The following are members and users of the Thunder Bay District Fish and Game Association property and facilities:
Superior Handgun Club, Hits and Mrs. Handgun Club, Dawson Trail Handgunners, North Country Shooting Club, Thunder Bay Combat Club, Thunder Bay Rifle Club, Phoenix Shooting Club, Thunder Bay IPSC League and Thunder Bay Western Shooters are independent organizations totaling about 140 people. As condition of using our property they must also be Association Members and participate in the running of the organization. There are also about 25 General Members.
Events sanctioned or hosted by IPSC Ontario, Shooting Federation of Canada, Canadian Shooting Sports Association and the Single Action Shooting Society regularly attract people from NW Ontario, Southern Ontario, Manitoba and Minnesota.
Our property is used by the RCMP detachment and Thunder Bay Polices Services (perhaps 225 personnel - numbers fluctuate) thus providing huge savings to the taxpayer who would otherwise have provide a training facility for law enforcement personnel or pay to transport them for training in another district. It is a condition of their employment that the police must train using firearms on a regular basis. The ranges are used on a weekly basis by the different police forces and by other security service personnel such as Brinks, Railway police and MNR conservation officers.
As well as ski trails for the biathlon program, we provide shooting ranges for the various Cadet Corps who would otherwise have to go to Manitoba to participate. They also use the property for physical conditioning by running and other exercises, and for training in the construction of wilderness projects such a bridge building or stream crossing structures and similar other skill building outdoor activities. Because their numbers fluctuate in proportion to the number of available Cadets adult volunteers are estimated to number between 60 and 75 who coordinate the cadet training.
We rely in part, on word of mouth promotion by inviting individuals of all ages and abilities and their families, or by our members talking it up with co-workers, relatives, friends, neighbours, new acquaintances to promote membership development. As well, posters are put in places where prospective members may frequent and at local businesses which may provide services to our membership and who often steer people our way. Sometimes we get the opportunity to solicit membership at gun shows or outdoor sports shows by having a table manned by volunteers or a poster displayed at this time.
Besides providing training facilities to Thunder Bay Police Services, R.C.M.P., Regional Cadet Corps and we host the activities of 10 shooting clubs and 4 sanctioning bodies. There are monthly competitions and events held by the different club members organizations. These competitions often coincide with provincial, national and international competitions allowing local competitors to take part in these events. These competitions also bring in out of town competitors from across the country and from nearby US states.
When specialized training is required (e.g. such as training in use of various animal tranquilizing methods and equipment) by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, they use our facility for this purpose.
The Lakehead Search and Rescue Unit (an organization conceived by us and originally one of our committees before becoming a separate entity) will use the property for orienteering.
This Association originated the present day Hunter Safety Training Programs. Our members who worked on this concept in development of the program received recognition from both the Federal and Provincial Governments for their initiative in pioneering Hunter Safety Education in Ontario in Canada and the USA. While these programs have been taken over by government and the courses are now held in another facility, we remain the back up facility should the other (a commercial operation) fail to remain viable. Even though at present we no longer host these courses local trained and certified instructors will use the facility for practical training courses in handling and shooting of firearms. The recent passage of the Federal Firearm Act has placed extensive restrictions and regulatory requirements, which require all individuals who own and use firearm to take and be trained in.
The new firearms legislation requirements further included augmentation to our facilities with improvement to existing safety berms and back stops on all shooting ranges, the formulation of an extensive new safety training program, extensive signage placed in locations explaining uses of ranges and property, brushing and clearing of the boundary lines of our 60 acre property with posting of warning signs every 20 meters and inspection and issue of a license to operate under the new legislation.
While we pride ourselves in being proactive so that most of the requirements under the regulations were already in place at our own initiative prior to the legislation, there were some requirements that had to be addressed. Due to the requirement for 'due diligence' we wanted to be able to say that our facility exceeds federal and provincial regulations, so we went well beyond what lawfully had to be done. For example, berm and backstop heights were set higher than required and warning signs were placed a minimum of every 10 meters.
We did the physical work, including the extensive signage ourselves, but we did have to hire a contractor with an excavator to maximize the size of our berms and backstops.
Because we had done all but the excavator work ourselves, we completed the project in just 2 1/2 years at a total cost of just under $50,000.00. The money came out of our capital reserve fund and I can't think of anyone of our Members who did not volunteer to help out with this massive undertaking.
The recent damage to our indoor shooting range is a major hurtle to overcome, especially after having previously spent a considerable portion of our capital reserves on outdoor range improvements. The organization still has managed to build a capital reserve to put towards the replacement in the construction of the indoor range that collapsed in the 2005 winter.
Our Association facilities are operated and maintained by volunteers so that the cost impacting on the users and taxpayers is minimal. The in-kind value of this volunteer time adds substantially when a dollar value is applied to the donated labour by members. Its an example of the community having heritage shooting facilities that may not be here if volunteers had not put the effort forward to develop these.
With the restoration of our fully accessible indoor shooting range, our long term vision of preserving our northern heritage, of continuing to contribute to a healthy vibrant community by providing the opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to learn, participate and compete in the shooting sports, and while participating in the healthy physical pursuit of sports and recreation, have a healthier life style in what we consider to be a cultural center due to it's history, heritage and the diversity of the people who have made our Association what it is.
Respect for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, respect of the environment and of the creatures that inhabit our world, these are only a few of the traditions which are a part of our heritage and which will continue as a result of the proposed restoration enabling us to continue to maintain our community values and programs.
