HomeMy WebLinkAbout020 JohnsonTo: Jefferson County Planning Commission and BOCC
From: Diane Johnson, 1521 Dabob Rd. Quilcene
Re: Proposed Gun Range Title 18 amendments, ref: ZON18-00036
Date: November 7,2018
Dear Commission Members:
My name is Diane Johnson and I was born and lived in Dabob my first 20 years, and have been a resident and
home owner on the Dabob Road for the last 10 years. I am not opposed to the safe use of guns but am opposed
to the Cedar Hills Recreational Facility.
ln this document, I specifically discuss the detrimental effects of sound, in the form of noise, on the health and
well-being of human beings and how "neighborhood," the concept of "soundscape," and specific buffers are
important in the siting of new gun ranges of any rype to the health and safety of county residents and wildlife
But first, I want to lay out a backdrop for my concern, and provide some science behind why I believe sound, and
noise, in particular, need specific recognition in the ordinance.
PREAMBLE: Revitalization in Jefferson County and throughout America in last 10-20 years has focused on the
rural economy and conservation and revitalization of productive soils, and clean air and water. Locally, I am
involved in the revitalization of Chimacum Grange, and am aware of an increasing cadre of young farmers who
are committed to permaculture and other regenerative farming techniques that seek to work with the land and
nature's cycles of growth and fertility, rather than relying on chemicals, fertilizer or poisons, for nurturing their
crops. "Local food" and "food security," including the sustainability and diversity of local agriculture are BIG
topics in Jefferson County involving many peopl€, €.8., Local2O/2O.
ln addition, former city dwellers, retirees, and veterans have moved to our county in numbers significantly
greater proportion to our census than to other areas, even other rural areas of Washington, according to census
data. Why? To escape the hubbub and the noise of cities and war, valuing both the calm of living in our area's
abundant natural beauty and its peaceful, quiet environment. (There are actually therapies for mental illness
and stress based on contact with both exposure to nature and to extended periods of quiet.)
lntensification of local conservation efforts in the last 20 year has led to creation of County Critical Areas,
Shoreline, and water availability(WRIA) Ordinances and Rules to protect those resources that will only be more
critical as our population grows and problems of pollution and scarcity occur. Our State and County have seen
increasing attempts to guarantee the continued availability of farmland and to protect our water resources, to
the tune of tens of millions of dollars locally. I doubt that more has been expended anywhere locally than in the
Tarboo watershed and Tarboo and Dabob Bays.
Both our local Chimacum Grange #581 and the Tarboo Ridge Coalition (TRC) are committed to preserving as
much of the ruralcharacter and values of Jefferson County as still remain. We believe that Forests, Farms,
Families, and clean water for Fish define the rural Jefferson County Character, not the unrelenting sounds of
military helicopters and gunfire that come from large commercial shooting facilities.
RURAT CHARACIER: What does ruralcharacter mean?
When we think about driving, biking, or walking around Jefferson County, what do we see? Primarily little valleys
with fields, cattle or other grazing animals, acreage with flowers and vegetables, grains or grass, and scattered
houses, all surrounded by trees. Trees and underbrush, including our state flower, the rhododendron (some
might believe it's scotch broom,) line our roadways for hundreds of miles. There are myriad wonderful
seascapes. Essentially, as far as the eye can see, there are fields, water, or trees. A few small villages, quickly
passed through, dot the landscape as well. These are our local viewscaoes.
Our soundscapes are what we can hear. ln most areas of Jefferson County, it is generally quiet. Where I live, you
can hear a coyote howling from at least a mile and a half away, traffic noise like loud trucks, motorcycles, and
sirens, and dogs barking from a mile or more away, and voices, and even sometimes words, from a quarter mile
away. There are occasionally low flying planes and helicopters that sound like they are directly overhead, treetop
level. The sound of gunshots can be heard easily from as far away as two miles. At night, the sounds of cattle
ruminating across the road, frogs croaking in the nearby pond and ditches, and chipmunks raiding the fruit on the
porch can all be heard against the nearly absolute silence.
The ecoscape is defined as the organizational shape or lavout of an ecosvstem. An ecoscape is a
multidimensional landscape of a social-economic-natural complex ecosystem, combining geographical patterns,
hydrological processes, biological vitality, anthropological dynamics and aesthetic contexts. Concepts used in
understanding the ecoscape include: Restoration ecology, Applied ecology, Ecological design, Sustainable
engineering, Ecoscaping, Environmental restoration, Precipitationshed, Conservation agriculture, Sustainable,
Agroforestry, Erosion control, and Nonpoint source pollution, among others (U.S. Natural Resources
Conservation). ln Jefferson County, the most familiar ecoscape designations are our watersheds, including
Tarboo, and regionally, Puget Sound. So, our ecoscape is the soils, water patterns, the diversity and health of
animals and plants, native and othenrvise, the people who live there and their values and health, the beauty, or
lack thereof, of the area, the economy of the area, and all of the impacts from natural and human sources and
activities.
