Responsible Outdoor Shooter clean up effort

Cogs · Feb 4, 2014

When we clean up shooting sites, why not post a sign to let people know it wasn't cleaned up by the state, county or any other group. It was cleaned up by an organized group of Responsible Outdoor Shooters.

Here's a sign idea;

This site cleaned up by
Responsible Outdoor Shooters
Every shooter responsible to clean up cartridges, targets and trash. Bring your own bags!
www.????????.com

A sign like this sends a message to both shooters and non shooters.
Shooters: We appreciate the freedom to shoot here. We take responsibility to clean up out own mess. We respect the great outdoors.
Non-Shooters: Shooters made the mess and they are doing something about it. Gee, those shooters aren't so bad after all. Now we can't complain about shooters messing up the forest anymore.

I know we already clean up sites, but, perhaps we should let them know who we are and that we're not going to let a few bad apples spoil the pie. We have a good thing going, but, how long will it last if we allow the trash to continue?

I know I would like to have 3 or 4 of these signs, clean a site each time I go shooting and post a sign on the way out. Then order up some more signs.

This should be an organized group effort. We could soon be sending signs all over Oregon and Washington and start making a positive difference that reflects our values and builds credibility.

How do we go about organizing this to rally support, gain participation and raise money for signs? Website? Facebook? New section in Forums at NWFA?

Should this be a new Non-profit organization or team up with an existing one?

Do you think this should go anywhere? If so, let's meet, get organized and see what we can do.

Bill

BDA.45 · Feb 4, 2014

Good Luck!!! You ever posted a sign where people shoot? I have, wanna know what happens? Ill give you 1 guess......

Cogs · Feb 4, 2014

I hear ya. But I'd still post it. That's why I'd want a really cheap sign.

Bill

BDA.45 · Feb 4, 2014

I like your enthusiasm.

erudne · Feb 4, 2014

I have belonged to several 'Civic Groups' that did work in the back woods/wilderness areas, we packed in trout into the same areas, cleared trails, built camp sites and one entire camp ground $100,000 of dollars worth of work (Dozer time, well drilling, road building).
Do not do it for ego strokes, don't do it for a 15 second clip on local news. Don't do it for the shoulder patch or even the tax write-off.
Do it ONLY if you believe what you are doing will, in some way, benefit you.
That way you save the cost of the sign

Cogs · Feb 5, 2014

erudne said:
I have belonged to several 'Civic Groups' that did work in the back woods/wilderness areas, we packed in trout into the same areas, cleared trails, built camp sites and one entire camp ground $100,000 of dollars worth of work (Dozer time, well drilling, road building).
Do not do it for ego strokes, don't do it for a 15 second clip on local news. Don't do it for the shoulder patch or even the tax write-off.
Do it ONLY if you believe what you are doing will, in some way, benefit you.
That way you save the cost of the sign

I'm glad you brought that up because that is an integral part of our primary mission. To keep the focus on why we do this. The sign, and letting people know who did it, is a secondary thing in hopes of building respect and credibility to outdoor shooters.

Reaching further out, would be in hopes that other shooters, who used to walk away from their mess, might feel a little guilty and clean it up when they leave.

As for the forest being a dump site; Well, I don't think we'll be persuading any criminals to stop dumping their furniture, TV's and trash, BUT, we do have eyes and phones and we know how to use them!

Publicity... hummmm... So-so. It might happen someday. Depends on how the group feels about it. All I know is, I don't want to be the spokes person.

Thanks for your post. It's one of the first things to think about.

Bill

Cogs · Feb 10, 2014

Well, it's been a couple of weekends, couple of responses and a couple of PM's. Not enough interest to pursue this idea at this time.

And that's okay.

I appreciate those who responded.

And to those who currently work at cleaning up shooting sites in the woods, THANKS! We all appreciate your efforts.

Bill

NWOREGONMAN · Feb 11, 2014

When I go shoot, I just pack out more than I brought in - every time. Nick

Cogs · Feb 13, 2014

Way to go Nick. Wish everyone would do that.

duane black · Feb 14, 2014

Cogs said:
Well, it's been a couple of weekends, couple of responses and a couple of PM's. Not enough interest to pursue this idea at this time.

And that's okay.

I appreciate those who responded.

And to those who currently work at cleaning up shooting sites in the woods, THANKS! We all appreciate your efforts.

Bill

Bill

I would be happy to help if you ever get this idea off the ground, I believe we can be much more than we are currently at NWF. Don't know much about signs and all that but I can pick up trash and put it into the back of a truck. I also know of a few dump sites ( shooting areas ) that I frequented quite a bit when I had a more capable 4x4 vehicle.

Anyway.. Appreciate your effort.

Cogs · Feb 14, 2014

Thanks, Duane. Perhaps we should shoot the bull about that as we shoot some trash together sometime? I'm about 2 weeks away from an available weekend. I'm looking forward to trying some of my first 270 reloads. My usual shooting site is Larch Mountain, on the Washington side.

Bill

ZA_Survivalist · Feb 14, 2014

Non profit group, clean up every sunday or perhaps 1-2 times a month?

Cogs · Feb 15, 2014

ZA_Survivalist said:
Non profit group, clean up every sunday or perhaps 1-2 times a month?

I did a little checking into how to form a Non-Profit group and it sounds quite involved. Still haven't found an existing group that fits with our line of fire. Sent an e-mail to Clark County Disposal asking for help with disposal fees and haven't heard back yet. I shoot as local as I can to my town and that's Larch Mountain, on the Washington side. It looks like Larch Mountain is managed by WA DNR (Dept of Nat Resources). May be good to contact them as they have resources available to clean up the big items. We should also have their phone number handy to report dumping sites we see.

Actually, I don't think we need much help with garbage disposal fees if we recycle the stuff we pick up. Been thinking about the kind of materials we get and with a little organizing before going out, we could separate as we go. Save up the brass for cash at the salvage yard. Can we recycle shot shells? Recycling most stuff is free.

I'd like to step up to at least once a month clean-up/shoot. I'll do more if we have some group cleanups. Last year it was hard to find available weekends in the summer and fall. Hope this year opens up more.

For now, I plan to skip the sign and trying to organize a larger group. I'll post a clean up, once in a while, to ask for help and I'll join in other peoples efforts.

Thanks, ZA.

Bill