A day of target shooting turns into a cleanup day!!!

Target shooters, who went to shoot in the Mt. Hood National Forest at the 36 Pit, were in for an unexpected surprise on Saturday, July 11, 2020.  There, in the parking lot, was a kiosk booth with information about responsible shooting on public lands.  They were given flyers about the rules for shooting on public lands, the Trash No Land 'Target Shooting On Public Land' brochure, free paper targets, free ear plugs, trash bags and hot coffee.  There were examples of legal type of targets, target stands and an encouragement to bring fire prevention equipment.

All visitors were so inspired, that they shared in the critical goal of protecting and preserving our public lands and our places to shoot, as they chipped in and bagged up trash from the pit when they returned from their shooting fun.

All said and done, they removed 28 bags of trash!!!  Well done shooters!

The Trash No Land "Target Shooter Info Center" was staffed by the TNL board members who also participated in cleaning up some trash.  Our Treasure, Aaron Piazza, took home 5 bags and will personally pay for disposal as his contribution toward preserving our places to shoot.  Thank you Aaron!  Trash No Land paid for the remaining bags at the landfill in Sandy Oregon, (who also gave us an unexpected discount because of our efforts!).

This information center is a Grass Roots effort to save our places to shoot and show our respect for the public land recreational shooting sports.  It was not a scheduled group event and the forest agency was not involved (they didn't even know were were doing it!).  Just a few of us recreating in a slightly different way, hoping to cause a positive change in everyday recreational shooting.  The cleanup just happened to happen, by the visitors who came to shoot, because they felt it was an important and a routine thing we all need to do every time we go shooting.  (I suppose it did help that Trash No Land offered to pay for the disposal if they cleaned some up!).

There is still a lot of trash in the 36 Pit!  We are asking for those who go shooting there to please remove what you can and properly dispose of the trash as your contribution to helping improve recreational shooting.  Thank You!!!

Way to go shooters, one and all!  Such nice people we met today. It was our pleasure and everyone's benefit!

Grass Roots Effort at Mary's Peak Oregon

Spreading the word like a virus!!!! "Be responsible when shooting on public lands. Clean up when done. Respect the forest. Support the shooting sports."

That was our Target Shooter Info Center message today at Mary's Peak, West of Corvallis, OR. Thank you for the help in the booth today, Steve Williams and TNL Board members Tracy and Craig Yon. We talked everything under the sun about guns. Not a whole lot of shooters today but all we met were very supportive.

One Gent passed by and went shooting without visiting us. He wasn't sure what we were or what we were doing there. When he came out, he was packing a 40 gallon trash bag full! We called him over and thanked him for doing that on his own, without our prompting him to do so. He just does it every time he goes shooting. I treated him to 100 rounds of 22 ammo as an appreciation for his stewardship. He then turned around and said "Now that I have more ammo, I'm going back to shoot some more!" When he returned, he had another full bag of trash!

We had a great time visiting with the boys who were sporting the classic rifles! So cool!

Lots of classic sports cars and big Harley's out enjoying our great outdoors! A regular parade!

Nice day all round!

#StewardshipKeepsItOpen, #TrashNoLand, #RespectRecreation!

Mary's Peak Pit parking lot. You must walk to the pit from here.

 

 

Tracy, Craig and Steve talking American values.

Love those great classics! Thanks guys!

Info, rules, trash bags, ear plugs and free coffee!

Rules copied from the BLM and Siuslaw NF websites.

Handouts.

Poking a little fun at this #Pandamnit times!

Example of legal targets and the value of investing in a reusable target stand!

Reminder about carrying Fire Prevention gear this summer. EVERY TIME YOU GO OUT!!!

2 AR's Apart!!!

This happens on a regular day of target shooting...

I went out to go shooting today with a friend at North Fork Wolf Creek Rd dispersed shooting lanes in the Tillamook State Forest. I was a wee bit excited and woke up at 3 AM! Couldn't get back to sleep so got up, packed and left at 4:45. Arrived at 6:15 (it's just a little ways from SW Washington!!!). Only 1 other person there on lane 4. Sweet! Had the whole place to myself!