Tarboo Ridge Coalition addresses several of these ecoscape concerns in our requests for amendments and
additions to the proposed regulations governing the siting of gun ranges in Jefferson County.
RELEVANCE OF THE SOUNDSCAPE OF AN AREA TO THE SITING OF GUN RANGES: I propose that the qualities of
the soundscape of an area in which a shooting facility, especially an outdoor facility might be proposed are very
important to the health of the people who are exposed to them. I will discuss scientific research on hearing and
sound generally, and the effects of "noise" on health. Unless otherwise indicated, the information in this section
is drawn from a National lnstitute of Health-funded research article by Westman and Walters,l98L, and can be
found at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.eovlpmc/articles/PMC1568850/ (underlining is mine, for emphasis).
HEARING The fundamental purposes of hearing are to alert and to warn. As a result sound directly evokes
emotions and actions. The auditory orienting response, startle reflex and defensive response translate sound
stimuli into action and sometimes into stress-induced bodily changes through the "fight or flight" neural
mechanisms. Because of its defensive purpose, hearing cannot be turned off, and sound registers in the brain
even during sleep.
The auditory apparatus is connected to the entire central nervous system and the neuroendocrine system as
well. Sound plays a vital role in maintaining arousal of the brain and thereby influences the basic physiological
functioning of the body. The arousal level of the central nervous system depends upon the intensity, complexity,
variability, predictability and meaning of sound stimuli.
The brain first responds to any sound with the orientins response, simply, where and what it is.
The second basic auditory response is the startle reflex which is evoked by sounds of sudden, intense,
or frightening significance. The typical reflex is completed in less than one second. The startle reflex components
involving the lower centers in the brainstem are not subject to habituation, i.e., vou don't get used to it.
The defensive response, number three, does not reouire sounds of hish intensitv. This response is produced by
sounds of sufficient intensitv, significance or duration to be perceived as threatenins, mobilizing the "fight or
flight" reaction. This response can become the stress that leads to the General Adaotation Svndrome with its
alarm, resistance, and exhaustion stages if the sound stressor is of sufficient duration, quantity, and quality.
,VOTSE: The human auditory system was designed to process the frequencies and intensities relevant to survival
in the sound environments of nature. The evolutionary process has not allowed humans enough time to adapt
hearing to sounds generated by loud modern noise sources. This means that the auditory apparatus is not
prepared to cope with commonly encountered urban and industrial noise. Consequently, we find ourselves
exposed to sound environments that overload the auditory system. An analogous situation would occur in the
visual system if we were forced to look at the sun and thereby damage the retina. Noise was identified as a
national hazard by Congress as far back as t972, in the form of the Noise Control Act, and in 1978 in the Quiet
Communities Act.
Noise essentiallv is unwanted sound. As such, subjectively experienced noise is anv sound that produces
annovance orlorn-ln_U_n-ication or task performance interference. The same sound stimulus may be perceived
subjectively as noise by some and not by others. For this reason it is useful to define noise objectively as sound
that produces harmful bodily effects which mav or mav not be subiectivelv perceived. This point is important
because noise can be subjectively or objectively stressful, or both, i.e., can cause harmful arousal and
physiological effects outside one's awareness of those effects.
EFFECTS OF NOISE ON THE BODY AND HEALTH: The damaging effects of noise usually are regarded as limited
to the structures of the ear through impairing one's ability to hear sounds such as speech and music. The fact
that noise has more pervasive phvsiological effects has not received as much attention.
The auditory orienting response, startle reflex and defensive response translate sound stimuli into action and
sometimes into stress-induced bodilv changes through "fight or flight" neural mechanisms. When this
mechanism is activated, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is mobilized with resulting increase in adrenal
cortisol and epinephrine levels.
