OLYMPIA - The Whatcom
County Parks and Recreation Commission will receive a symbolic
check Thursday for a grant from the Interagency
Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) for improvements
to its Plantation Range, a public shooting range.
IAC Assistant Director Neil Aaland will present a giant check to commissioners at their meeting at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, in the Bellingham Senior Activity Center, 315 Halleck St., Bellingham.
Whatcom County will use this $50,000
Firearms and Archery
Range Recreation Program grant to replace most of its
13-year-old target carrier system and the lighting at its
public shooting range. The new target carrier system is
capable of meeting the training needs of the 26 law enforcement
agencies that use the range. It will provide a wider range
of training opportunities, increased reliability, and decreased
maintenance.
The Firearms
and Archery Range Recreation Program provides funding
to acquire, develop and renovate firearm ranges and archery
training and practice facilities. IAC
has awarded $2.5 million in grants for 71 projects statewide
since the grant program began in1990. Grant recipients have
contributed another $3.4 million or 57 percent of the total
project costs. Money for the grants comes from $3 of each
concealed pistol license fee.
"National statistics estimate about 40 million Americans shoot each year, translating into at least one firearm in about half the homes in the United States," Aaland said. "In Washington, an estimated 7 percent of the population shoots. This grant program provides a vital source of funds to help renovate shooting ranges, which are an important recreational activity for many people and an important resource for our law enforcement officers."
The Whatcom County project was the
top ranked project competing for funding in this grant program
statewide. The county will contribute $50,000 in matching
funds, equipment, and labor.
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