Guest post by Mishelle Baun, Mantooth Company
It’s been 37 years since Louis Swift first envisioned how people in wheelchairs could experience the angler’s joy of casting a fishing line while wading in the water. Now, Louis’ vision has become a reality.
On Saturday, June 7, at Outdoor Buddies Family Day at Colorado Youth Outdoors, the first participants who use wheelchairs cast their rods into Bluegill Pond, after cutting the ceremonial ribbon. It’s believed that this is the first dock in the nation where a person in a wheelchair can feel the water on their feet.
Building Bluegill Dock
In 1988, Louis first submerged a metal I-beam frame in a fishing pond on his family’s land south of Fort Collins. As planned, the beam would support a dock that rests beneath the pond’s surface, allowing anglers in wheelchairs to place their feet in the water. Over the years, the dock project stalled, and the land and the pond eventually came into the possession of Colorado Youth Outdoors — fulfilling Louis’ wish (he died in 2003) that the ground be used for youth education.
“This year – through gifts of time and money from JE Dunn, 1888 Industrial Services, ETC Contracting, Connell Resources, and A-Concrete – CYO staff finalized the dock, deck, and water control structure to raise or lower the water level,” explained Luke Brough, CYO’s Northeast Executive Director. “This will allow the dock to be submerged or stay dry when desired. The one-of-a-kind dock Louis Swift envisioned has come to life.”
Using Bluegill Dock
“The new Bluegill dock is a great place for those learning to cast for the first time, shared Ken Brink, CYO’s lead fly fishing instructor. “When you’re standing in the middle of a pond, your cast doesn’t have to go very far to be successful. Plus, no trees to hook on the back cast!”
For the Swift family, the CYO’s commitment to complete the dock, thanks to generous donations from multiple businesses, is a dream come true. Louis’ son Chase believes there are “a lot of great things happening at Swift Ponds with everyone working together for the same positive goal.”
Larry Sanford, president of Outdoor Buddies, shares, “When you’re in a wheelchair, you see things and think, ‘I wish I could do that.’ At some point, you stop wishing. This dock is someone listening to those wishes and saying that there is a way!”
Special thanks to the following businesses:
Connell Resources donated $4,500 in labor and materials, installing a water control system.
ETC Contracting donated $10,170 worth of metal grating.
1888 Industrial Services donated $6,340 in labor and materials, building the dock.
A-Concrete will pour a landing on the south side of dock for smoother wheelchair access; $5,000 donation (estimate)
This was a $47,000 project without donations. Due to the donations listed above, the project totaled $22,840.
That expense is covered by a grant from JE Dunn, designated for improved ADA access at Colorado Youth Outdoors.
