My rant/letter to the Herald
Dear Scott,
You Wrote "Most of the people are good people who love
to shoot, but they don't have a place to do it,"
Castillo said. "But it's a no-shooting zone, and even
if they're not contributing to the problem, they are
part of it." And, "The area is a hotspot for trash
dumping and abandoned cars. Many of the objects left
there become targets.
Shotgun shells, bullet casings, exploded propane tanks
and empty beer cans litter the pullouts and clearings
along the road. Paint still covers the ground where
Castillo found two men shooting one-gallon paint cans
two weeks ago."
In reading your article of 21 Mar RE: Deputies target
illegal shooting
I have a few observations, comments and a rant or two.
Yes there IS a problem with items dumped and a few
irresponsible shooters making us ALL look bad. I've
lived in Sultan since 1990, I shoot approx 6000-8000
rounds per year MOSTLY at pits up on the Sultan Basin
Road. ( due to there NOT being many other places to
shoot) In that time I've seen it go from a decent
place to be to one that is rather disgusting in some
areas and dangerous in others.
THAT said however, there are a few point that NEED to
be made. I think that Mr Castillo is NOT seeing the
whole issue...just the part he can make noise with.
Every time the transfer station rates go up OR items
are refused (think refrigerators or anything with
refrigerant in it), those items then appear in the
woods. The county council has seemed to miss this
hard correlation of cause and effect. The dumping
rates
keep going up and more and more items are refused for
whatever reasons. There seems to be a disconnect
between the APPARENT cost recovery of higher rates and
the higher rates of out-of-site cleanup..which is MUCH
more costly than taking the materials in at the
transfer stations in the first place.
It is nearly IMPOSSIBLE for a private citizen to get
any action when a dumper is CAUGHT. Whole rolls of
photos with clear facial shots, the license number of
the vehicle AND the bags IN THE AIR are greeted by law
enforcement (that would be Mr Castillo) and DNR with a
" Oh well" attitude. I
personally have about given up trying to make a
difference due to the VAST indifference of law
enforcement and DNR. Even Department of Fish and
Wildlife just yawns at the report and photos of a
vehicle upside down and leaking oil in a "salmon
stream".
These are the same folks raising a stink about the
items being dumped, yet seem unwilling to ACT to catch
the dumpers and stop the dumping.
The County has long had a plan (rough form) for a
shooting sports park in the Sultan Basin area for the
use of recreational shooters and law enforcement
training (as noted in your article). However there
never seems to be FUNDING for this. Even though the
Parks and Recreation folks can find moneys to build
yurts, trails and picnic shelters. In the meantime
the county has actively participated in the closure of
several formal ranges, the closure of several informal
shooting areas and the driving to eliminate shooting
sports in general. There seems to be much money for
bird watching trails, river front land aquisitions,
river front park development and beaches with
access....but not for a shooting park.
Maybe if the Law Enforcement community were NOT
exempted from the restrictions that are placed on the
rest of the shooters then they might be a tad more
sympathetic.
I do believe that there is room for everyone. The
knee-jerk reaction of banning shooting will NOT solve
the DUMPING problems.
The closure of this area simply moves the shooting to
another spot, perhaps one less accessible and less
easily policed. I believe that a safe spot for
shooting sports can be made, I know that several of
the best ones, with SAFE backstops, clear downrange
areas and good access have been closed off due to
garbage dumping.
I know that speaking for myself, I take out FAR more
than I bring in, I clear ALL of my targets and police
my brass....even .22s. I take a garbage can at least
once a month and fill it with the leavings of others.
I HIGHLY doubt that the shooters are the ones leaving
bags of dirty diapers in a broken down refrigerator at
the side of the road. The county needs to re-examine
the solid waste policies, Law enforcement needs to
take a proactive stance, the DNR needs to be more
active in responding to dumping reports instead of
passing the buck.
I dont like being tarred with the same brush as a few
irresponsible folks. I've hunted, fished and hiked
DNR, state and federal lands and forestry company
lands for my entire life. I leave footprints, I take
legal game and photos and I haul out much more than I
came in with.
As a responsible shooter, I am a Department of Fish
and Wildlife Hunter Education instructor ( that is
volunteer position to boot), an NRA certified Rifle
and
Pistol instructor and an active hunter and
recreational shooter.
I see a total lack of education
in our schools and communities, which leads to
ignorant attitudes and actions in our communities and
on our lands. This needs to change. Education is the
starting point of knowledge, which leads to wisdom.
Sincerely,
Aaron Everett
