Gun range expansion draws fire in Idaho

Opponents of an expanded shooting range at Farragut State Park hope a judge will decide sometime next month whether the state can proceed with the plan.

Until then, tough words will continue to fly.

On Thursday, representatives of the Bayview-based Citizens Against Range Expansion took their case to a lunchtime meeting of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance in Coeur d’Alene.

Opponents described the proposed expansion as a “boondoggle” and “runaway government juggernaut,” while the state official in charge of the plan sat listening quietly with his arms crossed.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department hopes to modernize and expand the former military shooting range. The $3.6 million expansion, which is expected to be financed primarily through grants, is needed to make the facility safer and accommodate the region’s growing population, said Dave Leptich, regional biologist for the agency.

Leptich said earthen berms and specialized shooting sheds could reduce peak noise levels at the range, despite the presence of more shooters. Although there’s still time for additional citizen input on the changes, the state is not willing to scuttle the plan, Leptich said.

“We want to be good neighbors, but we’re not going to turn tail and run,” Leptich said. “There’s too much support for this project.”

The 15 nearby residents who are suing to stop the project worry that monthly use could jump from about 200 shooters to thousands. Not only does an expanded shooting range violate the property’s deed – the federal government gave the land to the state after World War II and said it must be used for wildlife conservation – but an expanded shooting range would also decrease surrounding property values and interfere with residents’ “comfortable enjoyment of life and property,” according to the lawsuit filed in Kootenai County District Court.

The expanded range would also be “noxious and disturbing” to an estimated 150,000 people who use neighboring Farragut State Park each year, according to the suit.

The residents are asking for the expansion plans to be dropped and the number of shooters at the current range strictly limited.

The state used electronic devices to measure sound from the site, but results from the tests did not sit well with many in Bayview, a community with an unusually keen knowledge of all things regarding noise. The town is home to a U.S. Navy acoustical research lab. One of the acoustical engineers at the facility, Duane Nightengale, now works as a consultant for the anti-range expansion group.

In April, Nightengale measured sound levels from nearby properties and discovered at least four of them would experience noise above Kootenai County’s industrial noise limit of 83 decibels, roughly equivalent to standing a few feet from a running lawnmower.

Leptich said the plan has been reviewed by the federal government and is in compliance with the deed.