The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) closed its Methow Wildlife Area to target shooting on Saturday (Aug. 15), effective until Sept. 14, to reduce the risk of wildfire in extremely dry conditions.
The closure applies to the public shooting range and any target shooting or practice on the 34,000-acre wildlife area in Okanogan County. The shooting closure does not affect legal hunting on the area. Sherry Furnari, manager of the WDFW wildlife area, said the closure is warranted since two wildfires have occurred at the shooting range in recent years. Conditions will be evaluated next month to determine if the closure needs to be extended.
