HILO — They gave it their best shot.
But at least one organizer of a proposed Puuanahulu shooting range, after biting the bullet trying to get it built for more than a decade, said Tuesday he’s about ready to cease fire.
“I’ve spent 14 years on this project and I’m winding down,” said Richard Hoeflinger, president of the nonprofit On Target Inc., which was formed in 2010 to build and run a public shooting range. “I’ll probably not be spending any more time on this. I question whether the state will ever build a shooting range here.”
The most recent discouragement for Hoeflinger came when the state Legislature earlier this year killed a measure that would have appropriated about $800,000 to complete an environmental impact statement and develop community outreach for the project.
The year before that, the state failed to provide $200,000 of state matching funds that would have in turn garnered $600,000 in federal Pittman-Robertson range development money for the project, Hoeflinger said. Pittman-Robertson funds come from a tax on firearms and ammunition.
“Six thousand firearms are acquired by Hawaii County residents annually. Ninety percent of them are rifles and pistols,” Hoeflinger said. “There is no publicly accessible target shooting facility anywhere on the island where such firearms can be safely and legally used.”
While there is support from hunting and gun enthusiastic groups and various individuals islandwide, there are many who oppose the location currently proposed. Among them are a number of Waikoloa resorts.
“The comfort and safety of residents, visitors and employees should be paramount,” Mufi Hannemann, president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, said in Feb. 24 testimony to the Legislature. “Given all the other available land, a large-scale
public shooting range should not be developed in such close proximity to one of the island’s most sought after resort destinations.”
The DLNR looks forward to working with the Hawaii Island outdoor community in identifying potential locations for a public shooting range, with the hope of having a site identified by end of the year.tourism association and resorts say they’ve not been persuaded by the sound tests that have been conducted from the area.
The Legislature did provide $1.6 million to Kauai this year for a proposed range, but Suzanne Case, chairwoman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, gave only tepid support for the Big Island project in her testimony to legislative committees.
A DLNR spokeswoman said late Tuesday that the agency hasn’t given up on the plan.
“DLNR looks forward to working with the Hawaii Island outdoor community in identifying potential locations for a public shooting range, with the hope of having a site identified by end of the year,” said First Deputy Director Kekoa Kaluhiwa in a statement.
Organized activity to develop a comprehensive safe and supervised island shooting facility commenced in 2004. Following 15 years of prior search and evaluation, the Puuanahulu location was selected in 2005. Design requirements were finalized in 2011. A master plan and environmental assessment was initiated in 2012. The last of three scientifically conducted sound analyses was completed in 2015.
