Gun enthusiasts of the Columbia River Gorge will soon have a place to let off some steam — or ammunition. Thanks to the efforts of Klickitat County Commissioner Rex Johnston, Klickitat County Engineer Jeff Hunter, and several others, a gun range will be opening in Dallesport this coming summer.
“This project is one that I’ve been working on since I’ve been a commissioner,” says Johnston. “It’s really something I love being involved in, because there isn’t a gun range anywhere in the Gorge for people to come shoot. We started the process months ago, using the run-off material on Centerville Highway. We’ll be using it as a backdrop for the range.”
The range will meet the National Rifle Association’s standards and will ultimately be 500 yards, but it will be opened as a 50-100 yard range. Johnston says that very little county money will be going into the project (about $25,000) and that the overall cost will be more than $1 million. The rest of the money paying for the range is coming from grants received from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. This money will pay for the construction of the range.
According to Johnston, Hunter will be handling the project. “Once the permits are in place, construction begins (a three to six month process). After it’s complete, we’ll be looking for someone to run the range on a daily basis. We hope to have it complete by the end of June,” says Hunter.
“This is a very popular hobby in the county and in addition to this being a public-access range, it’ll also be used for the Goldendale, White Salmon, and Bingen police departments to come train,” says Johnston. Both Johnston and Hunter believe this project will not only benefit the county’s shooters but that it will benefit the county’s economy as well.
“I envision it being a real draw for this county because of things like cowboy shoot-outs, for instance. This could also be really good for tourism,” says Johnston.
“It’ll be a positive thing for the community and attract people to the county, it should be a great place for people to go,” says Hunter.
For more information about the range, call Klickitat County Public works at 773-4612 or email Jeff Hunter at jeffh@klickitatcounty.org.
Commented