Nearly a year after the San Luis Obispo Wildlife Area Public Shooting Range shut down, the first step toward reopening is underway.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) issued an Intent to Award Range Operations on Oct. 27 to San Luis Obispo Firearms and Safety Training (SLOFAST), a nonprofit preparing to assume management, SLOFAST board member Robert Brennan told New Times via email.
“We are deeply honored by this opportunity and grateful to CDFW for their confidence in our team,” SLOFAST said on its website. “Together, we look forward to ensuring the San Luis Obispo Wildlife Area Shooting Range continues to serve as a model for safe, environmentally responsible, and community-focused recreation.”
Under the proposed contract, SLOFAST would assume management of the 488-acre site off of Highway 1 between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. The award is not yet final, as Fish and Wildlife must complete its formal contracting process before SLOFAST can take over. Only then, Brennan said, will SLOFAST have a reliable sense of when public access can resume.
For now, SLOFAST lists February 2026 as its target reopening date on its website.
The organization was founded shortly after the range’s closure in 2024 by local shooting sports enthusiasts to “save” the shooting range for future generations.
“I’d love my children or my grandchildren to be able to go out there and shoot,” Brennan said. “We want to make sure this land stays open to the public, you know, for the foreseeable future.”
After an audit found the previous management organization, San Luis Obispo Sportsmen’s Association, to have violated multiple terms of its contract, the range closed in December 2024. SLOFAST formed specifically to step into that void and return the range to the public as a nonprofit that reinvests in safety, maintenance, and environmental compliance, Brennan said.
“This land is owned by the people of the state of California, not by any organization or any individual,” he said. “We are simply given a contract to manage that land for the public. And so we want to do our best to manage it as a shooting range.”
Before reopening, SLOFAST must complete state-required repairs, including fixing a damaged bridge, deteriorated concrete, and dry-rotted decks—along with any additional issues once Fish and Wildlife grants SLOFAST full site access.
“There are some safety issues that have to be addressed, and once [we] address the safety issue, then the government has to say it’s safe,” Brennan said.
Only the front range will reopen, including rifle and pistol lanes, archery, skeet and competition bays. The back range will remain closed due to the potential presence of unexploded World War II munitions, Brennan said.
He said volunteer labor will be essential once the state grants full access.
“The more volunteers we have, the faster we can reopen,” Brennan said.
SLOFAST plans to post updates and volunteer opportunities at savetherange.com. ∆
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 9 2025.