The former Camp Lucas/Fort Brady Target Range is located approximately 27 miles west of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, in Chippewa County. The land is owned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is part of the Hiawatha National Forest.

From 1895 to 1944, the former Fort Brady Target Range was used for small arms training by troops stationed at Fort Brady. In 1951, the former Camp Lucas Target Range was reconstructed, and the south range was used to train troops in small arms, rifle grenade and anti-tank rockets. Training continued until 1962, when the Department of Army declared both former ranges as excess and returned control of the land back to the Department of Agriculture.

An area of the former Camp Lucas/Fort Brady Target Range, known as the Rifle Range/Rocket Range, was identified through historical research and site visits as having potential explosive hazards. The munitions known or suspected to have been used at the property include mortars, ground rockets, rifle grenades, smoke grenades, hand grenades, signal flares and small arms ammunition.

Major Milestones/Accomplishments

An Archives Search Report was completed in 1995 that located and reviewed all available records, to build a picture of what training occurred during the Army’s land use.

A site inspection was completed in 2007 to determine whether any munitions, metals or chemicals were released to the environment as a result of the training that occurred on the site.

Where are we now

Based on the recommendations in the 2007 site inspection, a contract was awarded in the summer of 2019 to complete a Remedial Investigation covering all aspects of the Army use of the property. The intent is to describe and locate any munitions and chemicals that are out there. The results will allow for a determination of which areas, if any, pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment, what can be done about those risks, and the level of effort needed to reduce or eliminate those risks.