Gov. Mark Gordon has cleared the way for $10 million to go to a planned Wyoming State Shooting Complex — though not before questioning whether lawmakers were right to make the funding a priority in their recent session. In a Tuesday letter, Gordon described himself as “dumbfounded” that the Legislature didn’t address “more imminent needs” during its 2025 General Session.

“While I support the Shooting Complex, it is clearly a want not a need,” Gordon wrote, adding later that, “I have never been at a loss in Wyoming for a place to shoot whether at local ranges or way out there.”

The project has been in the works since 2023, intended as a way to signal Wyoming’s support for the Second Amendment and boost economic growth. A state task force solicited proposals from communities around Wyoming and picked one put forward by a Cody-based working group, which intends to build the facility on roughly 2,000 acres of state land south of town. Their plans call for hosting 15 to 20 regional and national events — including shooting competitions — and attracting over 10,000 visitors to the area each year.

Legislative battle

In both the Senate and the House, lawmakers included $13.5 million for the complex within their versions of the supplemental budget — the $10 million that lawmakers set aside for the project in 2023 plus another $3.5 million. However, the two chambers were unable to resolve their differences on other items, which prompted Senate leaders to announce that they just wouldn’t pass a supplemental budget this year.

That put the shooting complex dollars in jeopardy, but at the 11th hour, representatives and senators agreed to stick the $10 million inside an otherwise unrelated effort to eliminate the Strategic Investments and Projects account.

Meanwhile, Gordon noted that dollars for other state facilities and higher education got axed, saying the Legislature had sent “a confusing message.”

“Apparently, the complex is such a high priority to the 68th Legislature that it is more essential than the construction of the new veterans home [in Buffalo] so that the men and women who served in this country’s armed forces can receive the care that they have been promised and deserve,” he wrote.

While a majority of lawmakers supported the complex funding — including Park County’s full delegation — the project wasn’t without its detractors. And some of those who voted in favor of releasing the $10 million said they were only doing so to honor the commitment made by their predecessors in 2023.

Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, charged that the project was a case of the government picking winners and losers, competing with private organizations. But “it’s too late to go back on that,” Kelly said during an early March debate in the House. He said the Legislature had to keep its word.

However, Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, argued that the people of Wyoming have long embraced government involvement in major recreation activities, citing the popularity of state parks.

“We have all these state parks scattered across our state that cater to fishermen and anglers and water skiers and hikers and bicyclists,” Washut said, “and it’s about darn time that we had one for shooters and archers that reflects our values of the Second Amendment, our values as a state that’s really invested in the firearms industry.”

Answering critics

The Park County Commission and Cody City Council are setting up a joint powers board to run the complex and have been interviewing applicants in recent weeks. While interviewing Rep. Paul Hoeft, R-Powell, on Tuesday, County Commissioner Kelly Simone said that “a lot of members of the public have a lot of concern about the expenditure of taxpayer dollars” on the project and asked Hoeft what he’d say to reassure those critics.

Hoeft said he’s also heard “plenty of pushback” and said one of his responses has been, “if we’re the most friendly Second Amendment state in the nation … why not be the leader in this and promote it?”

He said it’s important to present the complex as being open to all groups — such as high school sports shooting teams — and not elitist as critics have charged. He suggested a local membership program could also engender more feelings of belonging and ownership in the community.

The project’s proponents have told Hoeft the complex will be self-sufficient in four years, he said, and he believes they can succeed. 

Hoeft has talked with firearms industry leaders such as Weatherby, a Sheridan-based rifle and shotgun manufacturer, and he said they’re excited.

“There’s a lot of support from the industry, and those are the people that are going to be coming to help get this going,” he said.

Pulling together funding

Plans currently call for the $10 million of state funding to be combined with $6 million from private companies, organizations and others for a $19.5 million project. Park County has agreed to use its crews and materials to upgrade the road to the site west of Wyo. Highway 120S.

As for the other $3.5 million of state money that was set to be added to the complex in the supplemental budget, Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, suggested during floor debate that lawmakers can address that during the 2026 Budget Session.

The Legislature has created a separate committee to oversee the Wyoming State Shooting Complex that includes both Hoeft and Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell. The oversight committee is separate from the joint powers board.

Hoeft told commissioners on Tuesday that he’s been impressed by the amount of work the local shooting complex working group has already put into the project.

“It has a great potential,” he said, “and I’d love to see this thing take off.”