Why is Foster Ranch a terrible location for a local or regional shooting range?

Last year over 130,000 people from all over the world visited the Walnut Canyon National Monument. The Friends of Walnut Canyon believe that it is morally wrong to presume that a shooting range is more important than protecting the “Natural Quiet” and visitors’ experience of a National Monument, which hopefully will be a National Park someday soon. The United States taxpayers have spent millions of dollars trying to restore the “natural quiet” to the Grand Canyon National Park. It is ludicrous to allow this to happen when there is a more suitable location just 15 minutes further from Flagstaff.

This map shows the Foster Ranch location relative to Walnut Canyon National Monument. The road just north of the ranch is the boundary of the Walnut Canyon Study Area – so it is approximately ¼ mile from the Study Area. It is less than a mile from the edge of the Monument, and less than 3 miles from the Visitor’s Center. The purple circles on the map are showing one mile radii from the CENTER of the property, not the edge. If they were drawn from the edge of the property you would see that the monument is about ¾ mile from the range.

The large canyon to the west of the range, and just outside of the first circle, but actually within a mile of the range, is Cherry Canyon. This canyon is a major wildlife corridor as well as a Native American sacred site.

Why is this location a terrible choice from a wildlife standpoint?

In January 2002 when the National Park Service was planning the General Mgt Plan for Walnut Canyon National Monument, the Game & Fish Department took the opportunity to comment on a plan the Park Service was developing to allow visitors to drive along an improved road into the newly added expansion area.

The Game & Fish Dept said at that time:

“This disturbance could affect all species on the canyon rim and within the canyon, not just solitary wildlife species. It has also been shown that some wildlife species such as deer, avoid areas within ¼ mile on each side of the road. Therefore, the area of impact would be over ½ mile wide….The Dept does not believe that closing the monument at night would mitigate many of the potential impacts to wildlife as a result of this action. Therefore, we recommend that this improved scenic drive not be developed.”

This is the same agency which is planning to improve another road LESS THAN ONE MILE FROM THE ONE MENTIONED ABOVE, which would carry far more traffic, which would not be closed at night, and that would have a CAMPGROUND with possibly hundreds of people at the end of it. Remember that the Bellemont range was expected to draw 2,900 to 3,100 people per day. (According to the Environmental Assessment written by the USFS)

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All available wildlife maps show major wildlife corridors both along Cherry Canyon and directly south of Foster Ranch. The sounds of the shooting range, the impact of so many people driving along a road now rarely used will sever existing wildlife corridors and fragment previously intact habitat.

Why is this location a terrible choice from a planning standpoint?

Although the AZ Game and Fish Dept is considered a “partner” in all of the plans drawn up to plan the future of the Flagstaff area, they are disregarding every one of them by proposing this shooting range location. It is in direct opposition to the proposed future planned for the area in:

· FLEA (Flagstaff/Lake Mary Ecosystem Analysis)

This document talks about how the ROS (recreation opportunity spectrum) for this area is primitive, semi-primitive, or motorized semi-primitive. Motorized semi-primitive is the least restrictive, but even this is defined as “sights and sounds being moderate and in harmony with the natural environment “

It goes on and talks about the Walnut Management Area, stating that this area maintains large tracts of unfragmented habitat for disturbance sensitive species. Forest Service management emphasis includes expanding the ROS spectrum to primitive (the most stringent protection category) around Walnut Canyon and the Monument itself as well.

· The Greater Flagstaff Area Open Space and Greenways Plan

This document talks about the importance of keeping a key wildlife corridor open to the east (between the Monument and Winona). This is because the Walnut Canyon wildlife corridor is already cut off from the west by the City and from the north by I-40.

· The Flagstaff Area Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan

This document has as a goal “high standards will be maintained for protection and improvement of the region’s quality of life offered by its natural...resources and its natural environment” Policies include maintaining natural processes and systems that will sustain, protect and enhance ecosystems.

· The Coconino Comprehensive Plan

· The Coconino County Wildlife Linkages Project

Why is this location a terrible choice from an economic standpoint?

By locating the shooting range where it will degrade the visitors’ experience at Walnut Canyon National Monument, the AZ Game and Fish Department is robbing the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County of the revenues which could be realized by BOTH a thriving and well loved National Monument and a state of the art Regional Shooting range. Why not move the range 15 minutes further down the road and allow the community to realize the economic benefits of both?

Why is this location a terrible choice from a Native American Cultural heritage standpoint?

The Hopi Tribe has commented on the Foster Ranch location saying:

“Hopi traditional practitioners regularly provide offerings and prayers at Walnut Canyon, and the sound of gunshots is incompatible with the natural sounds including the wind and water required for our prayers. We also do not think it is appropriate for gunshot noise to be audible for Monument visitors at the Visitor’s Center, rim trail, or anywhere within the Monument. Furthermore, we understand there are threatened and sensitive species in the area, including Mexican Spotted Owls, Northern Goshawk, and other birds that would be disturbed by the activity associated with a shooting range.”

To read the entire letter click here: Letter from the Hopi Tribe

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Cherry canyon, immediately north of the road to the range, is an area rich in Native American cultural sites. With the addition of hundreds if not thousands of people a day to this area, many looking to explore or find a place to camp, the adverse impact on this fragile area is predictable and inevitable

Why is this location a terrible choice for those who live within the sound of the range?

Arizona state law allows a certain level of noise from shooting ranges to be heard at nearby residences. It is likely that hundreds of shots per hour will be heard by folks who live within a few miles of the Monument. Even though the levels of noise are “legal” why not avoid this intentional aggravation of innocent people and move the range 15 minutes further away where there are no neighbors to hear the noise?

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