By Chris Caraveo
Twitter: @ChrisCaraveo31

Five recreational shooting sites are coming to the metro Phoenix area, including three near Lake Pleasant Regional Park.

The Bureau of Land Management’s Phoenix District published a Final Environmental Assessment and Decision Record approving the Recreational Shooting Sports Project, clearing the way for the construction and operation of the five sites to be built on public lands.

According to a release, the sites will provide active management, enhanced access and increased safety for shooting sports enthusiasts and other public land users near one of the most populated metro areas in the nation.

The project is consistent with Secretary’s Order 3356, and the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act.

“Under the BLM’s multiple-use mission, we work to strike a balance in land use and resource management,” stated BLM Deputy Director for Policy and Programs William Perry Pendley. “Phoenix is one of the most populated and fastest growing metro areas in the nation. This growth has spurred increased demand for recreation access on adjacent public lands. We listened to feedback from Valley residents and the shooting sports community while developing this project, which provides active management options to enhance recreation access and safety for all public land users.”

A 2018 report from the National Shooting Sports Foundation found a 28% increase in target shooting participation since 2001 and an 80% increase among women and girls. More people participate in target shooting than play tennis, soccer or baseball, according to the report.

Based on environmental analysis and public input received through the planning process, the BLM determined there would be no significant impacts associated with the construction, maintenance and operation of the five sites.

The Church Camp Road and Saddleback Mountain sites are just west of Lake Pleasant Regional Park along State Route 74. The Baldy Mountain site is west of Lake Pleasant along Castle Hot Springs Road.

The Narramore Road site is near Old US 80 and Arlington School Road in Arlington, west of Buckeye. The Box Canyon site is in the Maricopa area southwest of intersection of State Routes 238 and 347.

Officials said those sites were selected because they are in easily accessible areas and have minimal conflicts with other recreation activities and land uses, or natural and cultural resources.

While discussions on operations, types of firearms and more are ongoing, the following are some of the issues raised by other agencies and how the BLM addressed their concerns.

Public Use

The Bureau of Reclamation — an agency managing water and power resources — stated that recreational activities within Lake Pleasant Regional Park, such as hiking, fishing, boating, camping, picnicking and wildlife viewing are incompatible with activities that cause loud and persistent noise. With three shooting sites planned near Lake Pleasant, that is one of the bigger issues.

The BLM found while ongoing recreational shooting activities cause loud and intermittent noise, the most intense shooting-caused noise would originate from Church Camp Road. However, the BLM says there is a natural buffer between that site and the park, and proposed amenities like backstops and berms would lessen shooting-caused noises.

The Bureau of Reclamation also worried that the shooting sites could affect people seeking solitude within the land and waters of the park.

As part of a requirement to establish supplementary rules, the BLM plans to restrict shooting activities to daylight hours only, thus reducing noise caused by shooting at night or eliminating it altogether.

The agency is also planning for Hazardous Exclusion Areas to ensure non-recreational shooting sports activities do not occur in areas with public safety risks and associated user-conflicts. The BLM says at the five sites, user conflicts between shooting enthusiasts and non-recreational shooting users — equestrian, hiking, off-highway vehicle use — would be expected to decrease.

Public Safety

Another big issue when it comes to recreational shooting sites is public safety.

The Bureau of Reclamation says Church Camp Road, which faces an easterly direction, could affect public safety on Castle Hot Springs Road and at Lake Pleasant.

Arizona Revised Statute 17-301 (b) states: “No person may knowingly discharge a firearm or shoot any other device upon, from, across, or into a road or railway.”

The BLM maintains that project design, the alignment of shooting lanes, the construction of backstops and berms, and establishing a Hazardous Exclusion Area would lessen the potential for errant or ricochet bullets to cross over Castle Hot Springs Road and into the park.

The sites will also have features such as perimeter fencing, educational signs, shooting platforms, shade shelters and restrooms. The BLM also ensured the sites would reduce the possibility for shooting to cause any wildfires in the area.

Officials will also construct detention ponds, rock check dams, culverts and target area containment basins to keep soils and water runoff on-site.

Geography

The Maricopa County parks department questioned the need for another fully developed site near the Joe Foss Shooting Complex, saying many of the Narramore Road site amenities are the same or like Joe Foss.

