Ability Montana Receives $182,495 VA Grant to Expand Recreation for Veterans with Disabilities

Funding will provide Veterans with no-cost fly-fishing, skiing, and ice skating experiences across southwest Montana

BOZEMAN, Mont. (November 11, 2026) – Ability Montana has received a $182,495 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Adaptive Sports Grant program to expand recreation for all Veterans and adaptive recreation for Veterans with disabilities. Over the next year, the funding will give Veterans and service members with disabilities access to sport experiences, including fly-fishing at Camp Bullwheel near Ennis, alpine skiing, and ice skating. All activities are free to participants.

This award builds on Ability Montana’s FY2025 VA grant, which funded the adaptive equipment and safety resources behind the program. With that foundation in place, this year’s funding goes directly to getting more Veterans on the river and the mountain.

“Fly-fishing and skiing are part of life in Montana,” said David Poole, Recreation Program Manager at Ability Montana. “This grant means more Veterans and Veterans with disabilities can get back to the activities they love, on their own terms, with the right equipment and support.”

The grant supports three programs:

• Adaptive Fly-Fishing: Day trips at Camp Bullwheel on the Madison River, spring through early fall. Includes adaptive casting instruction, guided fishing, equipment fitting, and transfer support.

• Adaptive Skiing: Two-hour sessions with winter recreation partners, using traditional ski equipment, mono-skis, bi-skis, outriggers, and other adaptive gear. Open to first-time skiers, those returning to the sport and Veterans improving their skiing skills.

• Adaptive ice skating: Community-based winter sessions offering another way for Veterans to stay active through the winter.

The program welcomes ALL Veterans and those with spinal cord injuries, limb loss, visual impairments, PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and other disabilities. Roughly 24,750 Montana Veterans have a service-connected disability rating, and many live in rural communities where distance, cost, and limited adaptive programs make outdoor recreation hard to reach. Ability Montana covers the cost, equipment, and instruction so Veterans can focus on the experience.

The program is led by a recreation team with decades of adaptive recreation experience and lived experience with disability. Ability Montana partners with Fort Harrison VA Medical Center, Eagle Mount Bozeman, Discovery Ski Area, Dream Adaptive Recreation, Empower SCI, Missoula Adaptive Recreation and Sports, Patriots Cove, and the River Deep Foundation to connect Veterans with opportunities and deliver programming.

Veterans and service members with disabilities interested in participating can sign up on our website or contact us for questions.

About Ability Montana

Since 1981, Ability Montana has empowered Montanans with disabilities to lead their own lives as one of the state’s four Centers for Independent Living. More than half of its staff and board members are people with disabilities. With offices in Helena, Butte, and Bozeman, Ability Montana serves 14 counties in southwest Montana, offering independent living services, advocacy, and adaptive recreation at no cost. Learn more at abilitymt.org.

Media Contact

Patrick Quinn
Recreation Coordinator
pquinn@abilitymt.org
406-410-5499