Gunfire From State’s $19.5M Shooting Range Near Cody Could Drive Eagles Away

Wyoming’s new $19.5 million shooting complex near Cody broke ground Saturday on a 2,000-acre parcel of state land. But some raptor experts worry that the gunfire and human activity will drive golden eagles away from prime hunting and nesting grounds in the area.

The land falls within the foraging ranges of nesting golden eagle pairs, which hunt cottontail rabbits, small pronghorn fawns, sage grouse, and other prey there. Bryan Bedrosian, conservation director for the Teton Raptor Center, said eagles have a low tolerance for crowds and loud noises. “Eagles will avoid people and gunshots,” he said. He noted that the No. 1 cause of death in golden eagles is people shooting them, so the species may have learned to associate gunfire with death.

Raptor researcher Chuck Preston, who is also an avid shooter, said he does not oppose the complex but wants people to be mindful of the cost to wildlife. “It will cut into the foraging for some golden eagles that I know have set up shop in the area,” he said. Preston noted that eagles are already facing a downturn in cottontail rabbits due to rabbit hemorrhagic disease, and the sagebrush steppe landscape they occupy is a shrinking resource.

The silver lining, both experts said, is that a dedicated shooting range could reduce “wild target” practice on random BLM parcels. Preston said he knows of at least two golden eagle nests abandoned because of target shooting near the nests. “The shooters didn’t even realize that the nests were there,” he said.

Bedrosian stressed that spent lead bullets and shotgun pellets at the target range will not threaten eagles, because lead poisoning comes from eating carcass parts left by hunters. “We are totally good with people shooting lead ammunition at the target range. That’s where it should be shot,” he said.

Sen. Larry Hicks, a driving force behind the project, said the Wyoming Game and Fish Department was consulted. Eagles never came up, he said, but measures will be taken to protect mule deer and sage grouse, including wildlife-friendly fencing and scheduling competitions to avoid sage grouse mating season. He said the joint powers board will take an “adaptive management strategy” moving forward.

Preston suggested that the complex could include educational programs encouraging hunters to switch to lead-free ammunition, which would reduce eagle deaths from lead poisoning across Wyoming. Hicks said education will be part of the program and that he is not opposed to teaching about lead-free ammo, especially if offered by a private or nonprofit group. “If we have a high raptor concentration in certain areas, then lead-free ammo for hunting is a good idea,” he said. The complex is expected to open in early fall 2027.