Joe Foss, along State Route 85 in southern Buckeye, stated that the proposed sites would be unfair to facilities like theirs because the federal government is self-insured, and that U.S. taxpayers would bear the burden for cleanups. No fees at the sites would further disadvantage places like Joe Foss.

Joe Foss stated that the Narramore site was not selected based on a formal process and questioned why the site was selected near their facility. They cited a National Shooting Sports Foundation publication that explained ranges within 40 miles/minutes of each other would compete for the same market share and customers.

As far as noise goes, ARS 17-602 states that outdoor shooting ranges shall not exceed 64 DBA, which is applicable to the proposed sites. The Narramore Road site falls within 1 mile of existing low-density residential development.

The parks department also noted the Pipeline Trailhead is about 1.6 miles line of site from the Baldy Mountain site.

Joe Foss also pointed out that the Narramore Road site is about 0.2 miles west of residences; a solar farm is proposed along the western boundary of the BLM site; and Arlington is about 1.2 miles southeast.

Out near Lake Pleasant, an approved development, if constructed, would occur within 1-mile of the Church Camp Road site. The requirement of ARS 17-602 would apply once an improved outdoor shooting range is in operation. In addition, ARS 17-603(2)(B) says that outdoor shooting ranges that exceed 64 DBA may provide noise buffers or attenuation located on or off the range.

Wildlife

The BLM noted that three of the sites are located within the habitat of the Sonoran Desert tortoise. While committed to “no net loss” of the tortoises, the BLM says nearly 1,400 acres will be identified to offset the 424 acres permanently removed from the tortoise habitat.

The Bureau of Reclamation also raised concerns about the proximity of wildlife water catchments to the proposed sites, which could result in wildlife avoiding these catchments.

However, the BLM says they reviewed water catchment information within a 1-mile radius from each site. They said a natural feature referred to as “Bailey Tank” is an ephemeral water source about 0.6 miles south of the proposed Saddleback Mountain site. The BLM stated there is a significant topographic feature between the two sites that would lessen noise disturbance from recreational shooting at the Saddleback.

Still, the BLM says 160 acres of land associated with the Narramore site will no longer be available for livestock grazing.

Future

Supplementary rules require publication in the Federal Register. Those rules would include daylight use of the facilities, type of firearms, and prohibited entry into hazardous areas.

Under the requirements of the Dingell Act, the BLM must also provide notice in local media when that notice is published in the Federal Register.

The Western Watersheds Project recommended the BLM disclose what agency has liability for injuries and toxic cleanup. The BLM addresses the accumulation of lead and other wastes in Appendix G of its Environmental Stewardship Plan.

However, the BLM has been in coordination with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, receiving guidance regarding monitoring and site characterization.

The BLM says there would be periodic site maintenance that would include monitoring of lead levels in order to ensure compliance with the Arizona Administrative Code. The Arizona Administrative Code sets the maximum parts per million for lead at 800 and 10 for arsenic. This will be accomplished through periodic monitoring which will be described in Appendix G of the ESP for each site.

Next steps

Several documents associated with this project, including maps of the five shooting sports sites, are available online at the BLM’s ePlanning website.

During the planning process, the BLM conducted a 30-day public scoping period in Summer 2019, notifying over 150 individuals and groups. Open house meetings occurred in Buckeye and north Phoenix, with over 200 comments via email or mail. The agency also hosted a 15-day public comment period and received 23 comments to consider. A summary of those comments is also available at the ePlanning website.

The project will not change existing dispersed recreational shooting access, with about 97% of BLM-managed public lands in Arizona remaining open to shooting sports, the release states. This effort will also not affect licensed hunting on public lands.

“Recreational shooting is one of the most popular and rapidly growing pastimes in America, and sales of firearms and ammunition generated more than $650 million in the past fiscal year alone to support habitat acquisition, development, and operation of wildlife management and public recreation areas in all 50 states,” stated Casey Hammond, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management. “We’re proud to provide innovative new ways for all Americans to safely enjoy recreational shooting on public lands.”

Construction of the Baldy Mountain site is expected to begin this spring. The BLM will complete plans addressing operations, safety, environmental stewardship and monitoring at the sites prior to construction.