Usery Mountain Archery Range update

[BowNut]

Here it is guys Just want to thanks everyone that was at the meeting. The new area talked about in this letter looks good. Our only hope it that the Game and Fish Commission will give the OK to take over and move the range.

Thanks for your help guys

Dallas Daily

Usery Mountain Archers Vice President

 

 

 

Plans for Closure of the existing Usery Mountain Archery Range

 

 

 

Hello All,

 

 

 

If you care at all about archery/bowhunting please take just a couple of minutes to read this and send a brief e-mail to our Game & Fish Dept. about this issue. Some of you are aware that Maricopa County is trying to close Usery Mountain Archery Range to replace it with a visitors center and amphitheater. Usery Mountain Archery Range is considered by many to be the best archery range in Arizona and the home for a lot of large archery events and clubs. The AZ Game and Fish Department, AZ Bowhunter's Association, Usery Mountain Archers, and others have been working with Maricopa County on this issue trying to come up with some alternative plan. There was a public meeting last Monday evening at the Mesa Game and Fish Dept. with representatives from all of the above-mentioned groups and other concerned individuals. Although the majority would prefer to have everything stay as is, the county is scheduled to start construction of new facilities this summer and a portion of the existing range will close at that time. Taking this into consideration, the consensus of the majority at the meeting was that the best alternative was to build a new range on the park in an area that consisted of 370 unused acres. This area is west of the existing range (west side of Usery Pass Road) and just South of the rifle range. The existing range is only 178 acres. This new area would be leased to the Game & Fish Dept. for 25 years with an option to renew. There would be an all new archery range, etc. built on these 370 acres with a lot of room for future growth. The money to build the new range would have to come from Game and Fish budgets, grants, donations, etc. All Game and Fish assistance would be subject to Commission approval. Maricopa County has no money in there budget to assist. This new range could become even bigger and better than the existing range over time and is a lot better alternative than just shutting down the existing range with no plan to build another one. Yes, Maricopa County has the ability to do that...they own the property. Game and Fish (or anyone else) has no rights to stop Maricopa County from shutting down the existing range but thank God, they got involved and worked with Maricopa County to come up with this alternate plan.

 

 

 

There is a lot more involved with this issue than what you have just read but there is something you can do right now that might make a difference! There is a Game and Fish Commission Meeting this Friday (March 9th) in Tucson. This issue is way to new to be officially on the agenda but Ty Gray (AZ Game & Fish Dept. Education Branch Chief - In charge of all the shooting ranges) will be making a presentation to the commission about the Department activities related to shooting range support and development statewide. Send Ty an e-mail and let him know that you really appreciate Game & Fish getting involved in the Usery Mountain Archery Range closure issue and you hope that the Department and Commission will work together to quickly move forward on building a new archery range. E-mail: tgray@azgfd.gov Sorry for the short notice but if you don't send an e-mail right now it will not likely get to Ty in time for him to tell the Commission that he has gotten a lot of support from the archery/bowhunting community on this issue and would only delay the process. Remember, Game and Fish has nothing to do with the existing range being closed but they have already worked hard with Maricopa County to come up with an alternative plan and have proven that they are committed to expanding archery in AZ. There will be a representative(s) from the ABA attending the Commission meeting this Friday to support this plan. Please forward this to every bowhunter and/or archer that you know. Thank You!