The first level of damage comes from noise overload, which results from an excess of the number or rate of
sensory or svmbolic stimuli or both. Human experiments have shown the disorganizing and psychotogenic effects
of sensory overload, in the form of heightened and sustained arousal, mood changes, and in the extreme,
illusions, hallucinations, and body image distortions. Low frequenry noises have effects similar to the more
familiar piercing high frequency sounds. Over time, one might manage to adapt to this noise routine, but not
without increases in irritability and loss of effectiveness. lf one becomes resigned to a lack of control over their
noise environment, the resulting "learned helplessness" itself may become a stressor and contribute to additional
symptoms of depression.
lnvestigators found that an individual's abilitv to control the noise source, and even the belief that one could,
reduced the adverse impact. An experimental study of humans performing mental arithmetic problems under
noise exposure found that blood levels of cortisol were significantly higher in persons with no control over the
noise source than in those with control. (This may explain why even a person with PTSD related to artillery fire in
battle is not bothered by his own gun shots while hunting.)
The second level of damage comes with the General Adaptation Syndrome. which is activated by intense and
persistent stressors that produce a specific effect on the adrenal glands, thymus and stomach. Most prominent
of the neuroendocrine reactions are the significantly higher plasma cortisol levels and increased activity of the
sympathetic nervous system, including increased secretion of epinephrine by the adrenal medulla in persons with
no control over the noise source than in those with control. The sustained effects of cortisol may appear in the
form of gastric ulceration, inhibition of immune responses, hypertension, atherosclerosis, sterility and personality
changes.
ln a separate study, Arhlin elaborated the concept of "annoyance." Annoyance can be experienced from the
direct effects of noise, such as loss of hearing or sleep, or interference with task performance or speech, and/or
from the indirect effects of noise, such as blood pressure elevation, headaches, fatigability, anxiety, depression
and accident risk. ln other words, the experience of annovance serves to warn an individual of unpleasant or
harmful environmental conditions, and thus serves a useful survival purpose as one of the variables in responding
to a given sound. He says that annovance is heightened when noise is perceived as unnecessary, when those
responsible for the noise are perceived as unconcerned about the exposed population's welfare, when other
aspects of the environment are disliked, when noise is believed to be harmfulto health, and when noise is
associated with fear. lt can probably be safely inferred, in the light of all the forgoing information, that the more
annoyed a person is, the greaterthe physiological reactions the person will experience.
SUMMARY: The Ordinance adopted by the Jefferson County Commissioners regarding the operating conditions
of shooting ranges in Jefferson County is supposed to protect the safety and health of those who use those
ranges and that of the surrounding community members. The County is essentially rural in nature; the sounds of
the country are more likely to be of a natural origin, animals calling or crashing through the brush , or the wind,
or rain, the sound of waves, an occasional tree branch snapping off, those for which our hearing apparatus was
adapted. lts residents are only intermittently exposed to the kinds of industrial sounds/noises, such as
helicopters, heavy machinery, chain saws, sirens, explosions, banging and clanging, freeway sounds, or even loud
music that residents of more urban environments must endure, either in their jobs or in their surroundings, and
certainly, to the sounds of shooting that mimic war. These types of sound have been declared "noise pollution"
and a national hazard by Congress as early as L972 due to their negative effects on human health.
The sense of hearing is our early warning system, it operates 24/7, and its purpose is to stimulate our bodies to
get ready to defend ourselves or move rapidly away in avoidance.
lf the perceived sound is annoying or upsetting or causes fear, or causes damage to the body, whether or not the
individual is aware of those effects, it is defined as "noise." Noise can be of any magnitude or duration,
therefore, and the degree of upset is determined by its meaning to the individual and the individual's perceived
ability to control the noise.
Noise creates a stress response in the body, which leads to changes in the neuroendocrine system, including the
release of cortisol. lf the noise is extremely loud, unremitting or repeated over a long period of time, or
interferes with task performance or speech, a chronic state of preparedness/stress can occur, eventually even
when the stimulus is not present. Such a state leads to the General Adaptive Syndrome, where the
neuroendocrine system NEVER returns to a calm state. Damage from such system overloads can eventually lead
to medical conditions such as gastric ulceration, immune system disorders, hypertension, atherosclerosis,
sterility, obesity, and personality changes, such as excessive irritability and anger responses.
So. NOISE, as defined as anv unwanted and uncontrollable sound. CAN and DOES cause phvsiological chanees and
ultimatelv. damage. in the human bodv. The effects and their costs may not be, generally are not, immediately
perceivable, but they undoubtedly account for a large percentage of the ever-increasing costs of medical care in
this country. Researchers have also found that healine from the effects of noise can come throush exoosure to
natural environments and sounds. and to total quiet. With respect to gun sounds/noise, one of my friends said it
best: "Most normal people become upset, annoyed, or anxious at the sound of gunfire, and we never get used to
it !"
