GREENWATER, Wash. -- The U.S. Forest Service has banned shooting at a popular target-practice site near Greenwater after years of complaints.
Snoqualmie district ranger Martie Schramm says the amount of trash left behind, amount of destruction to the natural environment and overall public safety concern led to the closure.
The Seattle Times reports the emergency ban, which began July 2, will prohibit shooting for one year at the site which is a logged hillside in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Waguns.org co-owner Dan Solie says he understands trash concerns but said he didn't understand how closing the site would help or why the Forest Service would take that action now.
The temporary ban could precede wider changes to recreational shooting in the Greenwater area and along Highway 410 as the ranger district examines how people recreate in the forest.