Getting a range built on a WMA

[lwsimon]

I was at the local wildlife management area today, and I stopped by the bulletin boards on my way out of the woods squirrel hunting. I notice a new paper tacked up - "NO TARGET SHOOTING". I figure this is either caused by hikers complaining about the noise, the perceived danger, or the mess that some of our more inconsiderate ilk might leave behind.

Instead of trying to challenge this edict, I've decided to try to find the silver lining. The state of Arkansas only has one government owned public shooting range, and it is located over 100 miles away. At least 250,000 people live within a 30 minute drive of this WMA. Why not build a new shooting range?

Now, here's where you guys come in - do any of you have experience with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commision, or the National Park Service? I believe the land is owned by the park service, but the existing recreation areas are AGFC. I have some experience writing grant proposals, and I have a working knowledge of GIS/GPS and CAD for the graphic representations.

Is there anything I'm missing? My plan for Monday is to call the AGFC and locate the office in charge of the WMA and set up a time to meet with whoever is in charge there. From there, I'll look for some grants delaing with public recreation facilities on public land, and finally, I'm going to work up some ideas for getting out the word, both for fundraising, and participation upon completion.

Any and all ideas are greatly appreciated

 

[deanf]

My first priority would be to verify that the NO TARGET SHOOTING sign was valid. What form was it in? Was it on some official letterhead? Was it just a piece of white paper? Does the AGFC have the authority to prohibit target shooting? Did some bunny-hugger activist employee of AGFC just decide to put up the sign and not tell anyone? Or was it just some private bunny-hugger? I could go on and on . . . .

 

[lwsimon]

Its just a piece of white paper, but it is behind locked glass, therefore one would assume that it was put up by an employee of some kind. I don't so much want to challenge this, as I want to get a range built

 

[Aguila Blanca]

The first thing you may be missing is that if it is National Park Service land you don't stand a chance, because the NPS has a strict prohibition agsinst firearms. However, in general the NPS also adminsiters their own properties, and would not have tolerated unorganized shooting on a NPS site for any length of time.

Which means that, if it's Federal land at all, it may be some agancy other than NPS, perhaps the Bureau of Land Management or National Forest Service.

Step 1: Find out who owns the land.

 

[lwsimon]

I checked - its owned by the Nat'l Forest Service. Its the Wedington WMA in NW Arkansas, just about 15 miles west of Fayetteville.

 

[Kilgor]

I'm a graduate student in wildlife biology at the U of A and worked for the Forest Service last summer. They closed the informal shooting range 3-4 years ago. At the time the USFS had plans to build a very nice shooting range. They did all of the environmental work and had a comment period. The environmental assessment was a go and most of the comments (34 total if I recall) were positive. The only hang up then was the $79,000 to build it. I discussed this problem with the district biologist, Ralph Odegard, who is now the forest biologist and was told that the AGFC wants to build the shooting range closer to Fayetteville and wants to buy land to do it. However, nothing has been done in 3-4 years.

Look into it and I will help in any way I can. If money is the issue, then we could hold fundraisers and take donations at local gun shops. If the tie up is interagency differences, then I have contacts with a state senator and the district ranger. Maybe I can talk to them and at least express my frustration with the situation. Maybe some petitions at local gunshops would be a good idea.

P.S. One problem is that the district office is over an hour away from the Wedington unit and the locals tend to cause a lot of destruction of facilities on the Wedington unit. It has been expressed to me that the locals will just tear up any new facility, so why build it?

 

[Kilgor]

Also, the USFS employee who oversees the Wedington Unit is very much in favor of building the shooting range. Though, from talking to him, I don't think that he alone will be able to get it. Here's his information if you want to contact him.

Harold Burch, Civil Engineer (Recreation)
479-442-4816
[email protected]