Local groups discuss continuing gun range improvements

Members of the parks and recreation department, the Wrangell Rod and Gun Club, The Stikine Sportsmen Association, and the Forest Service held a meeting last Wednesday, Sept. 11. The purpose of the meeting was to review some recent renovations to the outdoor gun range on Spur Road, and to discuss priorities for future improvements.

Renovations to the gun range began back in May, thanks to a $14,500 grant from the NRA Foundation. According to a document passed out by Parks and Rec Director Kate Thomas, the Rod and Gun Club and the Stikine Sportsmen collaborated to write the grant application back in October of 2018. The application had several priorities listed for repairs and improvements to the gun range. Among the projects funded and completed, or soon-to-be-completed, include replacement of pavilion roofs, construction of a walking path, and access improvements to the shotgun range.

"I wanted to say thanks to you all who've gotten this started," Thomas said. "Kim [Powell] did the grant writing for the NRA Foundation application, and the Stikine Sportsmen is the fiduciary agent, so a pass-through agency for the funding for the project. The outdoor shooting range hasn't seen any major improvements in years, although it's a heavily used site and very valuable to the community of Wrangell."

Kim Powell went into detail about some renovations that did not get funded this year, but were on the to-do list. This includes new signage, construction of a new trap house, installation of surveillance cameras, and extending utilities out to the gun range for power. Among these projects were several new ideas that were brought forward in the meeting, such as a new gate to the range, siding on the shelters, and the construction of a clubhouse. The Rod and Gun Club and the Stikine Sportsmen will be pursuing another grant application to continue renovations into the future, so they wanted to determine what their priorities should be.

It was agreed that getting power out to the gun range should be a main priority, as should getting new equipment for the gun range like benches and targets. Another priority that everyone agreed on was enclosing the gun range shelters to make them nicer and more weather resistant.

Installing a lockable gate on the road to the gun range caused quite a bit of discussion. Powell said that if there were a gate then the parks and recreation department could charge a small entrance fee to help cover the cost of maintaining the gun range. Everyone agreed that suddenly charging a fee for a gun range that was previously free to use would likely upset people, but also agreed that it was not very fair to expect parks and recreation to maintain the range without any form of income from it.

Some other ideas passed around included having volunteers who could come out to open the gate when someone called to be let in, or to just leave the gate open during daylight hours and only lock it at night. The reason for the gate was to keep people from coming in at night and vandalizing the place, which was part of the cause for some of the renovations in the first place. It was agreed that a gate was a good idea, but the implementation of such a project still needed more workshops and public input.

"I like the fee schedule, I do not care for the code thing," said David Powell, who was present at the meeting. "The reason I don't care for it is because it makes you have to have a fee schedule. I know we have to have a fee, I agree with that, but I like the dawn to dusk opening."

Clint Kolarich, Wrangell's district ranger for the Forest Service, suggested that everyone consider bringing some of these projects before the Regional Advisory Committee, as they were responsible for finding and funding projects in and around Forest Service Land similar to some of the things they had been discussing. This was an idea that many present at the meeting liked. The whole meeting lasted less than an hour, with those present being largely in agreement on the priorities laid out.

"The larger items we have listed are power, utilities, security for the entrance, enclose the range shelters, and benches and targets, are up on the top five list," Thomas said. "To follow that would be a new trap house, a club house, we won't include surveillance because that would be funded outside, and then that's all I have listed."

Public comments regarding the gun range or any planned improvements are welcome by Sept. 20. These should be emailed to Thomas at kthoms@wrangell.com.