When President Dr. Faltyn arrived on the Oklahoma Panhandle State University campus in June, he promised to add programs to give people reasons to attend Panhandle State and the proposed Collegiate Shooting Sports Facility is set to do just that.
Faltyn said, “Sometimes fate meets with opportunity, in August, we applied for a grant to plan, do an environmental assessment and construct a Collegiate Shooting Sports Facility. I am told shooting sports are the most requested FFA and 4-H activity. After consulting with our students and community, we determined that such a program is a perfect fit for the culture and tradition of our region. That alone makes this a great opportunity to build a stronger future for the University.”
The facility is designed to house both educational and activity programs including wildlife and gun/archery related degree programs, a collegiate shotgun team, pistol team, rifle team, and an archery team. The site will play host to some of the University’s summer youth camps, community and law enforcement training, and hunter safety programs. In addition, the facility will be available to host a number of events such as 4-H, FFA, or corporate events as well as gun related clubs and association events among others.
An area suited for the shooting sports facility well within the standard for human and facility safety is located on University property. Facility plans include: trap, skeet, and five stand fields; 3-D archery range and sporting clay field; outdoor pistol ranges with covered shooting areas as well as outdoor rifle ranges including covered shooting areas; restrooms, parking, and a pavilion; and a wildlife education center.
While the facility will be home to several competitive teams, the ranges will be open to the public as well.
February 3 was a very important day for this project as Dr. Faltyn signed the Environmental Assessment Agreement, the first step in the construction process. Environmental assessment is predicted to take 12-18 months with construction to follow. Construction is scheduled to take six to eight months targeting fall of 2018 as the completion date.
The facility is being built with grants through the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and Conservation, and other wildlife and gun related organizations as well as private and in-kind donations.
Faltyn commented, “We are extremely blessed by the overwhelmingly positive support from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and Conservation as well as our community. Projects like this ensure that a safe and responsible gun culture as well as our outdoor way of life will continue to grow and thrive in rural America.”