Target shooting banned in parts of the Valley
July 10, 2009
By Michael Rowe
A contractor has told the Snoqualmie District Ranger that his company might not bid on future projects in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest after several near misses by target shooters.
This and other incidents have spurred Snoqualmie District Ranger Jim Franzel to ask for a one-year ban on target shooting in forest service lands in the I-90 corridor. The ban may become permanent, but it will not affect hunting on national forest land.
The ban went into effect July 2. The area where target shooting is banned stretches from Exit 38 to Snoqualmie Pass, and includes the Denny Creek Road and Tinkham Road areas.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Wade Holden, president and executive director of Friends of the Trail.
This old refrigerator was used for target practice last year at a popular shooting spot in the Valley.
Holden’s group has picked up trash left by target shooters for years. He said he was sick of the irresponsible behavior of many target shooters who come out to the I-90 corridor.
Holden was raised on a ranch, grew up around guns and is a gun owner. He pointed out that not all target shooters are bad. However, he is “sick of the shooters that don’t pick up after themselves and don’t take proper safety precautions, like shooting into an appropriate backstop.”
Franzel said there had been a number of incidents involving target shooters over the last several weeks, and that the problem has been growing in recent years. He thinks the reason the problem has worsened is that there are more people living in the I-90 corridor, which means more people enjoying trails and more people target shooting.
One incident involved a contractor repairing a forest service road. The contractor told Franzel that shooters in the area made what would have been a simple job difficult and dangerous. The contractor told Franzel that they were thinking about not bidding on projects because of the danger posed by target shooters.
There have even been reported problems with shooters near trailheads.
According to Franzel, the relatively flat topography of the I-90 corridor makes it difficult for inexperienced shooters to target practice safely. He said that there were few natural backstops to catch slugs from pistols and rifles. The vegetation also makes it difficult for shooters to know that they may be firing near a trail. Holden has heard of incidents where cars on I-90 have been hit by stray fire.
Not all of the national forest is closed to shooters. The area that is banned is only a small part of the 332,000-acre Snoqualmie Ranger District.
Franzel said that target shooters could still go to the backcountry, where there are fewer people, and the land is not as flat, making it safer to shoot. He said places around the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River and the upper part of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River, were appropriate for target practice. Federal rules prohibit target shooting within 150 yards of a residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site or occupied area.
However, Franzel acknowledged that, in reality, the longer drive to those places not covered by the ban will probably discourage casual shooters from going there.
Holden says it’s the casual shooters who often fall into the category of what the gun community refers to as “slob shooters.” His group has cleaned up illegal trash dumps where refrigerators and other appliances are riddled with bullet holes – the work of slob shooters. He said some shooters are particularly unsafe because they combine alcohol and drugs with firearms. When Holden tries to talk with them about picking up their spent shells and targets, the shooters are often belligerent.
He hopes that the rangers are strong in their enforcement of the ban. Violators can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to six months.
To learn where shooting is prohibited, visit the ranger district’s Web site to view a map at www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/conditions/mbs-closure-target-shooting-i90-corridor.pdf. Maps can also be obtained at the Snoqualmie Ranger District Office in North Bend at 42404 SE North Bend Way.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.
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