Ducks Unlimited (DU) has completed construction on an improved shooting range at MacLean Bottoms Wildlife Management Area (WMA) south of Bismarck. In partnership with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF), DU engineers surveyed, designed and managed construction of the shooting range in accordance with National Rifle Association guidelines.
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| A shooter takes aim at the MacLean Bottoms range. |
“This is an unconventional project for DU. We have skilled engineers and were looking to expand our services to one of our long time partners beyond creating waterfowl habitat,” said Roger Smith, DU director of engineering. “NDGF needed engineering services for this project and we had the resources to help.”
The range now has seven shooting stations at 200 yards, 15 shooting stations at 100 yards and nine shooting stations at 25 yards for rifle and pistol target shooting. Each station has a handicap access ramp and construction crews laid concrete and asphalt to improve the parking lot and road.
“We conducted a topographic survey of the area and oriented the range to eliminate sun glare from the shooting areas,” said Brad Karel, DU engineer and manager of the project. “Everything on the range is meant to serve people who not only hunt, but also enjoy shooting sports and marksmanship.”
Other features of the range include a 12-foot high berm around each range to eliminate ricochet, new concrete tables with seats for left-handed and right-handed shooters, and the entire shooting area was moved closer to the roadway for easier access.
“This is the public’s range and we want people to take ownership of the range, enjoy and appreciate it and abide by the rules to keep it safe so we can keep it open into the future,” said Bill Haase, NDGF Wildlife Resource Management area supervisor.
Haase stated 75 percent of the funding for the range came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Pitman-Robertson Act funds and 25 percent was state funding from NDGF generated by hunting license sales. Ducks Unlimited provided in-kind services.
Part of DU’s core values is to support activities that promote hunting and shooting sports. The McLean Bottoms shooting range is a valuable asset to anyone who wants to practice and perfect their shooting.
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org. Connect with us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DucksUnlimited, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/DucksUnlimited and watch DU videos at www.youtube.com/DucksUnlimitedInc.