MASSENA -- Rep. Bill Owens and Sen. Charles Schumer have sent a letter to U.S. border authorities asking them to help the Massena Rod and Gun Club with a road to the club’s shooting ranges, to better accommodate federal agents who have been using the facility.

The lawmakers have asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner David Aguilar and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton to “consider allocating funds to modify this range for their needs and add an access road to permit the range to be accessible by vehicles.”

This is because the four ranges at the club, at 155 Patterson Rd., are still sometimes overcrowded as it tries to accommodate its 1,200 dues-paying members and the 300 or so federal agents who wish to use it. One range is still incomplete, and the senator and congressman said an access road between the range and the parking lot will make it useable year-round and afford the agents “additional privacy during their qualification courses, trainings and certifications.”

The club told the lawmakers they estimate the cost of the road at $12,000.

The club has been allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to use the club’s shooting range, but early this year some members said they were being shut out of their own club by the 300 officers who wanted to use it for practice and qualifying.

In May, representatives of CBP and ICE met with the club’s board of directors to reach an agreement so that federal training does not prevent local members from enjoying the club.

Owens and Schumer facilitated that agreement. After the lawmakers’ push, the club owners report that coordination between club members and border agents has improved significantly, and that both members and federal agencies are using the range on a schedule that works for both groups.

Schumer and Owens said they specifically took issue with the policy that unnecessarily prevents shooting sportsmen from sharing the ranges with law enforcement agents during certain training exercises.

Both members of Congress said they recognize the value of the club to law enforcement due to its first-rate facilities and convenient location near the ICE Field Office in Massena.