The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is accepting applications for a total of $80,000 in grant money for shooting range improvements. The department will reimburse the selected clubs for 75% of the cost of approved improvements.
The grant program is closely linked to the department’s hunter education program, said Nicole Meier, hunter education and outreach specialist at Fish & Wildlife. One of the main goals for that program and for the grants is ensuring that hunters are safe, knowledgeable and responsible, she said.
“One of the best ways that we can do that is by having really safe, high-quality and top-of-the-line places for new hunters and experienced hunters to shoot and really hone their skills,” she said.
Nonprofit organizations — including sportsmen clubs, government agencies and municipalities — are eligible to apply for a grant, according to a Fish & Wildlife webpage about the grants. Another requirement: Organizations that apply must offer access to the public.
Increasing access is one of the major goals of the grant program, Meier said. Vermonters often reach out to the department to ask where they can shoot, and though Vermont has many shooting ranges, they don’t always offer public access, she said. “So, this is one way that we can ensure that we have really great ranges for the public to use that, like I said, are safe and really nice.”
Clubs must allow public access for at least 20 hours a month for 10 years after the work funded by the grant is completed. Fish & Wildlife’s website includes a list of 30 public shooting ranges in Vermont, organized by county.
The grant program has been around since 2010, according to Vermont Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter. Grants are federally funded through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act — often called the Pittman-Robertson Act — which calls for an 11% excise tax on sales by firearms, ammunition and archery manufacturers, Meier said. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service then apportions the money to the states based on population, license sales and volunteer instructor hours for hunter education instructors, Meier said.
But money from the Pittman-Robertson Act funds much more than the grant program. Pittman-Robertson funds, money from a federal excise tax on certain fishing gear and revenue from state license sales, make up “sort of the backbone of the funding for all of our conservation work,” Porter said.
Grants can be awarded for a variety of reasons, Meier said, including noise reduction, environmental work such as lead mitigation, or work that will improve safety.
In one year, the department awarded grant money to a club in the Northeast Kingdom that needed to repair its road, which had been partially washed away in a rainstorm. The department approved funding for another club to remodel its clubhouse, including adding bathrooms.
Last year, three clubs received grant money, Meier said. Sportsmen Inc. in Guilford was one of the recipients. The club also received money several years ago to improve the safety of the backstop at the end of the 100-yard range and to add a 25-yard pistol range, said Herb Meyer, a director at the club.
Increasing safety was an important factor for both projects, Meyer said. But the addition of a new berm altered the path of sound waves through the range, leading to conflict with a neighbor who complained about increased noise.
The club applied for another grant to separate the berm from another one nearby, raise it and change its angle. Though Fish & Wildlife approved the grant, the club still needs to acquire an Act 250 permit before it can break ground.
North Country Sportsmen’s Club received grant money in the same year and is putting it toward renovations. The club previously received a grant to work on lead mitigation.
Another club, Underhill Rod and Gun, applied for a grant to upgrade its sporting clays facilities, according to club president Jack Chase.
“Sporting clays is one of the most actively developing shotgun sports around. We wanted to get in on that aspect of it,” Chase said.
The club wanted to buy equipment that would launch clay pigeons, and Chase said the machines cost between $2,000 and $3,000 apiece. The club’s grant application was approved and the organization has made most of its purchases, Chase said. Now, it’s just awaiting reimbursement.
Porter said Fish & Wildlife has been working to get a greater variety of clubs to apply for funding. He said he thinks some clubs are reluctant to apply for a government grant program, and the department tries to make clear that it is working with existing club leadership.
“We’re putting public money toward improvements of the ranges in exchange for public access, but it still remains managed and overseen by the clubs,” Porter said.
