Construction begins to create archery range at Shriver & Wright State Wildlife Area

MONTE VISTA – Work has started at Shriver & Wright State Wildlife Area to connect the public to an additional 30 acres of property that will be turned into an archery range next spring.

A bridge over a canal of the Rio Grande River has been constructed to connect the property to the location that will undergo construction of the archery range. It will be the first public archery range in the San Luis Valley.

“The goal is to be able to finish the bridge here in the next week and then get the actual archery range put in and open to the public next spring,” said Colorado Parks and Wildlife District Wildlife Manager Tyler Cerny. “This is going to be really great for Monte Vista and the surrounding communities.”

CPW will construct a sighting-in range on the other side of the bridge. It will have targets from 20 to 60 yards for users to sight-in their bows before setting out on a walking path that will feature 13 unique stations.

Each station will have a different target. Those will include blocks as well as 3D animals such as deer and elk targets. The walking path will be roughly a mile long for those who complete all 13 stations.

“It’s a good walk for people to take,” Cerny said. “It’s relatively flat and a really cool spot.”

Cerny and CPW are working with local businesses to support the archery range. Once construction is complete in 2022, Cerny is eager to see the community get out to the state wildlife area and participate.

“We would like as much community support and involvement as possible,” he said. “There are no other archery ranges close to here. My goal is to bring in schools from around the area to get the kids out to learn archery. That’s been a big goal of this project from the start.”

Shriver & Wright SWA is a 120-acre property in Rio Grande County. For more information, call the Monte Vista CPW office at 719-587-6900.