Geary County Fish & Game Association, Inc

Goal: $7,500.00

Specific Need

We will continue to use Match Day funds to provide educational programming and facilities maintenance and improvements for the benefit of both our members and the general public. We are seeing increased awareness and use of all that we have to offer which is a challenge, albeit a good one, for both our volunteers and our facilities. Match Day offers us the opportunity to fulfill needs not covered in most grant funding. Here are some of the ways we have been using these funds:

New 3D Targets for the Archery Range

Painting the exterior of the Main Building

Reshaping the Main drive in to Sportsman’s Acres and adding asphalt milling surface

Beginning replacement of the tables from the 1990’s used in the Main Building for Classes and Events

Purchase a newer and more powerful Tractor for all the heavy work around the property

Mission

The Geary County Fish & Game Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing both educational and recreational outdoor opportunities with an emphasis on conserving and enhancing our natural resources.

Profile

Since at least the 1920’s, the Geary County Fish & Game Association (GCF&GA) has been a part of the history of Geary County, Kansas. In those early days, landowner, farmer, and townspeople members served an important quasi-legal role in preserving and growing our wildlife population by enforcing compliance with the State’s hunting and fishing laws.

From this role grew a national award winning non-profit organization dedicated to providing both educational and recreational outdoor opportunities. Over the decades GCF&GA has remained active, providing fishing, shooting, conservation, and hunting activities for members and the public of all ages. In 1980 we finally found a home to grow our programming and activities with the signing of a long-term lease with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for approximately 75 acres of land on the shores of Milford Reservoir now known as Sportsman’s Acres. In the years since, member fundraising and donated labor have allowed us to make improvements including:

A Main Building with a large meeting room for classes and events.
A Shotgun Range that includes 3 Voice-Activated Traps, a 5-stand Sporting Clays field, the Milt Rawlings Memorial Backyard Clays for beginning shooters, and a shotgun patterning board area.
A Pistol/Rifle Range with 6 covered shooting points, allowing for target practice and shooting games to a distance of 33 yards.
An Archery Range with stationary bullseye targets and a self-guided 3D target trail.
Hunting Fields for classes and events, and Wildlife Habitat Plots have also been developed. This property is ideally suited to expand our conservation and environmental efforts for our members and the public to explore and enjoy.

Our facilities are all volunteer run and our Ranges are operated by NRA Certified Range Safety Officers who have years of experience and are always willing to work with shooters, new or experienced. Including both the open Range hours and time spent on our events and assisting others, approximately 1,125 volunteer hours have been logged at the Pistol/Rifle Range for 2024 through September. For the Shotgun Range, that volunteer hours figure jumps to 2,101! In addition, hundreds of additional hours are spent by many dedicated members to maintain, repair, and improve our equipment and grounds year round, and help make everything happen behind the scenes that is so essential for each and every event.

In addition to our Ranges, GCF&GA offers a wide variety of classes and events, again, staffed by volunteers (those open to the general public marked with an *). Some of these include:

NRA’s Women On Target* – Held once a year, ours is one of the longest running WOT events in Kansas.
Hunter Education Classes* – Offered 4 times each year by KDWP Certified Instructors
Youth & Adult Open Trap Leagues* – Summer and Winter Leagues
Beginner’s Trap Shooting Class* – Offered 3 times each year.
Kansas High School Clays Teams – Currently 3 area teams use our Shotgun Range and are coached by our instructors: Chapman High School, Junction City High School, and the Northwest Geary County Home School Team. White City’s team also uses our Range and provides their own coaches. Fall and Spring competitions.
Pistol Fun Shoots* – Number varies.
Amateur Trapshooting Association Registered Shoots – Offered 4 times each year.
New Gun Owner Workshop* – Offered once each year.
Women & Youth Pheasant Hunt* – Offered once each year in the Fall.
Junction City High School Jay Archers – Competitive Archery team uses our Archery Range.
Archery Shoots* – Number varies.
NRA Range Safety Officer Certification Course* – One or more per year.

A wide range of local, regional, and State organizations and groups also have events hosted at our facilities through-out the year. In 2024 these have included: 4H for Geary Co. Shotgun Project and State-wide 4H Hunting Skills Event; Scout Troop campouts and shooting instruction; Kansas Wildscape Foundation; U.S. Army units for morale building exercises; Trail Life USA; Family shooting events; and Group fundraising events.

GREAT PEOPLE DOING GREAT THINGS!

YOUR TIME, TREASURE AND TALENT IS ALWAYS WELCOME AND APPRECIATED!