A draft environmental analysis is expected to be completed in September looking at prospects for creating one or two sanctioned shooting ranges in northern New Mexico.
The analysis is being conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, as officials in both Santa Fe County contemplate designing and building the ranges.
Earlier this year the BLM, in a public notice, said it was moving to resolve conflicts with residents living near areas where recreational target shooting in the past few years been the most popular.
The BLM said it was also looking at the issues impacting areas where unofficial target shooting has taken place, issues that include “public safety, natural resource degradation, waste accumulation, threat of wildfire, and noise.”
Speculation has centered on two sanctioned shooting ranges being created in the Buckman-Alamo Creek and Camel Tracks areas, to the west of Santa Fe. If finally approved, the ranges would see the planting of vegetation, and possible creation of a one-mile buffer between the range and any nearby roads.
The creation of the new shooting ranges comes as Utah Congressman Blake Moore has introduced legislation calling for the building out of a network of designated shooting ranges across the country on land owned by the National Forest System and managed by the BLM.
That legislation, called the Range Access Act, has won the support of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Ducks Unlimited, and the Safari Club International, among other groups.
Co-sponsor of the legislation, California Representative Jimmy Panetta, noted in a statement that “Sportsmen and women too often lack dedicated, accessible shooting ranges on our public lands where they can safely enjoy the great outdoors.”
A series of designated shooting ranges, added Panetta, would “promote safety, recreational opportunities, and the continued conservation of our environment.”
The legislation is currently being reviewed in the House Subcommittee on Forestry.
Construction of a shooting range typically includes the building of an access road, firing platforms, landscaping, and baffles.
Other ranges, according to design criteria published by the Department of Energy, may include restrooms facilities, sewer infrastructure, and control towers.
By Garry Boulard
