Wenas Wildlife Area shooting ranges a step closer to reality

[Special T]

YAKIMA, Wash. -- After exploring their options with roughly six dozen attendees at two public meetings last week in Ellensburg and Selah, state officials appear poised to move forward with plans for two designated target-shooting ranges in the Wenas Wildlife Area.

Nothing will be official until Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife managers have had a chance to consider all of the written comments submitted. There didn’t seem to be sufficient verbal opposition at either public hearing, though, to scuttle plans for the proposed ranges that would serve both ends of the wildlife area.

The range planned on the Yakima County side would be roughly a half-mile north of Bull Pasture Road, just off Sheep Company Road (on some maps referred to there as Durr Road). The other would be at the site of an unofficial range already being used on the west side of Durr Road on the Kittitas County end of the wildlife area.

Barring a change of plans by wildlife officials, the north-end range, which will be more rudimentary and require minimal construction, will be open by this fall.
More...
http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/wenas-wildlife-area-shooting-ranges-a-step-closer-to-reality/article_06fa348a-10e3-11e6-9c95-a7fc9ca2a38a.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share

[Special T]

I personally have mixed feelings on this. I think established shooting areas like old gravel pits and such are a good way to increase safety and provide an area for people to site thier guns in.

Im not so excited about limiting shooting hours from 8-10am. I understand the desire to have the range manned.  Isnt it possible to lay out some self serve shooting ranges that increase safety yet are always open? I went to a couple of ranges in Arkansas that worked like that. They seemd to work great, each county had a couple of basic symple ones with enough dirt bermed up to be quite effective.

If more well thought out/laid out  self serve ranges were available it would go a long way to fixing this issue.

[birddogdad]

so will this turn into the ONLY designated or allowed places to shoot? 

[Special T]

I belive that will be the case for the specific property in question... at least thats what I got from the article.

[birddogdad]

I belive that will be the case for the specific property in question... at least thats what I got from the article.

well that place of Durr rd is always a mess, people don't clean up very well.. I don't use it rather find a canyon to stretch out and work 1K stuff.. hope I wont be affected, long drive from west side to find it no longer an option to long range shoot..

[fastdam]

This sucks. It's just another way to control people. The entire area is a great place to shoot just the way it is. I don't believe shooting is the fire hazard they claim it is. Lead and copper don't start fires where they collide with dirt.  Also.....life has some risk and by trying to remove all risk, you also remove opportunity and liberty. 

[csaaphill]

This sucks. It's just another way to control people. The entire area is a great place to shoot just the way it is. I don't believe shooting is the fire hazard they claim it is. Lead and copper don't start fires where they collide with dirt.  Also.....life has some risk and by trying to remove all risk, you also remove opportunity and liberty. 

 
+1
I read that a while back, and thought then why. IF you do it safely and common sense (Yes I have Common sense even if some disagree.) then you should be able to shoot pretty much wherever.

[adamR]

I can't believe I've been so uninvolved in all of this I just now read the article on the game dept website http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/apr1916b/ .  I just realized they plan on closing buffalo road, that's bull crap depending on where it's closed that eliminates access to a huge area out there.  Deer season in the wenas is packed as it is and now we are taking a huge chunk of land out of the occasion for a stupid shooting range, what a joke!

[csaaphill]

I can't believe I've been so uninvolved in all of this I just now read the article on the game dept website http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/apr1916b/ .  I just realized they plan on closing buffalo road, that's bull crap depending on where it's closed that eliminates access to a huge area out there.  Deer season in the wenas is packed as it is and now we are taking a huge chunk of land out of the occasion for a stupid shooting range, what a joke!

Not exactly sure where buffalo road is but yeah does sound like a bunch of crap.
And yes I do know the area fairly well. Been hunting camping up there for years.

[fastdam]

Another thing......you can bet if they do this on the LT, they will do it in other places, like, cowiche.