State closes another Whatcom County shooting range. Here’s why they did it.
State officials are closing another shooting range in rural Whatcom County because of pollution, litter and unsafe firearms use.
In a statement issued Friday, the state Department of Natural Resources said that shooting will stop May 1 at informal shooting locations off Mosquito Lake Road, at the end of a road in the Van Zandt Dike area east of Highway 9. A gate will be installed, closing the road to cars and trucks, DNR said.
Shooters have been using targets without backstops, sending bullets toward homes in Acme Valley. They’ve also been shooting at live trees and leaving spent shell casings behind.
“Reports also indicate continued vandalism in the area, including trash dumping, timber theft and illegal camping,” the DNR statement said.
Last year, DNR closed a rock pit northeast of Deming that had been used for target shooting when excessive levels of lead were found in the soil.
Lead contamination and other issues led to the closure of the Plantation Rifle Range, an indoor/outdoor target facility run by Whatcom County.
Shooting is allowed on public lands if certain rules are met, DNR spokeswoman Courtney James told The Bellingham Herald.
“If it’s not posted and they’re following the rules, they’re technically allowed to be able to shoot,” James said in a phone interview. Those rules are listed in Washington Administrative Code 332-52-145, which covers firearms and target shooting.
State officials hope to open the road for the 2024 fall hunting season, the DNR statement said.