The compelling reasons for action are the facts that substantial groups of the population are vulnerable to
adverse health effects from noise, that the quality of life is generally eroded by annoyance from noise, that sleep
is disrupted, that productivity is reduced, and that the concentration required to learn is affected by noisy
environments. A significant responsibility rests on the business or industry to actively reduce noise emission at
the source.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE JEFFERSON COUNTY ORDINANCE: First, it is imperative that noise from a
commercial gun range be seen. not only as a "nuisance," but as an extreme kind of the modern, industrial/urban
sound proven to cause emotional and phvsiolosical harm to humans, especially children, and to wildlife. For this
reason, Washington State WAC 173-60-030 and 173-50-050 should be applied. Further, testins for the noise
pattern should be done at maximum utilization and weapon caliber, and with helicopter noise, not with a single
or few random pistol shots.
Given the geography of the area, the sound-carrying capacity of the atmosphere, and the extreme quiet of most
county soundscapes, the distance of one mile for considering residential effects is a joke-the sound of the
average hunting rifle can be heard at one mile. For example, due to the increased intensity at the existing
shootingrange,theSheriffsayscomplaintsarecomingfrommuchfartheraway,2milesormore,inthecity. The
proposed new range at Tarboo, for example, has four communities within two miles, and there is one major
business just over a mile away that would be destroyed by the noise. One mile is not adequate-three miles is a
more realistic radius for consideration of the effects of the far more intense. persistent shgoting of anv shooting
facilitv with unlimited multiple ranges and shooters. helicooter oads. and/or militarv or law enforcement erouo
training. These stipulations need to be made in the ordinance to bring the need for noise mitigation under
control of the operating permit.
The best solution from the point of view of the general public for whom the noise of a shooting facility would
form a feature of their soundscape would be for all gun/shooting ranges to be indoors. I urge you to seriously
consider that option for the future of gun ranges. in Jefferson Countv.
lf outdoor shooting facilities are to be built, the regulations should require the proposing party demonstrate a
clear plan to include sound-mitigating berms of adequate height to direct all or nearly all of the sound waves
upward away from the range, rather than laterally, or other mitigations that would create the same kind of
protections. An even better plan would be to place the facility in a deep ravine at a distance of no less than
three miles from the nearest inhabitants. One local citizen told me he knows of such a place right now that
would meet that criterion. Or perhaps the county could work with DNR to make an appropriate land swap to
facilitate such a solution.
Lastly, local shooting facilities should provide training in firearm operation, care, and safety, as well as personal
self-defense to individuals, including groups of individuals, and hunter safety for children and adults, as well as
providing a safe environment for the practice in and sport of shooting. However, given the greatly increased
intensity of weaponry (calibers)and helicopters, and the increasing density of Jefferson County, I urge you to
prohibit oreanized militarv trainins at shooting facilities in Jefferson County, and that any organized police,
sheriff, or other law enforcement training be limited to local law enforcement, with a prohibition on explosions of
any kind. Since these are brief in duration, i.e., one or two days at a time, and only periodically required, their
impact would be more tolerable to residents.
SOME REFERENCES
Borsky, PN. Review of Community Response to Noise. Proceedings, 3'd lnternational Congress on Noise as a
Public Health Problem. American Speech and Hearing Association, Washington, DC, 1980.
Cameron, P., Robertson, D., and Zaks, J. Sound Pollution, Noise Pollution, and Health: Community parameters.
J. Appl. Psych., 56:67-74 (19721.
Kondo, MC, Jacoby, SF, and South, CS. Does Being Outdoors Reduce Stress? A review of real-time stress
responses to outdoor environments. Health and Place. Vol 51, pp. 135-150,20L8.
Lam, M, MD, MPH, Lam, J, ABAAHP, FMNM, and Lam, C, MD. Silence Therapy: The new wellness approach.,
2017. www.d rLam.com/silence -therapv-the-new-wellness-approach/
Langford, Kate (October L4,2011). "New Study Finds 400,000 Farmers...*
htto ://www.worldaerofo ntre.org/n ewsroom/p ress-releases/n dv-fi nds-400000-fa rmers-
so uthern-africa-usi n e-%82%80%98ferti lizer-trees%E2%80%99-d ra m
Office of Noise Abatement, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D. C. 20460.
Westman, JC and Walters, JR. Noise and Stress: A comprehensive approach. Environmental Health Perspectives.
Vol 41, pp291-309, 1981. https://www. ncbi. nlm. nih.eovlpmc/a rticles/PM C1568850/