BLM land grab
Posted: April 5th, 2022, 5:28 pm
For those in the North and North-West valley, BLM grabbed over 5,000 acres and closed it to recreational shooting to protect their "ranges". Their ranges are not open, they've missed several open dates, their design sucks, they have extremely limited occupancy and shooting capability, yet they closed the recreational desert shooting.
For those who prefer outdoor shooting, hate Range Nazis, and would rather spend time with friends and family burning some powder here is a letter I penned to the governor, our federal senators, state senators and representatives. Feel free to copy and paste. Yeah, they may not do anything but if we do nothing, they are certain to do nothing.
Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
BLM has recently closed over 5,000 acres to recreational shooting near Lake Pleasant while they build what they call “shooting ranges”, one of the larger of which has a maximum occupancy of 25 people and only 10 at the shooting line at any time. Their initial filing said it would involve 539 acres, and then they recently expanded to over 5,000 acres, saying it is open for recreation but closed to recreational shooting.
Several associates attended all the meetings BLM had concerning the creation of these “ranges” and impact on the surrounding areas. BLM assured us that they were not going to close this specific area to shooting. We have spoken to them recently, after they posted closed signs, and they told us they are closing all the areas around their new range to avoid "cross-fire". I am not sure what that means, since some closed areas are over 1 mile away and shooting in those areas and the BLM “ranges” are in different directions, both having mountains as backstops.
We have been using this area to shoot for decades and continued to use it right up to its closure. It is a safe area, with good backstops. Since I frequent this area, having been in law enforcement, and doing firearms training while in that capacity, I have watched the construction of the two of the three BLM “ranges” from the outset. Based on appearances, the slow roll of both completion and establishment of range rules, and lack of forethought, these “ranges” appear to be more of a political than practical endeavor. The expansive closure of lands including a favorite shooting spot, over one mile away gives credence to the political motivation. A review of the attached BLM map shows BLM “ranges” endanger Arizona State Trust land, Private land, Church Camp road, Lake Pleasant entrance road (Castle Hot Springs road), and Carefree highway, being much closer to the BLM “ranges” than the land they closed.
The new BLM “range” on Lake Pleasant Road is yet to be opened and has such limited capacity that it will not serve nearly the number of people who typically frequent that area. If it does open soon, it will only be closed for summer fire season because the planning did not include grubbing ground fuel between the firing line and targets, or it will be closed to rework it due to that lack of planning. BLM is only now attempting to recruit volunteer “Range Safety Officer” through the Internet demonstrating even further how ill planned this was for an actual “shooting range” or an alternate, unstated, goal of closing the land to recreational shooting. The land restricted by BLM for their “ranges” rivals that of the entire Ben Avery Shooting Range. The Ben Avery range being a world class range, having ample facilities, supporting multiple shooting disciplines, thousands of shooters per week, multiple formal events, a vast camping area for out-of-town competitors, a world class reputation and Housing the AZG&F headquarters building, far outweighing any future benefit of BLM “ranges”. The BLM “ranges” are poorly thought-out desert shooting areas, a waste of resources, and inappropriately restricts surrounding land.
We would like to enlist your help in reopening surrounding land to all recreational purposes as it has been for the past 100 years. This is the last open desert shooting spot in close proximity to the northern metro area with relatively easy access. We need your help. It appears that a Protest can be filed within 30 days of the BLM Federal Registry filing of the expanded land grab on 3/22/2022.
Time is of the essence and we appreciate your diligent consideration in this matter.
Most sincerely
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
For those who prefer outdoor shooting, hate Range Nazis, and would rather spend time with friends and family burning some powder here is a letter I penned to the governor, our federal senators, state senators and representatives. Feel free to copy and paste. Yeah, they may not do anything but if we do nothing, they are certain to do nothing.
Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
BLM has recently closed over 5,000 acres to recreational shooting near Lake Pleasant while they build what they call “shooting ranges”, one of the larger of which has a maximum occupancy of 25 people and only 10 at the shooting line at any time. Their initial filing said it would involve 539 acres, and then they recently expanded to over 5,000 acres, saying it is open for recreation but closed to recreational shooting.
Several associates attended all the meetings BLM had concerning the creation of these “ranges” and impact on the surrounding areas. BLM assured us that they were not going to close this specific area to shooting. We have spoken to them recently, after they posted closed signs, and they told us they are closing all the areas around their new range to avoid "cross-fire". I am not sure what that means, since some closed areas are over 1 mile away and shooting in those areas and the BLM “ranges” are in different directions, both having mountains as backstops.
We have been using this area to shoot for decades and continued to use it right up to its closure. It is a safe area, with good backstops. Since I frequent this area, having been in law enforcement, and doing firearms training while in that capacity, I have watched the construction of the two of the three BLM “ranges” from the outset. Based on appearances, the slow roll of both completion and establishment of range rules, and lack of forethought, these “ranges” appear to be more of a political than practical endeavor. The expansive closure of lands including a favorite shooting spot, over one mile away gives credence to the political motivation. A review of the attached BLM map shows BLM “ranges” endanger Arizona State Trust land, Private land, Church Camp road, Lake Pleasant entrance road (Castle Hot Springs road), and Carefree highway, being much closer to the BLM “ranges” than the land they closed.
The new BLM “range” on Lake Pleasant Road is yet to be opened and has such limited capacity that it will not serve nearly the number of people who typically frequent that area. If it does open soon, it will only be closed for summer fire season because the planning did not include grubbing ground fuel between the firing line and targets, or it will be closed to rework it due to that lack of planning. BLM is only now attempting to recruit volunteer “Range Safety Officer” through the Internet demonstrating even further how ill planned this was for an actual “shooting range” or an alternate, unstated, goal of closing the land to recreational shooting. The land restricted by BLM for their “ranges” rivals that of the entire Ben Avery Shooting Range. The Ben Avery range being a world class range, having ample facilities, supporting multiple shooting disciplines, thousands of shooters per week, multiple formal events, a vast camping area for out-of-town competitors, a world class reputation and Housing the AZG&F headquarters building, far outweighing any future benefit of BLM “ranges”. The BLM “ranges” are poorly thought-out desert shooting areas, a waste of resources, and inappropriately restricts surrounding land.
We would like to enlist your help in reopening surrounding land to all recreational purposes as it has been for the past 100 years. This is the last open desert shooting spot in close proximity to the northern metro area with relatively easy access. We need your help. It appears that a Protest can be filed within 30 days of the BLM Federal Registry filing of the expanded land grab on 3/22/2022.
Time is of the essence and we appreciate your diligent consideration in this matter.
Most sincerely
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
