Your tax money will pay to clean up forest after shooting club used it for decades

Jan 2010
371
0
Sherwood, OR
Your tax money will pay to clean up forest after shooting club... | www.kirotv.com

"The tiny town of Index, Wash. offers breathtaking views along the Snohomish River just northwest of Stevens Pass. Now, part of the national forest there has been deemed contaminated and unusable. And your tax money will be used to once again make it usable after a shooting club used it for decades."

What do you guys think about this? All I know is what the article says. Sounds like the club should have kept up their permits, but that someone decided they needed to be shut down. What do you do with a shooting range after a gun club closes?
 
Jan 2013
123
0
Silverton, OR
Interesting. I don't know if I know of another shooting range on public land. Certainly not Forest Service Land.

As a member of a club that has also been around since 1947 (Private Land) I can certainly see where if the range is no longer being operated as a range. That what ever entity that was in control of it while the contamination took place should be required to clean it up. Or at least make it safe.

As to some of the cost of clean up being covered by the tax payers. Well if the club had X amount of money and they held Y amount of insurance that comes into play and this amount X+Y doesn't equal clean up costs then I don't know how you would get more money out of them. You can't force past members to hold a bake sale.

So I guess as I see it if the people want it cleaned up the people (through taxes) are going to have to help pay for it.

Our club has gone so far as to buy up the properties around us to both increase our income (through rents) and to add a Buffer zone to the clubs boundrys.

We do our own heavy metal recovery and run a very very clean and well kept facility.

Four Corners Rod and Gun Club East of Salem.
 
Jan 2010
371
0
Sherwood, OR
I think one of the problems is that "the people" of the town didn't want it shut down. The problem isn't that they are using taxpayer money, but that some squeaky wheel with an axe to grind, and a few beurocrats shut them down.

The article makes it sound like negligence and uncaring on the part of the club, but this would not be a problem if the club was still operating.
 
Jan 2009
360
0
Seattle
I’m curious what swath of land they’re talking about. There are a few good shooting areas in and around Index, the one we used to use was at the top of the Index-Galena Road, you used to be able to drive right into the quarry area but about 8-9 years ago they put tank traps in so you can no longer drive straight into the shooting area. You have to walk about 200 yards to get to the point where you’re able to shoot but as far as I know it’s still legal to shoot there.
 
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