For immediate release:

$1.2 Million Federal grant approved for Roosevelt City Rough Rider Shooting Complex. 

Members of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Jones & DeMille Engineering met with Roosevelt City staff to award Roosevelt City with the Utah Roosevelt City Rough Rider Outdoor Shooting Range Complex Development grant for 1.2 million dollars;   $900,000.00 is coming from the Pittman-Robinson Wildlife Restoration Act from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Roosevelt City is providing $300,000.00. 

This project began with discussions over 10 years ago and within 6 years, the vision started coming together.  The location was originally suggested by Roosevelt City Mayor JR Bird as he knew the location would be a long-term amenity for the community. He noted that the geography of the location is perfect for the proposed venue. 

The Rough Rider Shooting Complex will include over 60 acres including a 1000-yard range, cowboy action shooting ranges, pistol range, trap and skeet range, and an archery range. 

Kevin Richens with the Wildlife Conservation Foundation has already donated a significant amount of funding to this project by bringing in the new 200-yard range that is already available for the public. 

 Tonya Kieffer-Selby with the DWR noted this facility will offer a closer place for Roosevelt and Uintah Basin area residents to site in their firearms, and help with fire mitigation during extremely dry drought years.  

This venue will not only help law enforcement maintain their certifications, but it will also allow the ability to host tournaments, archery groups and hunter education classes. 

There’s a high interest for this project, with over 100 community members in attendance at the soft opening for the 200-yard range on July 24th.  We are already seeing the value in the range, having hosted the Utah S3DA State Shoot in May of this year, with 102 youth archery shooters from around the state.

The project may have taken a few years to get things started, but the patience from the partners and community has paid off thanks to federal grants, such as the one awarded and local business donations, like what has been put together with the 200-yard range. The partnerships formed from the development of this range are a great example of what success looks like. 

We’re excited for the grant approval and for the project to get under way.  Construction is anticipated to begin before this coming winter.