What have the Friends of Walnut Canyon done to try to find a
better location for a
After the results of the sound study came out in August 2010
proving that the noise levels inside
First talking to the local AZ Game and Fish office, we discovered
that their preferred site was really on US Forest Service land, but the US
Forest Service was saying that it would take 10 years to go through the land
exchange process and that was an unacceptable length of time for the Game and
Fish Dept.
A visit was made to the Coconino County Planning Dept, learning
how to determine where private land was, and how to use the computerized maps
available.
A meeting was held with the Coconino National Forest Supervisor
asking if it were possible to speed up the land exchange process. We were told
no. That was not a priority of theirs and the US Forest Service saw no problem
with the Foster Ranch site. They seemed very willing to approve the 80 acre
Conditional Use Permit for the land adjacent to the ranch shown on all of the
plans for the proposed shooting range there.
A call was made to Senator McCain’s office where the suggestion
was made by one of his staff that if the AZ Game and Fish Dept would be willing
to move to a site on US Forest Service land that a Federal Land Conveyance
could give them the land they need at no cost. The AZ Game and Fish Dept turned
down this offer because they would not be able to begin work as planned
building the new range in the spring of 2011.
An effort has been made with the Nature Conservancy inquiring if
they would be willing to purchase the Foster Ranch from the AZ Game and Fish
Dept should they decide to give up the site. So far this discussion is still
inconclusive.
Discussions were held with the Navajo Relocation Commission about
the possibility of locating the range near the new proposed Indian Casino at
Twin Arrows. The AZ Game and Fish Dept said that it was too windy in that area.
A great deal of time and effort was put into visiting the Foster
Ranch site, the Cochrane Hill site, sites near Twin Arrows near the new
proposed Indian Casino, and searching for new sites in the National Forest. One
possible new site was located south of
What alternative site are the Friends of Walnut Canyon
proposing?
While looking at the document created by the AZ Game and Fish in
June, 2009, we noticed that the Raymond Wildlife Area was at that time being
considered as the prime location. The main objection to this site at that time
was that it was 15 minutes further from
To see how these guidelines were set click here Detailed analysis of sites
Go to page 8 - for the survey which came up with the 30 minute
guideline
Go to page 11 - for the chart which shows Raymond Wildlife Area
Go to page 85 - for the list of alternatives which shows Raymond
Wildlife Area as the next place to be considered should the Commission decide
not to proceed with the
For pictures and the evaluation of the Raymond Wildlife Area site
go to pages 36-38
For more information on the Raymond Wildlife Area click here for
their webpage: Raymond Wildlife Area
The wildlife area is 7,900 acres with grazing leases on
checkerboarded AZ State Trust land of 4,500. In the Detailed Analysis of Sites
it lists the acreage they considered available as
14, 637 acres, surely that is enough to find a place for a
shooting range!
The 15 minute dilemma
You can see that in the “Detailed Analysis of sites” it says that
the Raymond WA is 50 minutes from
The Friends of Walnut Canyon think that if the City of