You know what’s harder than getting volunteers out on a rainy day? Getting volunteers out on the first warm, sunny day of spring. But even with what felt like the first warm day since October, we had nearly 30 volunteers join Montana BHA on April 29, 2023 as we cleaned up the unauthorized shooting area near Logan again this year. This is the second consecutive year that we’ve been out there, and upon initial inspection, the area didn’t look nearly as rough as last year.
We found out that other good folks had been out earlier this spring picking up large targets, pallets and what have you that some “shooters” leave behind. Still, we managed to gather up even more garbage than last year, nearly 800 pounds more, putting us close to 3,200 pounds. The scary thing is that we could probably pick up that much in bullet casings, shotgun hulls and shells, clay pigeons and general trash every day for the foreseeable future.
Kara Huyser, Bozeman Unit Manager with Montana DNRC and Adam Pankratz, Warden Captain with Montana FWP joined us to share some information, plus they rolled up their sleeves and helped pick up trash. They also informed us that this area of DNRC was closed to shooting from mid-April to mid-June, giving the land lessee a chance to do general work and get their livestock on the grounds. Even with the closure, people are still using the area for shooting, which may have further implication down the road.
Over a fantastic lunch cooked by Chef Jaime Teigen and her husband Caleb we got a chance to enjoy the sunshine, bask in the hard work we’d accomplished and talk about the upcoming seasons. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped clean up our public lands and try to ensure these lands remain open and accessible to us as hunters and recreators.
About Chris McCarthy
The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.