Conservationist Accommodated to Help the Land

by Dick Tremain, Iowa NRCS public affairs specialist

September 8, 2004 was a fateful day for 55 year old Gary Fedler. A farmer, father and Lee County Soil and Water Conservation District buffer employee, Gary was on top of the world as he exercised a horse before taking it to a local fair. That all instantly changed when a spooked stallion collided with the mare he was riding, flipping the horse on her back. The mare landed on top of Fedler crushing his pelvis and midsection. 

In an instant, Gary Fedler knew he was paralyzed from the waist down and his life was changed forever.

Fedler underwent ten hours of initial reconstructive surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. After his discharge from the hospital he underwent therapy to heal his body and learn to live with restrictions. He underwent nearly two years of therapy at hospitals in Cedar Rapids and Burlington which required spending a lot of time traveling to medical appointments with the help of his wife, Becky, a nurse.

Family and friends rallied around the Fedlers offering their help and support. In the fall of 2004, neighbors and relatives harvested crops on Fedler’s 600 acres, while medical professionals did their best to patch him together. He started the process of getting his life back to normal and his co-workers were there to help as well. 

Jim Sutter is a district conservationist with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.  As Gary’s supervisor at the Lee County Soil and Water Conservation District office at that time, Jim wanted Gary back to work as soon as he was medically able. Sutter said, “Gary Fedler is one of the best employees I’ve ever had.  He has a significant work ethic, a great rapport with farmers and he takes on additional responsibilities. As a buffers specialist he took every practice that was available, looked at every system and did a great conservation job for the farmers and environment. It was a no-brainer that we wanted him back.” 

Sutter was able to visit Fedler in the hospital to tell him there was a job waiting for him when he was able to work again.

NRCS follows reasonable accommodation procedures. According to NRCS National Disability Emphasis Program Manager Cliff Denshire, “Qualified individuals must be considered equally for jobs. Do you meet the requirements? Can you do the job with or without reasonable accommodation? If so, you are eligible to be hired.  People with disabilities should be included in all that we do. It’s not about disability; it’s about people.”

Nearly a year after the accident Fedler returned to work part-time as an NRCS soil scientist technician. He could consult with farmers in the office, but what he really wanted to do was get out in the fields of Lee County and do conservation work. That involves moving over rough ground that would quickly stop a motorized wheel chair. 

Changes were made in the office and with vehicles. NRCS also provide the Lee County office with a small, 4-wheel drive farm utility vehicle, or UTE, and a trailer to haul the UTE modified for Fedler use. 

Fedler was back in the business of helping farmers put conservation practices on the ground.  “With this system,” said Fedler, “I can do all types of buffer work. I can check on seedings, do project status reviews, and I can survey. The UTE is an all purpose vehicle that helps me be productive and do the things I love to do. This helps me help the land.”

In the office, Fedler’s desk was raised 3 inches to slip the wheelchair underneath it, his computer was fitted with a wireless keyboard and mouse and the bathroom was made handicapped accessible. For mobility in the field, NRCS modified a pick up truck by installing hand controls, a driver’s seat that pivots and descends outside the truck to the level of the wheelchair, and a mechanism to pick up and store Fedler’s motorized wheelchair in the truck. 

“I’m very pleased we were able to make a few changes to get Gary Fedler back to work,” said Jim Sutter. “The reasonable accommodation policy helped a very productive employee come back to work in Lee County. I’m very happy for Gary and pleased he’s back with us. Farmers, the environment and the taxpayers all benefit now that Gary’s back.”     

Current Lee County NRCS District Conservationist T. J. Mathis said, “When Gary left there was a lot of things he started. Producers like to work with him. Gary likes to dig into a project. He’s one of those guys that you put on a project and know it will get done.”

The benefit of having Fedler back on the job is perhaps best viewed by looking at a few numbers. Mathis says Fedler has been very busy installing conservation practices since his return and credits Fedler with assisting in creating 10 shallow water wetlands and helping install ponds, grazing systems, 3,600 feet of grassed waterways and 60,000 feet of terraces.

Mathis best summed up the thoughts of many when he said, “It is nice to have Gary back.” 

--30—

On the Side

NRCS Accommodation Policy Procedure excerpt:
“When the employee is determined to be an individual with a disability and the requested accommodation does not cause undue hardship, the accommodation shall be provided.”

Cliff Denshire, NRCS National Disability/Veterans Emphasis Program Manager, said:
“NRCS has provided reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities including adjusted work schedules, leave, adaptive equipment to vehicles and workstations”. Reasonable accommodation is not intended to change the essential functions of a job, just the way the essential functions are done. Think of it as just another tool in the old toolkit!”

Fedler on the 4-wheel farm utility vehicle or UTE:
“The UTE is a great tool.  Once I’ve transferred into the UTE, I can run water ways pretty fast with the UTE. It doesn’t take long to set up the laser, get slope grades, flag the waterways, get the distance and acreage from the meter set up on the UTE. If I’m working on a project with some of the people from my office, there are some things I can do faster because I’m working out of the UTE.”

Fedler on obstacles:
“Most of the obstacles I run across are small things. It seems like it’s easier to find another way to do bigger things than small things. Small things crop out of the blue like having a piece of paper blow out of a folder and land under the truck.  The paper sits there and you can’t get at it. That means, unless you can find a way to get at it, you have to transfer back into the truck, back it up, transfer back out of the truck into the wheelchair and then go pick up the paper. It’s the little things that slow you down.”

The Fedler Family:
The Fedler family raises cattle on 600 acres with 340 acres of row crops with the rest pasture. Gary Fedler farms with his wife Becky, daughter Megan (21), and two sons Brian (20 and Scott (18). Gary’s father, Virgil, also help on the farm. 

-30-

<Back to 2007 News Releases