As I looked around at all the lanes, I got rather depressed at the volume of trash (to me, any trash is too much!). I began to clean up at lane 1.

Soon after, my friend Steve arrived. We are both cleanup kind of guys, (he attends just about every group cleanup event we do!!!), so he started in on lane 2, which was not bad at all. A group of young guys were shooting there and took a break to hear our message of responsible shooting and allowed us to gather up the minor amounts of trash.

We moved up to lane 3 where there were four other people already sharing the lane. We explained we'd like to clean up that lane and they gladly stopped and joined us! We were also able to replace 3 boulders that had been missing for a while (I love the winch on my "new-to-me" truck!!!). I remember Doug's name but can't place the others. Thank you Doug and guys for being such good sports and giving back to the Shooting Sports!

Steve and I thanked them and promised a BBQ lunch when we return from lane 4.

Lane 4 was not bad at all. In fact, we didn't have to do any clean up there because the person shooting there (Tony, I believe his name was), had already taken care of most of it and his friends would help him finish it off. So, all we did at lane 4 was to cover up some graffiti on the jersey barriers. Thank you Tony and crew!

Back to lane 3 and joined the other 4 guys for a group shoot and Polish Sausage Dog BBQ. Very nice morning for the weather and good people to meet and recreate with!

If this had been an official cleanup event, the Ore Dept of Forestry may have helped with the disposal fee, however, I decided Trash No Land would cover the cost this time. We would appreciate any and all donations via the Trash No Land website (Thank you!!!).

20 bags of trash, + a shot up gas tank and a PC computer. Pretty good haul for a half day payback and play!

Thank you Steve! I'll shoot with you anytime!

Bill

#StewardshipKeepsItOpen, #RandomActsOfCleanups, #TrashNoLand

Info Center Kiosk in the Woods

North Fork Wolf Creek Rd, prior to dispersed shooting locations.

Simple and easy to do, yet effective and too the point.  Communication one-on-one with recreational target shooters helps build a spirit of unification toward the critical goal of promoting responsible shooting on public lands.

On Sunday, May 31st, two Trash No Land members set up the Target Shooter Info Center booth and handed out information to over 60 people in 30+ vehicles.  We handed out Oregon State Rules for Target Shooting, our Trash No Land "Target Shooting on Public Land" brochure, trash bags, home printed paper targets, ear plugs and offered up a nice hot cup of coffee.

Info Center with show-n-tell examples of legal targets.

We set up next to the road so people could stay in their vehicle while we handed out the packets, spoke a few brief words and wished them a safe day packed with lots of fun.  Some did, however, prefer to park and come visit.

 

Part of the information and show-n-tell, was to promote fire prevention safety when target shooting.  It's best that people start thinking fire prevention before the fire season.

Min requirement in Fire Season is 1 shovel & 1 gallon water or 1 1/2lb extinguisher.

It was a good way to invest half a day to help further the cause for responsible shooting.

Rules, Info, Trash Bags, Targets and Ear Plugs handed out.

Oregon State rules are not easy to find on the internet.  So we copied/pasted to 1 sheet.

And the coffee was always hot!

We would like to see this happen in forests throughout the Northwest.  Contact us to help you start one in your favorite forest!  info@trashnoland.org

Bill Cogley
CEO/President
Trash No Land

WDFW Shooting Rules Draft-Target Shooting Rules Update

Have you seen this? Comment period is on now till June 10th, 2020.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/wdfw-lands/recreation-planning/rule-development/target-shooting#

These rules are very similar to WA State land rules but with more definition and some added restrictions, mostly dates you can use steel targets at dispersed sites and a steel core bullet restriction. I'm reading more confusion and long, drawn out wording I think could be simplified for better understanding and easier to read.

A few things that are defined and enhanced more than state rules:

Backstop definition, Steel Core restriction, Steel target time restriction, Target placement, Target stands and the expansion of the No Shooting near facilities & structures.

