I apologize for the long post.
For any shooters in the Middlebury, Vermont area who use a gravel pit in the town of Ripton on National Forest lands known as Spark’s Pit, please read on. The US Forest Service is contemplating closing the access road to the gravel pit. At this time there is no proposal to close the pit to shooting only to close the road to motorized vehicle use. This would mean that shooters could not drive in to the gate at the pit entrance but would have to walk in.
The reason given for closing the road is to eliminate an illegal dumping problem. The access road is secluded and is a place where some have dumped appliances, construction debris, and other items. The Forest Service complains about the cost of removing this trash. Apparently, the maintenance of this road is not an issue. Some of the shooters who use the pit do leave trash behind (target material, shot shells, brass, cans, etc.) but this is not the real focus of the closure proposal.
There will be an open house to gather public input on January 6, 2007 at the Ripton Elementary School, Ripton, Vermont. The scheduled time is from 10 AM to 1:30 PM.
Background: The Green Mountain National Forest is starting upon an integrated resource project known as the Natural Turnpike Project. The main focus of the planning project is to develop timber harvesting options, wildlife habitat and fisheries habitat projects, and solve some recreation user conflicts. One of the aspects of this large area plan is a proposal to close off some of the small roads in the area.
One of these small roads would affect access to Spark’s Pit. The road is approximately 200 yards from the beginning to the gate at the pit opening. (This is a guess based upon memory of the site.) The pit itself allows for shooting distances in excess of 100 yards. That kind of open distance is rare in this part of Vermont.
On occasion, a visiting shooter can see that the side of the access road has been used as a dumping area. A bigger concern to all shooters should be the amount of junk that some of users have left behind. There is no excuse for leaving the shot up remains of target objects to litter the area. We know that the Forest Service has been waging a campaign against shooting on public lands in other parts of the nation. It would be a loss to local shooters if access to this site were made more difficult or if the site was closed to shooting.
There have been a few complaints about noise from an owner of nearby private land. Some folks around the area do know how to work the system so they could turn a small grievance into an action for a complete shutdown on shooting once any proposal for the pit site comes up.
As shooters who use this site we can: (1) show up at the open house and give our opinions, and (2) actively work to keep the range clean when other inconsiderate users leave junk behind.
For any shooters in the Middlebury, Vermont area who use a gravel pit in the town of Ripton on National Forest lands known as Spark’s Pit, please read on. The US Forest Service is contemplating closing the access road to the gravel pit. At this time there is no proposal to close the pit to shooting only to close the road to motorized vehicle use. This would mean that shooters could not drive in to the gate at the pit entrance but would have to walk in.
The reason given for closing the road is to eliminate an illegal dumping problem. The access road is secluded and is a place where some have dumped appliances, construction debris, and other items. The Forest Service complains about the cost of removing this trash. Apparently, the maintenance of this road is not an issue. Some of the shooters who use the pit do leave trash behind (target material, shot shells, brass, cans, etc.) but this is not the real focus of the closure proposal.
There will be an open house to gather public input on January 6, 2007 at the Ripton Elementary School, Ripton, Vermont. The scheduled time is from 10 AM to 1:30 PM.
Background: The Green Mountain National Forest is starting upon an integrated resource project known as the Natural Turnpike Project. The main focus of the planning project is to develop timber harvesting options, wildlife habitat and fisheries habitat projects, and solve some recreation user conflicts. One of the aspects of this large area plan is a proposal to close off some of the small roads in the area.
One of these small roads would affect access to Spark’s Pit. The road is approximately 200 yards from the beginning to the gate at the pit opening. (This is a guess based upon memory of the site.) The pit itself allows for shooting distances in excess of 100 yards. That kind of open distance is rare in this part of Vermont.
On occasion, a visiting shooter can see that the side of the access road has been used as a dumping area. A bigger concern to all shooters should be the amount of junk that some of users have left behind. There is no excuse for leaving the shot up remains of target objects to litter the area. We know that the Forest Service has been waging a campaign against shooting on public lands in other parts of the nation. It would be a loss to local shooters if access to this site were made more difficult or if the site was closed to shooting.
There have been a few complaints about noise from an owner of nearby private land. Some folks around the area do know how to work the system so they could turn a small grievance into an action for a complete shutdown on shooting once any proposal for the pit site comes up.
As shooters who use this site we can: (1) show up at the open house and give our opinions, and (2) actively work to keep the range clean when other inconsiderate users leave junk behind.
