NEWS RELEASE
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Mountain-Prairie Region
134 Union Boulevard
Lakewood, Colorado 80228
July 12, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Amanda Horvath, 303-236-4414
David McGillivary, 303-236-4411
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Public Comments on a Proposed Shooting Range on the Hillsdale State Park in Paola, Kansas
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is seeking public comment on a draft environmental assessment (Draft EA) regarding the State of Kansas’ proposed “Hillsdale Shooting Range.” Public comments will be accepted for a 15-day period, which ends July 27, 2011.
The Service has been requested to approve a grant for the construction of a shooting range in Hillsdale State Park located in Miami County. The shooting range is to be constructed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT) on land leased from the Corps of Engineers (COE) and is located immediately below the Hillsdale dam to the east of the outlet. The shooting range complex will consist of a six-position 200 yard range, a 20-position 50/100 yard rifle range, a 24-position 25/50 yard handgun range, a combination skeet/trap shotgun field, a gate house, combination meeting room/storage building, and a CXT pit toilet.
The purpose of this range is to provide a safe setting for shooting handguns, rifles and shotguns. Expected results and benefits will be to provide a safe place for shooting opportunities for the public in an area where such occasions are limited.
The Draft EA prepared by the Service and KDWPT analyzes the environmental effects of the proposed shooting range construction and operation. The Service concluded the proposed project will not have impacts on floodplains or wetlands, will not affect historical and cultural resources, would not have any effect on threatened, endangered or candidate species and will have minimal effect on the vegetation in the area.
Copies of the Draft EA, which include details of the proposed action and the alternatives considered, are available online by clicking on the title of the document at http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/federalassistance/nepa. Those without internet access may request copies by calling the Services’ Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program at 303-236-8165. Comments will be accepted until July 27, 2011 and should be sent to: Chief, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 25486, Denver, CO, 80225.
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