The U. S. Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comments on a proposal to sell 100 acres of public lands near Redding for possible development of a regional firing range.

Comments will be accepted until Monday, March 8, on two proposals. The first would amend the Redding Resource Management Plan, identifying a 260-acre parcel near Walker Mine Road northwest of Redding for disposal from public ownership. The second would authorize sale of 100 acres in the same parcel to the Redding Gun Club, which wants to develop a shooting range. The proposal would also authorize sale of the remaining 160 acres to the gun club if needed later.

The proposals were detailed in a notice published in the Federal Register on Thursday, Jan. 22. The notice is available online at http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/fedregister.html, or by contacting the Redding Field Office, (530) 224-2100. Information is also available in a proposed amendment and environmental assessment (EA) to the Redding Resource Management Plan, and an EA for the direct land sale, both dated October 20, 2003. Copies of the EA are available at the Redding Field Office, or on the Redding BLM website www.ca.blm.gov/redding.

Comments can be mailed to the Redding Field Office at 355 Hemsted Dr., Redding, CA, 96002, delivered to the office, or emailed to Ilene_Emry@ca.blm.gov.

Additionally, the BLM will accept comments at a public meeting Wednesday, Feb. 4, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers, Redding Civic Center, 777 Cypress Ave.

The BLM since 1986 has been cooperating with local agencies and sporting groups to provide a location for a regional firing range, according to Francis Berg, the BLM's assistant field manager in Redding. Need for a shooting area has intensified as urban growth forced the closure of areas traditionally used for shooting.

If the land sale is completed, shooting range development would fall under the auspices of Shasta County planning regulations and procedures.

Additional information is available from BLM Realty Specialist Charlie Wright, (530) 224-2100.

-BLM-

Redding Field Office 355 Hemsted Dr. Redding, CA 96002