Overview:

A public shooting range is needed within the Bullhead City/Mohave Valley area to support the hunter education program, promote safe hunting and shooting practices, provide the public with safe shooting areas, and encourage hunters to become more proficient with their equipment. Law enforcement agencies are in need of a shooting range in order to achieve and maintain firearms qualifications. Mohave Community College, Bullhead City Campus have been considering a law enforcement academy that would be enhanced by a local shooting range.

The Arizona Gamea and Fish Department has proposed a shooting range to be located on approximately 315 acres in Sections 35 and 36 on the north side of Boundary Cone Road, just east of the north-south power transmission lines. This location is 2½+ miles east of State and private land and 1½+ miles northwest of a subdivided (10 acre parcels) private section.

The proposal for the shooting range could consist of seven different types of ranges including trap, skeet, 5-stand, a 500-yard police rifle range, practical pistol bays, a 200-yard public range, a 50-yard pistol range, and possibly an archery range.

The shooting range would be operated under a set of range safety rules typical for shooting ranges. An equitable user fee would be charged.

All ranges would be constructed to meet the sound criteria defined in the Arizona Revised Statutes 17-601-603 through the use of impact berms. Berms on all ranges, with the exception of the trap and skeet and sporting clay ranges, would consist of a backstop, 20’ high, 1:1 slope, 90 percent compaction with a non-rock surface, and lateral berms 10’ high. All ranges would meet the National Rifle Association (NRA) guidelines for design, sound levels, and safety as outlined in the NRA Range Source Book.

For more details, the full Environmental Assesment Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) June 2006 is available here.

As development of the range progresses, that information will be posted on this webpage. Shooting range updates are presented to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission during their regularly scheduled meetings. For a listing of meeting dates visit www.azgfd.gov/commission and click on schedule. Meetings can be attended in person, or watched by webcast at www.azgfd.gov/commissioncam.

Updates:

• Aug. 2011 - The Department met with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and members of the Tri-State Shooting Park (TSSP) on July 28th to review comments on the Plan of Development (POD), Cooperative Management Agreement and the non-development agreement for the mineral rights. The BLM tentatively discussed a deliverable and completion timeline of December 2011. The Department is having the third party contractor make the necessary changes to the application and plan of development. The Department has made the requested changes to the cooperative management agreement and forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) for review. Burlington Northern Santa Fe/Newmont has received the non-development agreement for the mineral rights and submitted it to their legal counsel for review. Once this agreement is secure a similar agreement will be sought with Prize Energy, the entity that holds the oil and gas rights. The Department is coordinating a meeting with the Ft. Mohave Indian Tribe to discuss the POD and coordinate efforts as outlined in the Record of Decision issued by the BLM as part of the Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) process.