Thunder Bear Teams up with Whiskey Springs

Whiskey Springs Ranch has a disabled hunting program is designed to foster and promote opportunities for disabled hunters. The goal is for them to experience hunting traditions and heritage thru hunting activities. The Thunder Bear Foundation wishes to provide this and more to sick and disabled children and adults with a unique perspective dealing with disabled veterans and at risk kids.

The goal is to provide hunting, fishing, educational programs about nature, and many other great outdoor activities.The programs are designed for those that have felt they have lost these things or for those that would never have the opportunity to ever have them.

The Foundation needed a home and Jerry Haynes needed a Foundation to help what he had already started. The Whiskey Springs Ranch is already doing what Thunder Bear Foundation wanted to do. We have also found a location near Lake McConaughy with the help of Norm Edwards who has hunting and fishing areas and equipment on Western Nebraska where he has been helping others for many years. Thunder Bear will now be in Nebraska and Colorado with dedicated people that understand what it takes to help and educate others.

Here is a little history of the Whiskey Springs Ranch

The historic Whiskey Springs Ranch was first homesteaded in the 1860's by the Kaske family. The ranch is within a few miles of the Pony Express Route, The California Trail, and The Oregon Trail. In fact, you can see wagon ruts across the property that were used in these times since the land has abundant spring water and the valley has its lush grasses. In the early days the ranch was used primarily for a sheep ranch. Later, Mr. Kaske added hogs, horses, and cattle. Mr. Kaske then started a bank in nearby Sedgwick, Colorado (now a bed and breakfast) and built a house on the ranch (now the Whiskey Springs Ranch Lodge) in 1902. In the middle 1950's ponds were constructed for irrigation and cattle watering. In 2003, The Haynes Family purchased the 1140 acre ranch and proceeded to begin making it into a handicapped accessible hunting and fishing property, utilizing these ponds as the center of the operation.

The ponds have ramps for people to fish from as well as to hunt ducks and geese, which are very abundant in the area. The Haynes family has added 11,000 lease acres.The new acreage has white tail and mule deer, antelope, and of course pheasant, quail, dove, and the occasional turkey. The Jumbo(Julesburg) Reservoir is 1 mile away, the South Platte River 5 miles and the North Platte River 14 miles from the ranch. They are the home of thousands of ducks and dark and white geese during the fall migration. The lodge is able to house 7 wheelchair bound and 8 able bodied people at a time. It comes complete with 2 totally accessible bathrooms and showers. The hope of the Haynes' family is to further develop the property with an excretes pool, a therapy building, and recreation rooms. A rifle range is under construction and work will soon start on a shotgun range. The ranch is located minutes from I-76, I-80 and less than 2 hours from I-25 and I-70, a very central location, with easy accessibility.

Now that we have the properties we needed , we are determined to build them into the best facilities in this part of the country.

Our needs are to raise money to cover current needs, new development costs, and operations. To cover the current and improvement needs we would need to raise $1,600,000. That would put us in great shape for several years. Our yearly operations costs will be predicated on events, manpower, and insurance. Insurance costs which could exceed $4000 monthly. That is do to the type of people that will utilize the facilities in both Nebraska and Colorado. We have done several budgets and total costs will a minimum of $30,000 plus a month.

With the number of lands for hunting and fishing getting smaller each year and the number of hunting and fishing licenses also dropping by 30%, it is important to have places for ALL people to enjoy the out of doors. Our fathers showed us and fathers of today are not for the most part doing the same.

WE FEEL THAT WE MUST DO THIS.

It is our heritage, our past, our present and our future. There are 3500 Veterans that are coming out of Walter Reed Hospital that have lost or could lose a limb. We owe it to them to have places like ours for them to go. We need your help.

Thank you

Barry “Bear” Hudson
Founder
Thunder Bear Foundation