WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, introduced legislation Friday to promote and expand access to recreational target shooting areas.
Under Moore’s Range Access Act, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management would be required to ensure there’s at least one free public recreational shooting range in each qualifying national forest and BLM district.
“This legislation is an important step in expanding access to recreational shooting practice,” Moore said in a news release. “Americans from coast to coast love spending time in the outdoors, and expanding our ability to recreate on and enjoy our public lands is one of my core focuses in Congress.”
By making it easier to recreate, Moore says the bill will enhance Pittman-Robertson Act funding to state wildlife and fish management agencies. The funding comes from an excise tax levied on the purchase of ammunition, firearms and archery equipment.
“The Range Access Act would establish free shooting ranges for sportsmen to safely participate in target practice while supporting our wildlife conservation and local economies,” he said.
The bill is supported by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Boone and Crockett Club, Delta Waterfowl, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, Safari Club International, and Ducks Unlimited, the release states.
