSalle, Lee and Putnam counties. He was selected for the honor following a review of nominees by a committee of sergeants and field officers.

Frazier serves as a member of the Conservation Police Emergency Response and Rescue Team, which is trained primarily to conduct rescues around the cliffs at Starved Rock State Park and the Illinois River. In that capacity, he has made several successful rescues.

Thanks to Frazier's efforts, the Department has received more than $20,000 in grants from local organizations for much needed law enforcement equipment, including an in-car video camera and a mobile data computer for his squad car. A $6,000 grant from the LaSalle County state's attorney's office paid to acquire and train Jack, Frazier's black Labrador retriever K-9 partner, who assists the officer in arresting illegal drug users in LaSalle County.

Tom Wakolbinger, chief of DNR's Conservation Police, said Frazier's dedication and enthusiasm drive him to constantly improve and seek better ways to get the job done. The officer, he said, is well regarded by the general public and fellow law enforcement agencies.

Frazier and his partner Jack were featured in the May issue of Outdoorlllinois magazine.

Patrick Moore ofBallwin, Mo., is the recipient of the Todd Fink Memorial award issued yearly by the Illinois Conservation Foundation.

Moore is a graduate student in the Department of Forestry at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He will receive $500 from the Foundation for costs associated with his field research on the American chestnut, a species formerly listed as endangered in Illinois and now thought for all intents and purposes extirpated as a result of the chestnut blight fungus. Moore's research could contribute to the recovery of the species.

The fund was established to honor Todd Fink, a highly regarded biologist and ornithologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, who died in 1995 at the age of 36. The award goes to recipients whose graduate research at SIUC focuses on threatened or endangered species of plants or animals.

To contribute to the Todd Fink Memorial Fund or to learn more about the Foundation, an IRS 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization, contact the Illinois Conservation Foundarionat217.785.2003.The Foundation has raised more than $7.6 million since 1994 for DNR projects and programs.

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OUR NATURAL RESOURCES NEWS BRIEFS

Forecasting fall color in Illinois is often as difficult as forecasting the weather, but Illinois foresters believe the state's panoramic autumn show may begin about a week early based on variable temperatures and near-normal precipitation during the late summer and early autumn.

"The temperature and precipitation trends would seem to indicate the leaves might turn a week or so ahead of the normal pattern of October 1 in northern Illinois, mid-October in central Illinois and the end of October in southern Illinois," said Stewart Pequignot, chief of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Forest Resources, "Folks in the north will probably begin seeing colorful leaves the last week in September, with colors coming on during the second week of October in central Illinois and the last couple of weeks of October in the south."

Foresters say the early summer drought, followed by above-normal to normal precipitation in July and August, should mean relatively good fall color this year in Illinois. "In dry areas where trees have been under stress, leaves have been wilting and falling early, but overall we're in good shape," said IDNR Forester Pete Skuba. "If we get warm, sunny days and cool nights through September, we should see a good variation of fall colors." Leaves change color in the autumn as the hours of daylight become fewer and trees produce less chlorophyll. "Chlorophyll's green pigment is dominant during the growing season, but as the days grow shorter and the amount of chlorophyll is reduced, the gold, orange and yellow tints take over," Skuba said. "Bright, sunny days in the weeks ahead may allow the red and yellow pigments to produce bronze, deep orange and scarlet shades on leaves, while cloudy days might mean fewer rusty red shades and more yellow and gold tints."

Trees producing deep orange, red and bronze shades on autumn leaves include the dogwood, hard maple, persimmon, red oak, sweet gum, sumac and tupelo. Trees with bright orange and yellow tints on leaves in the fall include ash, birch, black cherry, cottonwood, hickory, sassafras, sugar maple and yellow poplar. Deep red and purple shades are the fall colors of tree climbing vines including poison ivy and the non-poisonous five-leaf Virginia creeper.

Popular destinations for viewing fall foliage in the state include Apple River Canyon State Park in Jo Daviess County, Mississippi Palisades State Park in Carroll County, Rock Cut State Park in Winnebago County, Lowden-Miller State Forest in Ogle County, Big River State Forest in Henderson County, Starved Rock State Park in LaSalle County, Jubilee College State Park in Peoria County, Argyle Lake State Park in McDonough County, Hidden Springs State Forest in Shelby County, Kickapoo State Park in Vermilion County, Pere Marquette State Park in Jersey County, Giant City State Park in Jackson County, Ferne Clyffe State Park in Johnson County, and Trail of Tears State Forest in Union County.

Information is available on scenic drives in Illinois by phoning the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, 800.226.6632 (TDD 800.406.6418); Greater Alton/Twin Rivers Fall Color Caravan, 800.258.6645; Spoon River Scenic Drive, 309.647.8980; Pike County Scenic Drive, 217.285.2971; Southernmost Illinois Tourism Council, Information also is available at the Illinois Bureau of Tourism's Web site at http://www.enjoyillinois.com. •

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