HomeMy WebLinkAbout35 MooreLester A. Moore
194 Foxfield Drive
Port Townsend, WA 98368
November 5, 2019
Jefferson County Board of Commissioners
1820 Jefferson Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Dear Commissioners:
i M.
JEFFERSON COUNTY OCD
In the interest of public safety and environmental stewardship I urge the Planning
Commission to craft ordinances that support and encourage the continued operation of
the Jefferson County Sportsmen's Association (JCSA) shooting range in Port Townsend.
I am very concerned that new ordinance language will make it realistically impossible to
operate a shooting range in Jefferson County due to unnecessary, excessive and cost -
prohibitive setbacks, noise barriers and other requirements.
The JCSA range is crucial to public safety as the only facility in the area offering hands-
on training for safe and responsible firearm use. The range's frequent and affordable
classes and certifications impart essential safety and shooting skills to local gun owners.
Well-trained, conscientious and safe gun owners are good for Jefferson County and good
for local communities.
The JCSA range also makes Jefferson County safer, cleaner and quieter by concentrating
shooting within a single, controlled area under strict range rules and a range master. The
JCSA range has an impeccable safety record over decades of use. The range is also a
good steward of the environment by managing trash and shooting targets, reducing
shooting noise on nearby sensitive wilderness lands, and by controlling and periodically
removing metal contamination.
Without the JCSA range, more gun owners will use unofficial shooting sites in the nearby
National Forrest. Such unofficial sites lack the safety rules, environmental safeguards and
physical safety barriers found at the JCSA range. Trash and the remains of hazardous
target materials are common problems at unofficial shooting sites. Such sites have no
control and no removal of heavy metal contamination. National Forrest sites disperse
shooting risks, contamination and noise over a large area of public land that is popular
with hikers, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Local National Forrest areas are also
populated by sensitive wildlife and serve as a source for community drinking water. The
safe, clean and contained shooting environment provided by the JCSA range is good for
the environment, good for wildlife, good for our water supply and good for local
communities and outdoor recreationists.
The JCSA range is a benefit to Jefferson County's safety and the environment. I
encourage the Planning Commission to recognize these benefits and to write ordinances
Jefferson County Board of Commissioners
November 5, 2019
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that help to keep the range open, affordable and accessible in its present configuration
and with its present setbacks, barriers and hours of operation.
More stringent guidelines for the JCSA range that make operating and affording the
range prohibitive will most certainly result in an increased environmental toxic burden in
Jefferson County's watershed areas and noise in our pristine wilderness areas.
Regardless of one's views on guns or gun rights, we all want safer and better trained gun
owners in our local communities. And we all want gun rights to be exercised in the safest
and most environmentally conscious manner possible, all of which the JCSA range
makes possible.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Lester A. Moore