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First of Thirteen Archery Facilities to be Constructed Statewide with Federal Funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
First of Thirteen Archery Facilities to be Constructed Statewide with Federal Funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/p>\n
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Supports Governor Hochul\u2019s These Lands are for Everyone Initiative to Expand Access to Public Lands for All New Yorkers<\/p>\n
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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton today announced the opening of a new public archery range at\u00a0Black Creek Marsh Wildlife Management Area<\/a>\u00a0(WMA) in the Town Voorheesville, Albany County. The Black Creek Marsh WMA archery range is the first of 13 archery facilities to be constructed statewide with DEC\u2019s five-year, $3.1 million federal Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration grant, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u2019s Office of Conservation Investment to provide safe, accessible, and high-quality opportunities for outdoor recreation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExpanding access to the outdoors is a priority in New York State, and the new public archery range at Black Creek Marsh Wildlife Management Area provides archers of all ages, abilities, and experience levels with a unique opportunity to hone their skills while enjoying a scenic and ecologically diverse natural area here in the Capital Region,\u201d\u00a0Commissioner Lefton said. \u201cI applaud DEC\u2019s Divisions of Fish and Wildlife and Operations, along with our state, local, and federal partners, for helping bring this and the other planned archery projects to life. Through Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s \u2018These Lands Are for Everyone\u2019 initiative, we are continuing to connect more New Yorkers with the outdoors by expanding access to public lands and outdoor recreation opportunities, ensuring future generations can experience the beauty, adventure, and countless benefits of New York\u2019s natural resources.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new archery range at Black Creek Marsh features:\u00a0<\/p>\n
In total, DEC will construct up to 13 new archery ranges across New York over the life of the grant. The initiative builds on the success of the first DEC public archery range opened at\u00a0Saratoga Sand Plains Wildlife Management Area<\/a>\u00a0in Wilton in 2020.\u202fDepending on the site-specific layout and features, individual ranges will cost between $150,000 and $300,000. This year, DEC is constructing archery ranges at Tinsley Park (Town of Nelson, Madison County), Rome WMA (City of Rome, Oneida County), and Perch River WMA (City of Watertown, Jefferson County).\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York State Conservation Fund Advisory Board (CFAB) Chairman Jason Kemper said,\u00a0\u201cThe construction of these facilities provides several benefits including providing a great outdoor activity for youth, introducing new people to archery and creating the next generation of hunters and conservationists.\u00a0 Additionally, the construction of this archery range and other planned facilities near urban areas provides a much-needed location for all users to practice the sport they love. It\u2019s great to see this project come to fruition.\u201d<\/p>\n
New York State recently\u00a0expanded big game crossbow regulations<\/a>\u00a0to allow hunters to use a crossbow during the same seasons, places, and manner as a vertical bow for hunting deer and bear. Changes include requiring a bowhunter education certification, removing outdated size limits, and development of more standardized setback distances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Access to safe, publicly accessible range facilities is one of the most significant barriers to participation in shooting sports and hunting. The popular crossbow regulation expansion in conjunction\u00a0with\u00a0expanded access to the use of archery equipment and increasing DEC\u2019s public archery range offerings is helping build upon the success of the regulation by creating more access. These ranges will also complement DEC\u2019s efforts to increase student participation in the\u00a0National Archery in the Schools Program<\/a>\u00a0and will provide additional locations for 4H Shooting Sports Programs and DEC’s bowhunter education and\u00a0HuntFishNY courses<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The primary purposes of Black Creek Marsh WMA are for wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation. This WMA consists of about 450 acres of wetland and upland habitats in Albany County, and the Black Creek runs through much of the property. The diversity of habitats and wildlife species found at Black Creek Marsh provides unique opportunities for public use. Parking areas have been developed to provide access to the area, and a trail network is maintained for the enjoyment of visitors.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
To ensure New York\u2019s open spaces are accessible and inclusive, Governor Hochul created the \u201cThese Lands Are For Everyone\u201d initiative in the 2026 State of the State agenda to be led by DEC to expand access to state lands for all New Yorkers. These Lands Are For Everyone will invest in inclusive, sensory friendly and accessible experiences, including tactile exhibits, sensory trails and inclusive nature centers, ensuring all children and adults can enjoy New York\u2019s natural treasures. These investments will remove barriers and accommodate sensory, and mobility needs so that neurodiverse and people with disabilities can benefit from the State\u2019s treasured natural spaces.<\/p>\n
DEC\u2019s Bureau of Wildlife manages nearly 150 areas, including approximately 125 WMAs, several Unique Areas and Multiple Use Areas, and other lands (known as the WMA System) totaling about 250,000 acres.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tLow Draw Weight and All Draw Weight Areas: Separate shooting areas provide targets ranging from 5-20 yards in the Low Draw Weight Area and 20-50 yards in the All Draw Weight Area. All shooting lanes are wheelchair accessible as per Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.\u00a0
\n\tBow Compatibility: Targets are available for all bow types, including traditional, compound, and crossbow.\u00a0
\n\tElevated Shooting Platforms: For bowhunters looking to simulate elevated hunting situations, the facility features two elevated shooting platforms, including an area for users in wheelchairs, with targets at realistic hunting distances.\u00a0
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First of Thirteen Archery Facilities to be Constructed Statewide with Federal Funds from the U.S. Fish and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-320395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}