RICHMOND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJMN) – For those interested in shooting and archery, there is a new place in Marquette County to hone in on the skill. The Erickson-Skoglund Shooting Range in Richmond Township officially opens to the public Wednesday morning at 9 a.m.
A dedication ceremony was held Tuesday evening. Michigan Department of Natural Resources says Emil Skoglund and Arvid Erickson who the range is named after were conservations officers in Marquette County who were murdered by a deer poacher in 1926.
The Michigan DNR says they are excited to have this space available to the public to provide safe and accessible shooting.
“Having a designated shooting range, it has so many benefits,” said Lori Burford, Michigan DNR. “Obviously it provides a safe, neat, tidy, fun location for people to come and shoot in a variety of disciplines. So at this range, you can shoot archery at this range, you can shoot aerial targets at the shotgun station. You can shoot handguns. You can shoot up to 400 yards is the longest distance you can shoot and that’s the longest distance we have at our DNR ranges. So it offers you just a great, safe, accessible location. It doesn’t matter what your mobility is, ability, whether you’re young, old, gender, doesn’t matter. This is a great place to come and enjoy the shooting sports as well as hone your skills if you’re a hunter or participating in competition. It’s a great spot for that as well.”
The Erickson-Skoglund Shooting Range is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Once winter rolls around, it will close for the season and open back up in the spring. The range is in Richmond Township, west of Marquette, off Marquette County Road 480, along the Goose Lake boating access site road. An option for finding the shooting range is to plug the coordinates, Latitude 46.457918, Longitude -87.497857 into your GPS.
For more information on DNR shooting ranges across the state, click here.
