The Civilian Marksmanship Program has put $10 million on the line in Cody, Wyoming.
The CMP Board of Directors has approved a $10 million challenge grant tied to the development of the new Wyoming State Shooting Complex, the federally chartered nonprofit announced from its Anniston, Alabama, headquarters. The grant is structured as a three-year matching initiative under which the CMP will match new private and industry donations secured by the WSSC dollar-for-dollar up to the full $10 million ceiling.
The CMP is framing the commitment as the centerpiece of a broader Western Expansion strategy, an effort to plant a permanent marksmanship footprint west of the Mississippi River for the first time in the organization’s history.
“Cody, Wyoming, is a great choice for Western expansion,” CMP Board Member and Wyoming resident Ed Newell said after a site visit. “The Wyoming State Shooting Complex offers a unique opportunity for a high-impact partnership consistent with CMP’s mission to promote youth programs, marksmanship and firearms safety.”
The WSSC is taking shape on 2,000 acres of state-contributed land roughly seven miles south of downtown Cody, a location that doubles as a gateway corridor to Yellowstone National Park. The complex is being designed to host elite competitors, recreational shooters and youth programs under a single banner, with backers describing it as a long-term destination project rather than a regional range.
Plans call for the WSSC clubhouse to house a CMP Store offering historic American firearms, a familiar fixture for shooters who have visited CMP locations elsewhere in the country. The organization will also provide technical input on range design with an eye toward making the facility capable of hosting CMP competitions.
Geography figures into the partnership as well. The complex sits near the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, whose Cody Firearms Museum houses more than 7,000 historic firearms and draws from a tourist base of more than one million visitors to the area each year. CMP officials describe the resulting circuit as a view-it, learn-it, then-buy-it experience that links museum exhibits to the range and retail space at the WSSC.
The project carries full backing from the Wyoming Legislature and Governor Mark Gordon, and it’s governed by a Joint Powers Board representing city and county leadership. Construction is already underway, with core infrastructure and internal roadways currently being established on the site.
WSSC officials describe their facility as a project built around inspiring youth participation, promoting responsible firearm use and serving as a catalyst for outdoor recreation and economic activity in Wyoming.
More information on the CMP and its programs is available at thecmp.org.
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