Closing Island Lake Range (Michigan)

[Doc]

this is sad and sick.

you can hear the 'rich anti-gunners' bragging about how their houses
"back up to state land and you KNOW they can't build there"
now they are peeved that the state is actually using the land for
OTHERS...:banghead:

http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1099509002156000.xml?aanews?NEL

Judge orders halt to firing at Island Lake Shooting Range

No date set in Green Oak suit to enforce noise regulations

Wednesday, November 3, 2004
BY TOM TOLEN
News Staff Reporter





In one of his last acts in office, retiring Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Burress ordered the Island Lake Shooting Range closed pending the outcome of a trial.



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No date has been set in the case, filed by the Green Oak Township board in June to force the state Department of Natural Resources to comply with township noise regulations. The gun range is located in the Island Lake State Recreation Area, east of Brighton in Green Oak Township.

At the conclusion of three days of testimony in the case, Burress said Tuesday he would sign an order prohibiting the discharge of "pistols, rifles and shotguns," which will effectively shut down both the rifle range and the privately operated skeet, trap and sporting clay range. The order was expected within the next few days.

"Justice has prevailed," said Jenness Wiegand, the spokeswoman for a citizens' group involved in the case. "The state should be taking responsibility for this whole mess," she added. "This whole range has been an atrocity, between the noise and the lead."

Burress called attorneys for the state "callous, insensitive and arrogant," saying they have no regard for the residents. He also rejected the argument that closing the sporting clay range would cause irreparable economic harm to the private franchisee for the state, saying there had been greater harm to the residents who have had to endure the noise.

DNR spokesman Brad Wurfel could not be reached Tuesday. He has said previously the DNR has attempted to mitigate the noise, including sound-proofing in the form of straw bales and sheds installed at each of the 14 sporting clay stations this summer.

"I'm very happy with the decision, although certainly the other side will probably appeal and we still will be going to trial," said Township Supervisor Mark St. Charles.

Tom Tolen can be reached at ttolen@livingstoncommunitynews.

com or at (810) 844-2009.

 

[jefnvk]

Back where I was, some genius had the bright idea of putting a half-million dollar a home subdivision right behind a gun club that had been there since the 30's. Eventually the homeowners started complaining. Guess what? NOTHING got done. Told they should have made a better decision.

Moral of the story: Don't build your home next to a shooting range, or don;t complain.

 

[psyopspec]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[tc300mag1]

That sucks what i expected from the rich whine mfers that live up there anyways my most hated area to service

 

[Ukraine Train]

Maybe the clubs that use the range there should organize a demonstration to show support for the range. I'd drive down, it's less than an hour away.

 

[Barbara]

One thing that makes it tough in this case is that the range is newer than the houses.

Still, I've been to a zillion meetings/hearings, etc. on this thing and there *is* not a sound problem, there *is* no lead issues. There's a bunch of damn fool anti-gun jackasses who want the range shut down.

I've been to NRC open meetings where one of the women traditionally cries and claims the range is destroying her marriage. This is the same woman who testified that people let their small children crawl around on the ground on the range.

Another claims he can hear the shooting when he's in the shower.

This range is completely bermed and has foam "houses" around each shotgun station.

The problem is that a very small group of people want the range shut down, and thousands have signed a petition to keep it open, and that gun owners have been pretty lax about this. None of you may shoot at this range, but these same arguments are going to be used over and over to shut down ranges you do shoot at unless something is done about it.

 

[rbrowning]

I didn't think that there were any homes very close to the range, afterall it has Kensington Metro Park across the highway to the north and Island Lake state park to the south. Where are these houses that are so disturbed?

I used to live about 1.5 miles from the prison in Jackson and when I was outside I could here them shooting at their range (damn prisioner get ALL of the good accomidations!), but it sounded like someone driving a nail in a board down the block.

 

[erik the bold]

Any one have the text of the noise regulation in question?

 

[jefnvk]

I'm jus tcurious. Were the houses there first, or the range? If its the one I'm thinking about, the houses and people were there first, then they have a legitiment chance to complain, IMHO.

 

[Barbara]

The houses were there first. The ordinance was there first (Erik, I think I have a copy around here somewhere along with the lead analysis report I was given by the Natural Resources Commission from the lead study they commissioned. .I'll dig around this weekend, and send them to whoever wants a copy.

The range protection act doesn't cover this range because the ordinance was in place first. The requirement is that the sound level be 65 db at the fence line. During one sound test, they were unable to get an accurate rating due to leaves rustling.

There are a few other side issues. The local ordinance exempts government agencies. However, at some point during construction, a NRC flunky signed an agreement with the township which he wasn't authorized to sign, apparently.

