In 2005, Dustin Berg started a nonprofit organization called Global Opportunities Unlimited with the mission to “help people with disabilities get outdoors and regain that part of their life.”
Berg, who is from Albuquerque, grew up camping, backpacking, rock climbing and mountain biking. In 2003, he was involved in a motorcycle crash, and he lost all function below his waist. He now requires a wheelchair for mobility.
Berg told The Signpost that through years of intense rehabilitation and physical therapy, “finally, I got myself back to working and driving and going to school, but I was missing that part of my life, that critical element which was being outdoors”
Today, Berg still enjoys mountain biking, even without the use of his legs. GO offers participants the opportunity to use hand-powered adaptive cycling vehicles to access remote areas.
“We have these really cool cycles. We can ride dirt trails for miles and get out and go along the bosque and around the foothills and go to the mountains,” he said. “[It’s] a fantastic program and some really neat technology that we brought to New Mexico.”
The adaptive cycles also give people with limited mobility the chance to fish in spots that may be difficult to access by wheelchair.
A popular fishing destination for GO participants is the Jemez Mountains, but the terrain and trails are not easily navigable for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices. The nonprofit has been working hard to use the adaptive cycling resources to their full potential, and one of Berg’s goals is to, “teach people [with limited mobility] how to fly fish in the Valles Caldera and some of the small streams and beautiful country up there. We go to Fenton Lake and we like to take kids fishing at Seven Springs Hatchery.”
GO also hosts fishing trips in a modified pontoon boat.
“We have cleared all of the furniture off the front of it. It’s completely open for a wheelchair to roll around on,” Berg said. “And then we also have larger gates and ramps that we bring so that people can roll right onto the boat from the dock. There are no cumbersome transfers.”
GO brings anglers on fly fishing trips in a special drift boat with a fold-down back end for wheelchair ramp access. With the use of devices like transfer benches, the organization aims to make fishing “as independent as possible.”
Through grants and support from sponsors like the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division, GO is able to host outings free of charge, including fishing trips. Volunteers remain the backbone of the organization. To volunteer or make a donation, visit gounlimited.org/.
“People with disabilities are just as interested in the different tourist opportunities as anybody else… they’re hungry for opportunity. So we’re trying to make more of that available here in New Mexico,” Berg said.
GO’s next fishing adventure is planned for April 6 at Isleta Lakes in Albuquerque. To register for the event, visit gounlimited.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Registration-Form.pdf