Backstop definition: I see the problem all the time and many shooters don't seem to get the idea of a backstop. They are requiring a minimum of 8 feet high with a sharp incline (in otherwords; not a long gradual slope). The top priority is to stop the bullet from leaving the range area and a long sloping grade could easily skip the bullet up and over an 8 foot mound of dirt. Even a flat surface can skip a bullet over a shorter backstop. So, defining the 8 foot height and slope is a good idea.

Steel Core restriction: Steel makes sparks, so, this restriction was inevitable. It's to further help prevent wildfires.

Steel target time restriction: Again, to prevent wildfires. The East side may become drier sooner than the West site but if you were to have a different start date for each side, it may add more confusion to the already involved set of rules we have to learn. How much longer would it be delayed for the West side? Probably only 1 month because starting July, the West side gets real dry and fires can & do happen in any part of the state. You can shoot steel targets from Oct 1 to May 31. Perhaps look at it as the glass is half full rather than half empty.

Target placement: Within 8 feet of the backstop and must be shooting at the lower half of the backstop. That's new and further defined. That is, however, the proper distance to be placing the target and the proper part of the backstop to be shooting at. Again, stop the skipping bullet in the backstop.

Target stands: Further defining what is not a target stand, such as, power poles, fence posts, car parts, ect...

No shooting near structures & facilities: Just more 'common sense' things to avoid shooting near.

Clays defined: Many people automatically think clays are biodegradable, so, they clarified that.

Consequences: They do point out that failure to remove trash constitutes 'littering'. They go further to to site WA RCW laws that are punishable if found to be in violation of this subsection.
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So, how much can we argue with? It's all common sense and appropriate guidelines we already know (or should know) and it better clarifies specific areas that are commonly misunderstood or misinterpreted.

I don't see a need for outrage and anger over these improvements. It's not like they are restricting or trying to restrict our rights. They are trying to provide public safety and fire prevention. It's stuff we should already be doing. If we are to share the land with each other, and with other recreation users, we must make safety and fire prevention our top priority.

Bill

March Member Drawing Results

Member Drawing Results​

The winner of the Protector Level Membership goes to Charles S. of SW Portland. Congrats! He will receive the Glock Survival Knife and a HatPoint Target Stand.

There were no winners in the Ambassador or Knight Levels because we do not have members at those levels yet. We offer the annual drawing to members of the Ambassador, Protector and Knight levels.

This is the first year we've done annual member drawings and is also the first year we've offered supporting membership. We were not very aggressive last year about seeking new members but plan to do more this year. (most members are the free Watchman level, several at Soldier level and a few at the Journeyman level). When the world gets back to normal we'll do a membership drive.

Link to membership page prize drawing results: http://trashnoland.org/membershipindividual.html

I hope all is well with you and your families. Hunker down and be safe till this blows over!

Bill Cogley

Help needed in the forest...

-YOUR HELP IS NEEDED-
.........In the Forest!...........​

Clubs, groups, agencies and organizations have cancelled and/or delayed their regular spring cleanup events in the forests, as they participate in doing their part to help lessen the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus. Trash No Land has also done the same.

This means the existing trash will remain in the forest for quite some time if no one comes to the rescue.

As the forest is a virus free environment and recreation is a perfect stress reliever, we expect public visitation to the forest will increase this spring as families seek to break the monotony of being cooped up at home. Your help to remove trash from our public land forests is greatly needed and very much appreciated by all.

Here's how you can help, have fun, do good and still maintain social distancing;

• Pick your favorite forest.
• Plan for a day of adventure to do something good with the whole family.
• Take trash bags, gloves, pickers and pack a lunch.
• Find and remove trash from your forest.
• Take photos of your stewardship deeds and adventure.
• Gladly pay for the disposal of your trash and consider it your donation for the benefit of a healthy forest.
• Send photos to Trash No Land and tell us what forest you were in: volunteer@trashnoland.org or post to the comments below.
• Trash No Land will then forward your photos and good deeds to the forest officials and to our social media.

Commit Random Acts Of Cleanups! Everyone will appreciate your contribution! The forest will too!

#RandomActsOfCleanups, #StewardshipKeepsItOpen, #TrashNoLand

Thanks all,

Bill