I've seen these people up close and personal a lot of times..they're extremists and they want the range shut down. They've admitted it..they don't care if the lead issue doesn't exist, they don't care if they wrap the whole place in cotton batting to get rid of the faintest of gun sounds. At one of the NRC meetings I attended on this, Director Garver flat out asked them if all the problems were fixed, would they be satisfied and the answer was no.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

That sucks. I never got there. When Pte. Mouillee closed it was going to be Island Lake for the bunch of us that used to frequent the Point. We actually had plans to start back up this year, but it didn't work out due to health problems with my wife and also with the wife of one of my friends. Guess I'll never see it now.

 

[Barbara]

The range is open through next Wednesday.

Hey, don't give up. It's closed pending the trial, not necessarily permanently. The NRC has been fantastic in support of this range, however, there have been a lot of times I've attended hearings, etc. when I was either the only person supporting the range or one of few, while a dozen of them showed up. With the state budget crunch, the NRC has to think carefully about the expense, and they need to know we believe the range is worth supporting. Let them know, preferably in writing (rather than email) how important the range is. If you know someone who lives in either Green Oak or Brighton Township, have them contact the range and offer to testify.

Giving up isn't an option, because this is the way they're going to take ranges away, through zoning ordinances and environmental laws.

 

[Brian D.]

Back in the late '80s (?) Ohio passed a law to protect existing ranges from the encroachment of new home development. Seems to be working fairly well.

 

[erik the bold]

I think I have a copy around here somewhere along with the lead analysis report I was given by the Natural Resources Commission from the lead study they commissioned. .I'll dig around this weekend, and send them to whoever wants a copy.

I'd really like to see a copy. I've done some research in the past for GM and others on machinery noise and also for MCS for boats on Lake St. Clair. A lot would depend on how the ordinance was written, whether it's 65dB maximum, etc.

Interesting that they couldn't get a reading because the leaves rustle too loud....:banghead:

 

[Blackcloud6]

Has MCRGO gotten invovled? Any NRA help?

Let me know what I can do to help. I live a long ways away but will do what I can.

 

[Barbara]

MUCC has been supportive of the range from the start and local NRA officials are offering their support as well.

 

[Blackcloud6]

MCRGO has refused to be involved despite numerous requests.

Do you have any notion as to why they refuse involvement?

 

[Barbara]

Black, I'm going to remove the reference to them. It's a sore subject with me and there's no way I can take the highroad with that topic.

As far as Island Lake, what really needs to happen is that we need to locate as many pro-gun folks as we can in Brighton and Green Oaks township who are willing to testify in the appeal. The anti-gun folks are a very, very small group, about a dozen, and we have to be able to show that they're in a minority in the population. We can bring in as many people as we want, and go all over offering support for them, in Lansing and in local townships, but I'm not a resident and so my testimony isn't worth as much as someone who lives there.

We also need to show as much support as possible for this range to the Governor and the NRC. The NRC has been supportive of this range from the start, but in a state struggling with deficits, if there isn't sufficient evidence of support, they may decide its not worth the cost.

 

[Barbara]

From Island Lake:

Due to a clerical error (or the Judge needs time to site in his deer rifle) or some other reason, it appears now that the range will be open through Wed. the 17th.

 

[Trebor]

MCRGO hasn't gotten involved for one simple reason. MCRGO is no longer an effective pro-gun organization. Instead, it has become a vehicle for the enrichment of certain private individuals.

 

[Ryder]

Here is some interesting info regarding shooting ranges.

Do Lead Bullets Continue To Be A Hazard After They Land?

- There were 20 million metric tons of lead bullets fired in the United States in the 20th century.

- There are 9,000 nonmilitary shooting ranges and a lot of military ones in the United States.

- Lead metal is unstable when it is in contact with air and water. It corrodes and forms hydrocerrussite, the white coating seen on old bullets in museums. That slows corrosion. Some lead escapes, but it is absorbed in the top few inches of soil and does not migrate beyond that. It does not wash away in surface or ground water.

 

[Barbara]

Erik, I dug around and don't have a copy of the ordinance itself here. I lost the .pdf file of an initial sound study done by Green Oaks township last year in a computer crash last May.

I do have a copy of the sound testing report commissioned by the NRC and a copy of the lead study also commissioned by them.

 

[Jason Demond]

I'd change the name of the club, and open it back up.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Any news on the Island Lake range closure? Did it shut down? Is there a trial date?

Regards.

 

[Barbara]

The AG has filed a request for a stay of the injunction with the Appeals Court..they hope to hear back on that by mid-next week.

Either way, then it comes back to Livingston for trial.