Animal carcasses, trash, vandalism, theft plague Ogden Valley gun range
Jake Robinson, left, and Lonell Burton stand in the parking lot of the Weber Wildlife Federation gun range Monday, April 11, 2016, in Eden. Both men are on the board for the nonprofit and have dealt with large amounts of trash and dead animals left on and around the range.
The Weber Wildlife Federation's rifle and pistol range north of Liberty has been suffering increased vandalism, theft and illegal dumping.
Bullet holes pepper the sides of a dumpster Monday, April 11, 2016, at the Weber Wildlife Federation gun range in Eden. Holes have also been found in the surrounding signs and a nearby porta-potty.
A soda can punctured by bullet holes sits on top of a target frame Monday, April 11, 2016, at the Weber Wildlife Federation gun range in Eden. Computers, TV sets and even a water heater have been hauled up and left at the nonprofit range.
LIBERTY — Jake Robinson found nine animal carcasses dumped on the nonprofit Weber Wildlife Federation’s shooting range, only the latest indignity inflicted upon the volunteers who maintain the area.
The remains looked to be canine, said Robinson, 79, of Warren, a board member who tries to keep an eye on the popular rifle and pistol range, just off the Avon Road north of Liberty.
“I wondered if they’re from a dog-fighting ring and those are the losers,” Robinson said.
Discarded animal carcasses are a new addition to the flood of trash, junk, theft and vandalism that increasingly has plagued the range, whose use has grown due to population growth, increased rates of gun ownership and a relative dearth of other ranges in the region.
Elwood Powell of South Ogden, the federation’s 73-year-old president, said he and his colleagues are exasperated by the problems and are looking for ways to increase security.
The range is open to the public. Annual memberships are $15, and if someone is there shooting without having paid, they’re charged a $20 on-the-spot membership “or we call the sheriff,” Powell said.
Powell has been active for decades in shooting sports. He recently retired as president of the Utah State Rifle and Pistol Association and is the University of Utah’s head pistol coach.
“This is the first time we’ve had dead animals stacked around there,” Powell said, adding the biggest problem is a rising tide of heavy junk, such as old tires, plus all manner of everyday trash.
“People are just being pigs,” he said.
Twice a year the federation rents a large dumpster “and we fill it to the brim as high as it will go.”
At $1,000 per rental, the trash cleanup is an expense the group would rather be applying to range improvements. The 300-yard range has 11 firing points. August through October, leading into hunting season, the range is full almost all day, seven days a week, Powell said. They’re planning to add a .22 caliber pistol range to alleviate pressure on the rifle range.
Shot-up signage and torn-down fence posts and barbed wire also are part of the toll, Robinson said.
“For every 99 good people there’s one jackass who ruins it for everybody,” Powell said, noting that a Centerville gun range in March had the lock shot off of a target storage box.
At the Avon range, he said thieves used a four-wheel-drive vehicle to tear steel target stands the volunteers thought they had anchored securely in the Ogden Valley earth.
SARAH WELLIVER/Standard-Examiner
Heath Johnson looks around for brass after shooting with brother Seth Johnson, left, at the Weber Wildlife Federation gun range in Eden. The pair have been coming up to the range since they were kids with their father, who recently passed away. “I live in Davis County and I still come out here,” Heath Johnson said, “??People leaving their junk up here, it’??s annoying.”
“We’ll try again and this time use four or five yards of concrete,” he said.
The caretakers now are more often locking the range gate overnight, “and our thoughts are that in the future we’ll probably have to have a range officer the whole time we’re open.”
Some illegal dumpers have been caught and “judges have whacked them with a hefty fine, but that doesn’t stop some of these idiots,” Powell said.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources investigated the report of dumped canine carcasses. Dominick Barratt, a state wildlife officer, said they appeared to be red foxes.
Red foxes — bane of many a chicken coop in northern Utah — are classed as protected wildlife; however, they can be killed year-round with no license required, Barratt said.
“It’s not that concerning for us,” he said. “People will trap, gut or otherwise kill red foxes. The only crime we may have here was that there was illegal dumping.”
Properly disposing of animal carcasses is a courtesy to the public and a reduction of hassle for wildlife officers, Barratt said.
“The majority of our calls are that anything dead is poached, but that’s not the case,” he said. “The vast majority are not.”
Robinson said he would like more cleanup and enforcement support for the range, which had about 5,000 paying users in 2015.
“I can’t deal with it alone up there and I need some help,” he said.
You can reach reporter Mark Shenefelt at mshenefelt@standard.net or 801 625-4224.