WACKOS trying to close shooting range

[Ten Bears]

Group says shooting range full of holes
Posted: Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 - 08:42:21 am PST
By R.J. COHN
Staff writer

BAYVIEW -- Plans to upgrade a shooting range owned by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in the Farragut Wildlife Management Area has many residents of this tiny community up in arms over the potential sound of gunfire.

A public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. today in the Bayview Chamber of Commerce building, where Dave Leptich, IFG regional wildlife habitat biologist, will try to explain the range's benefits and measures taken to lessen the noise.

Leptich will have his work cut out. He's facing an opposition Web site and a petition signed by 200 people against the range.

"Farragut is a highly sensitive area, and it's the back yard to over a half-million people in the Inland Northwest," said Mike Lee, a Farragut watchdog. "It's a very special place, and the entire community has really embraced our stance on environmental stewardship. For us not to try to defend one of the last, best places around would be irresponsible. I can't see why an indoor range wouldn't be a better alternative."


At issue is a shooting range that Leptich says was initially proposed for Farragut Wildlife Management Area when the first public meeting was held about it in 1996 during IFG's long-range management plan for the area.

The range has been in use since 1942, when it was a military range for Farragut Naval Training Center. It has been a public range since 1950.

The drawing for the new master plan partitions the current rifle range into seven smaller sections.

It also includes a trap and skeet range, a pistol range, an action-shooting range and a building for events and education.

Leptich said there's also a demand for an archery range at Farragut.

Lee maintains that gunfire will be heard year-round and will have an increasing impact on the solitude and serenity in the park, Bayview and the surrounding area. Real estate values will also be effected as will wildlife and park visitors, he says.

Leptich said he knows that noise is a major concern to residents.

"The bottom line of course is the noise that people say will be heard from the range," said Leptich. "After we're done with our noise management plan for the range, decibel-wise it will be almost quieter than downtown Bayview." This spring a 3- to 4-foot safety fence will be installed to keep park users from accidentally walking into the range.

Leptich says that the department will also stagger the firing line, which will reduce the noise level.

"We're also going to place cement 'ecology' blocks used in highway construction that are a minimum of 8 feet high that will absorb and reflect the noise," he said.

Leptich said the seven smaller partitions will eventually have a roof to cover all shooting points.

"When the noise of gunfire hits the roof, it will partly absorb and reflect it as well," he added. "We're committed to a noise management plan that will be less or equal to 80 decibels at the property line." The noise level in downtown Bayview, Leptich maintains, is between 70 to 80 decibels.

"We're still very sincerely working with the local community and want to continue being good neighbors," he said. "We're cooperating with a subcommittee of Bayview's Chamber of Commerce on effectively dealing with the noise issue."

But as far as Lee and others are concerned, the best way to deal with the noise the range will cause is to simply build an indoor shooting range he says residents would support. Otherwise, many say Farragut will evolve into a shooter's heaven and a resident's hell.

"They need to respect people who come to Farragut to enjoy the great outdoors and not the sound of guns," said Lee, who posted the Web site www.farragut.org. "We know what we hear now (regular shooting) has a lot of impact for people who live on Perimeter Road, who say it rattles their windows.

"Fish and Game needs to do a site survey and see if this is truly an appropriate place for this kind of activity. They don't seem to want to listen to reason."

http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2005/02/08/news/news01.txt

Sorry I missed this this spring, but I've heard that it's going to a jury trial in December now. Please forward any letters of support for the range to the idfg. http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/inc/contact.cfm

Anybody ever seen a 600 yard "indoor" shooting range?????

Get the word out. We want to KEEP our shooting range up here, and make it safer for EVERYONE.

 

[Ten Bears]

Somebody may want to let IT know I posted something ue might be interested in........ The old man seems to be deaf.