The Bureau of Land Management will break ground this week on construction of the Baldy Mountain shooting sports site in the Lake Pleasant area.

Baldy Mountain is one of five sites currently planned within the boundaries of the BLM Phoenix District.

Construction begins Monday, May 4 and is expected to take around six months. Once completed, the site will be the first to open for public use.

“We are very proud to be breaking ground on the Baldy Mountain site, the first developed shooting sports site in our 2.5 million-acre district,” Phoenix District Manager Leon Thomas stated in a release. “This has truly been a collaborative process involving many valuable stakeholders, including partners and public land users.”

The Baldy Mountain site is located northwest of Phoenix, north of State Route 74 and west of Lake Pleasant. The site will be minimally-developed including backstop berms, steel targets, gravel parking, handicap parking, kiosk, along with other amenities.

The area will be inaccessible during construction for public safety and the safety of construction contractors. Signs and fencing will delineate the area that will be temporarily closed.

“Recreational shooting is a popular and growing activity in Arizona,” stated Mike Raum, shooting sports branch chief for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “We look forward to continue working with the BLM and other partners to develop suitable, safe recreational target shooting opportunities for the public on public land.”

Three of the remaining shooting sports sites are expected to start construction in the coming months with each one opening to the public as it is completed. Information on these shooting sports sites along with associated maps can be found online.

These developed sites will provide more active management of recreational shooting sports in order to provide enhanced access for recreational shooting while also ensuring public safety, stewardship of natural resources, and protection of critical telecommunications and energy infrastructure.