Forest Service Shooting Range AGAIN!

[JohnJacobH]

See? Mr Bane?  They never, ever, ever, give up. Really.


http://www.gazette.com/articles/range_25134___article.html/shooting_lead.html


Fair use excerpt:

Lead at shooting range firing up concerns
By EMILY VOIGT
July 23, 2007 - 12:07AM
Rampart Range Road ascends above Garden of the Gods into Pike National Forest, eventually reaching a stretch of mountain that appears to be strewn with confetti.

A shredded teddy bear lies on the ground.

But this is no place for kids.

It’s Rampart Range Road Shooting Range — the only public shooting range in El Paso County — littered with colorful shotgun shells, spent metal cartridges, and makeshift targets, such as the teddy bear.

The site has long been criticized as an eyesore and a safety hazard. In recent months, however, the Forest Service, which runs Rampart Range, has turned its attention to a new concern: lead.

Improperly maintained shooting ranges — where lead shot and bullets accumulate unchecked — have been known to contaminate water sources and poison wildlife, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Such pollution, however, is most commonly associated with sites close to open water or wetlands.

Rampart Range, opened in 1990, is not in such a position — but does lie above Williams
Canyon, which feeds the aquifer responsible for the springs in Manitou Springs.

In June, Dave Wolverton, president of the town’s Mineral Springs Foundation, wrote a letter of concern to District Ranger Brent Botts, suggesting that lead from the shooting range could be leaching into the groundwater.

In response, Botts organized a team of scientists who began evaluating the site Friday, sampling water for testing from Williams Creek at the base of the canyon.

[Overload]

The NRA inspects ranges?  And issues reports?

So, what were the results of the lead tests?  Oh, he wasn't worried.  Nevermind then.

I've read the plaques at each of the springs in Colorado Springs, and they all have lead and other metals and minerals.  After all, Leadville is to the west where they mine LEAD.  Not too surprising there's lead east of there too.

So, bottom line, the title is a lie as lead isn't a concern, but traffic from hikers and bikers might be, at some point in the future.

Huh?