Grand reopening of Hank Harmon Public Range celebrated with ribbon shooting

Firing into the weekend with safety improvements and community outreach

Assembly member Wade Bryson shoots at the Hank Harmon Public Range on Sept. 26, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Independent)

By Jasz Garrett

Juneau Independent

When the Hank Harmon Public Range reopened on July 19, board members Mike and Noreen Folkerts welcomed 10 people waiting at the gate into the free community facility. On Friday, more than a dozen shooters joined state and city representatives for the official celebration, which continues Saturday.

Noreen Folkerts offered her .22-250 Weatherby rifle to Assembly member Wade Bryson for an honorary shooting. After missing a few times, he swapped to his Henry Winchester magnum and hit the tannerite target instantly, earning claps and cheers that could be heard through the provided earplugs. Bryson said out of all the ribbon-cutting ceremonies he’s participated in for the city, Friday’s was the most exciting. He taught his kids gun safety at the range.

“Part of our family activities was to come to the gun range and seeing some of the safety improvements that have happened here, it makes me feel even more comfortable bringing the family up here,” Bryson said. 

The range, owned by the City and Borough of Juneau’s Parks and Recreation, is managed by a volunteer-led board. The facility includes two public shooting ranges, a 100-yard short range and a 440-yard long range.

Since the 1960s, the range has allowed people to practice their skills and prepare for a hunt. This summer it underwent a comprehensive upgrade to enhance safety, accessibility and overall user experience. All improvements have been designed and constructed in accordance with National Rifle Association safety standards. 

Weston Moore said his goal as board president is to make the range a safe and clean place. It was closed for three months for the renovations, but was able to reopen in time for people to sight in their rifles for deer season. Early fall into winter is the busiest time of the year at Hank Harmon.

While the range is safer, Moore said it needs to be cleaner, pointing toward broken palettes the board cleaned up on Friday morning.  

“If we could have fixed target stands so people didn’t have to bring their own stuff, then we would have less of that,” he said. “Some of it is just education, too. In the past, nobody’s picked up their brass, their empty cases and stuff like that. So it would be kind of nice if people would start doing that more so than they do currently.”

Katie Sechrist-Gaynos is with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s federal access program. She visited for the reopening ceremony from Anchorage. Most of her time is spent in the office dealing with grant paperwork, but on Friday she got to see the completed project.

“For folks that shoot here and use this range, you can see how much better things are, the new benches, the new parking lot, the signage, the new safety features and both sides of the range, all huge improvements,” she said. “It’s going to benefit recreational hunters, recreational shooters and the community for years to come. The work that was accomplished here this summer makes this place safer, more comfortable and definitely more welcoming. It’s now much better suited for teaching young people and new users about responsible target shooting and firearm safety.”

In 2022, CBJ partnered with proHNS LLC, a civil engineering firm, to complete preliminary design work, cost estimating, and an application for an Alaska Department of Fish and Game Pittman-Robertson Hunter Access Grant. The project was awarded nearly $1 million in funding for facility improvements. 

The Hunter Access program funds are derived from federal excise taxes generated by the sale of firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and are administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program. 

“Everybody who buys firearms or ammunition or hunts, you made this happen,” said Ryan Scott, director of the state Division of Wildlife Conservation. “Part of your money went into this. So it’s a partnership for everybody, for all of Juneau and all of Alaska, really.”

Through the 2019 Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, the Department of Fish and Game was able to contribute 90% to the project. CBJ contributed a 10% match fund, about $100,000. 

Sechrist-Gaynos said the rest of the department projects using wildlife restoration dollars, outside of shooting range-eligible activities, are funded at a 75% federal, 25% match. This was true for the Treadwell Ditch Trail renovation project. She said Fish and Game worked with the U.S. Forest Service, CBJ, and Juneau Community Foundation to complete it.

Wildlife Restoration funds currently support the operation of 861 public ranges across the country, with seven in Alaska, which are either operated by or funded by Fish and Game.

The firing festivities are set to continue Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Community members and families are invited to enjoy a free barbecue, explore booths from local businesses and partners, and watch live demonstrations, including trick shots, a cowboy action demonstration, and steel plate shooting with the Juneau Rifle and Pistol Club. Earplugs will be provided and eye protection will be available on the firing line.

“We’re gonna have a .50 BMG there,” said Mike Folkerts, vice board president for the Hank Harmon Public Range. “It’s a $10,000 gun. We’re gonna let people shoot it for $10 because that covers the cost of the ammunition. But if you ever wanted to shoot a .50 BMG — it’s a 30-pound gun, it’s huge.”

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.

Board members Mike and Noreen Folkerts walk back with Assembly member Wade Bryson after he hits the target, or "ribbon," on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Independent)