History
WESTERN WAYNE COUNTY CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION
In 1936 ten men who were avid hunters and fisherman, as well as good friends, sat around the local gas stations and their homes and talked and dreamed about having a club devoted to their sports. By 1938, after much discussion, work and planning, their dream became a reality and Western Wayne County Conservation Association was born. They became involved in things that were going on in Michigan concerning hunting, fishing and other out-of-doors activities.
When the club was established, 40 acres of land near Joy Road and Wayne Road in Nankin Township was purchased. The cost was $5,000, and was paid for by selling shares for $10.00 each. The first range that was built was an archery range. As the club grew, a war surplus quonset hut was purchased to use as a clubhouse. In 1954 the first trap field was installed. Access to it was across a neighbors field. As payment, he asked that we maintain his road and pay him 10 cents for each line that was shot. The first weekend we took in $154.00 and trap shooting has been alive and well ever since.
The population explosion started in 1960, and by 1962 it was clear we had to move further out into the country if we were
to continue as a sports club.
In 1962 we purchased 62 beautiful acres in Plymouth Township, and work began in building a club house and ranges. The first range to be completed was archery, followed by trap and skeet fields, 25/50 yard range, 100 yard range, and 200 yard range.
In 1985 we were able to purchase an additional 24 acres of land with a beautiful stream running through it. We now have 86 acres. A place where our members can go to get back to nature, and care for the deer, birds, fish and countless other critters. Our 3-D archery walk-thru range is now also located in this area.
In the early 1980s, our black powder group started to grow, and a lot of effort was put into building a walk-thru range. Each year from then on a large and successful rendezvous is held over Labor Day weekend. Clubs from all over the Midwest come to participate. The public is invited to come and see how folks lived in the 1800s.
Also in the late 1980s, another sport was added. The airgun group built an airgun range and range house. Because of our fine airgun facilities, we have been asked to host the World Airgun Field Target Championships on three different occasions-1993, 1995, and 1997.
Activities were expanded at our 200 yard range three years ago when the precision shooting group expanded and began hosting state and registered competitive shoots. All the shooting stations on this range were replaced and a large
range house has been built.
During the past two years we initiated a huge project to rebuild our range berms which had deteriorated over the past years. Even with a lot of hard work and free dirt the project was costly. The project is now completed and our ranges are among the safest and best in the country.
Some of the other projects that our club has been involved in are fund raisers for the Pinkerton School for the Blind, Rouge River clean-up, hunter education classes, junior rifle, junior archery (JOAD), junior shotgun, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts campouts, archery shoots for the benefit of the U of M Burn Center and sight-in days from mid-October to mid-November. During sight-in days the club is open to the public to help people prepare their firearms for a safe and successful hunt.
We also allow several local police departments to use our ranges for training and practice. Others who have used our facilities are the FBI, CIA, and the State Police.
We have been honored with a number of awards, of which we are proud. To name a few: President's Award from the National Wildlife Federation, North American Hunters Safety Award, Michigan United Conservation Club's H.A.T. Award, The National Rifle Association President's Award, and a Rouge River Special Award given by the Rouge River Remedial Action Committee.
At the present time, the club has in excess of 1000 members who share this dream of those 10 men some 60 years ago. We sincerely thank all of the people who have gone before us and worked so hard to keep the dream of those 10 men alive. We hope that we continue to care for and worry about the future of conservation and outdoor sports so that future generations can enjoy what we have.
Contributed by Bob West.