EVANSTON — The pursuit for a multi-million-dollar state shooting complex in Uinta County has come to an end. State Rep. Jon Conrad, R-Mountain View, announced the unfortunate conclusion during the June 18 commission meeting at the Uinta County Complex.

“Uinta County will not be considered for the shooting complex,” Conrad announced woefully. “This is a gut punch. This is a tough one, and I’m devastated.”

Last year, the Wyoming legislature passed a bill creating a task force to develop a framework for the selection of a location for the Wyoming state shooting complex. Ten million dollars has been appropriated for the project to be gifted to the winning location. Of nine applicants, Uinta County placed sixth.

The decision was based on four particular requirements: site, accommodations, tourism draw, and future economic development. The top five locations are as follows in order of overall winning metric scores: Cody, Cheyenne, Casper, Campbell County and Sheridan. Sheridan, which edged Uinta County out of the top five by two points, was a late entry, as it had missed the application deadline, though the task force later voted to allow it to proceed.   

The initial criteria required by the state included land of at least 800 acres, and up to 2,500 acres. Accessibility to highways and distance and access to airports was also taken into consideration. Accommodations such as hotels, restaurants and RV parks were heavily weighed, as was future economic development planning.

Cody, which holds a substantial lead, scored first place in three of the four categories: site, tourism and future economic success, while it ranked fourth in accommodations. Uinta County, by contrast, scored second in site, fifth for future economic development and sixth for both accommodations and tourism.

Commissioner Brent Hatch responded to Conrad’s report by stating it was a missed opportunity by the state.

“The Wasatch Front is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country,” Hatch said. “Evanston and Uinta County are often forgotten about ... roughly 33% of the state’s economic input comes from southwest Wyoming.”

“I apologize sincerely for not getting this across the goal line. We left everything on the table…” Conrad said before thanking the county commissioners for their support, and JUB Engineering for their “above and beyond reproach” crafting of the submitted request for proposal.

In addition to Conrad, the local county task force members are Uinta County Commission Chair Mark Anderson, Gregg Moretti, Ben Kemp, Clyde Kofoed, Brian Woodward and Jeff Bybee.

Openly questioning the objectivity of the complex task force, Conrad conceded, “I will continue believing in our county, and will continue to advocate, promote and educate my fellow legislators. I look forward to continuing to serve this community.”