fbpx
Recreation

FWP Proposes New, Expanded Archery Ranges at State Parks

Flathead Valley's only outdoor public archery range at Lone Pine will double in size, while Big Arm will gain 12-station range

By Micah Drew
Instructor Kearstyn Cook of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks prepares to fire an arrow at the archery range at Lone Pine State Park in Kalispell Nov. 21, 2021. Micah Drew | Flathead Beacon

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) announced last week a proposal to develop a new archery range along Flathead Lake and expand the existing range at Lone Pine State Park west of Kalispell.

The new archery range would be located on a portion of Big Arm State Park on the west side of U.S. Highway 93, opposite the park’s main entrance. The parcel of land is currently used for dispersed hiking. 

The range would include a gravel parking lot, entry kiosk, vault toilet and lockable storage for archery lessons and practice. A trail connecting to 12 shooting stations will be developed in the project area and will include at least one elevated shooting platform. 

The range will serve those in the Polson and Lake County communities, offering a site to hone shooting skills without having to drive to Kalispell. 

Larry Rattray, president of the Mission Valley Archers, says the only opportunity to shoot currently is at the Ronan rifle range, where a small area is set aside for archers, but they must bring their own targets. 

“It’ll be a real asset to our area,” Rattray said, adding that the Mission Valley Archers has somewhere around 70 members. “It’s a great step in the right direction and I’m really thrilled.”

Rattray used to work up in Kalispell and pop up to Lone Pine State Park after work where the only developed, outdoor public archery range in the Flathead Valley is located. 

The current range at Lone Pine has six shooting stations and has seen a significant increase in use over the last few years. 

Park manager Brian Schwartz said the range averages around 2,000 people a year up from about 500 a decade ago, with a 33% increase in just the last few years based on self-registration. 

“We upgraded targets a few years ago, and that alone almost doubled how many people we were getting,” Schwartz said. “It’s become so popular and it’s not just hunters, it’s families out there with kids and some people with homemade bows.”

According to FWP, one big component to the surge in usage is the increase in bow classes offered in local schools. Eighteen schools in Northwest Montana participate in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP), with five programs joining in the last two years. The NASP program can be taught indoors at a school’s gymnasium, or outdoors on fields or at ranges like Lone Pine’s. 

  Schwartz has been in discussions with neighboring property owners for years looking for ways to increase the archery offerings, and under the proposal, FWP will purchase 9.3 acres adjacent to the park to expand the range. 

The acreage will allow the park to add a quarter-mile of trail and six additional targets, effectively doubling the size of the range. 

“There’s some great people involved with the expansion and I haven’t heard any negatives to the project yet,” Schwartz said, adding that the additional space will increase the safety of the range and reduce user conflicts. 

The Flathead Valley Archers, a 90+ member club, has many members that utilize the Lone Pine range, including club president Sarah Yerkes. 

“The range offers so many angles to shoot from in an outdoor setting that’s more like hunting,” Yerkes said. “You’re walking on a trail so you’re outdoors and moving rather than indoors shooting at the same target which can just be monotonous.”

“I think adding more to it makes it that much more worth the drive up the mountain,” she added. 

The funding for the projects will come from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that is aimed at increasing public shooting sport opportunities. 

Public comment can be provided on each project independently until Dec. 10. Full project details, including the draft environmental assessments and how to submit comments, can be found online at fwp.mt.gov/news/public-notices. 

A virtual public information meeting will be hosted online Nov. 30 at 6 p.m.. Visit fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/regions/region1 for login information. 

Arrows poke out from a target at the archery range at Lone Pine State Park in Kalispell Nov. 21, 2021. Micah Drew | Flathead Beacon