For Warren Bates, living at the Mt. Hood RV Village should be idyllic, with its
quiet, forested setting. But all too often, the sound of gunfire and explosives
echo through the community, travelling down from Miller Quarry, land held by
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

“You cannot believe the noise in the summertime,” Bates said, noting how it
goes from early in the morning until after dark.

And while the winter season should bring a downturn in the amount of
gunfire, Bates noted that the weekend before Thanksgiving, two large
explosions were set off at night, likely people detonating tannerite, an
explosive that is legal to possess but not permitted on federal land.

Bates has started an effort to try and improve the situation, holding a
community meeting with four representatives from BLM on Oct. 26 featuring
approximately 40 community members, with a follow up meeting likely to
take place in December or early January. The issues, he notes, go beyond
noise, with contamination of the quarry due to gun residue, litter and refuse
used as targets and the safety of people in the area, both nearby residents
and other users of the land, also priorities.

“Anybody could get hit with a bullet,” Bates said, adding that bullet holes have
been found in a car and a carport at the Village in the past. “When you add all
these things in, the simplest thing to do is to close down the range. It’s way
too close to populated areas.”

Chris Papen, BLM’s Acting Field Manager for the Cascades Field Office,
attended the Oct. 26 meeting and acknowledged the problem, but noted that
finding a solution is a “long road.” Target shooting on federal land is legal, and
Papen noted that with a lack of places for people to shoot guns, Miller Quarry
is a logical destination.

Papen noted that the BLM also has safety concerns at the site, with
contractors working near the quarry last year performing restoration work on
the Salmon River, not to mention anglers, hikers and other outdoor
enthusiasts trying to enjoy the area.

“This really came to rise with us with just the safety of the public and our own
employees working down by the river,” said Papen, who has worked with the
BLM for 27 years.

He added that the BLM added a “flip” sign near the entrance to the quarry
warning potential target shooters of BLM contractors working in the area,
which helped during the week this summer, but also noted that it’s “not
working in there” now.

There are restrictions on shooting on federal land, including at least a quarter
mile from a residence or recreational area and no shooting from public roads,
while shooting etiquette dictates a safe backstop and for shooters to know
their target.

“We expect people to uphold not just federal laws, but state and local
policies,” Papen added.

Terry Bennett, the host at the Douglas Ridge Rifle Club in Eagle Creek, told
the Mountain Times that the Miller Quarry has a bad reputation with club
members, including people shooting in different directions, waving gun barrels
“all over the place” and shooting up old refrigerators and other garbage.
“It’s scary up there,” said Bennett, who has been host for eight years but has
not been to the quarry himself. “They just don’t feel safe.”

Bennett noted that the problem is not limited to the quarry, as he participated
in a cleanup effort on U.S. Forest Service land last year in an area decimated
by target shooters, including trees shot in half.

“That’s as bad as I’ve ever seen,” Bennett said. “You could see where they’d
been standing, and they were shooting off the mountain.

“The thing is, there’s no regulation,” he added. “Common sense isn’t
common.”

Bennett noted that the club, which opened in 1969 and features a variety of
shooting areas on 130 acres, is “tight on safety,” and offers a variety of safety
classes open to non-members, including public “site-in” days, youth training
and ladies nights. He added that as a child, he sometimes shot at gravel pits,
but that the unwritten rule was to “take home more than you brought.”

Papen credited Bates and the community for the self-started movement to
address the issues, noting that the BLM will put an emphasis on the area with
its law enforcement officers.

“The key is we want to work with them and we want to listen to them,” he
said. “We’re certainly in it for the long run.”

Bates and other members of the community now keep a log of gunfire they
hear from the quarry, including dates and times. But Bates also hopes to see
limits on the types of guns allowed at the quarry and target shooting limited
to certain hours of the day.

He added that he believes the gun noise has a negative impact on business at
the Village, including seeing diminished rentals.

“In the larger sense, it’s BLM’s responsibility,” Bates said. “If they're going to
have the gun range, it has to be monitored.”