The headquarters office of Washington State Dept of Natural Resources, Commissioner Hilary Franz’s staff, invited me to a meeting in Olympia to discuss a potential partnership with DNR and the Trash No Land organization.  We met yesterday, the 15th.

The focus was on how we could team up on spreading the message of Trash No Land and ultimately cause a positive effect on public lands target shooting state wide. We talked a lot about the members on Trash No Land, the Northwest Firearms .com forum and the WaGuns .org forum and their consistent dedication to the cause.

Trash No Land member Gary J. and I sat down with 5 top officials and had a great casual chat about who we are, what we are focused on, who they are and what their focus is. We are all on the same page! They extend their appreciation to all of you who are behind the cause for responsible shooting and are excited to work with you in each of the forests throughout Washington State! A great group of folks and Gary and I came away with a good feeling of their sincerity and a much better understanding of the challenges they face.

They are very much in favor of improving dispersed shooting sites on public lands (big discussion on that topic). Very much in favor of keeping sites open to recreational shooting (although, there are some places they have had to close because of public safety, nuisance complaints and trash accumulation. All valid reasons and good reminders for us to be diligent on taking care of our shooting places). Very much in favor of working more closely with shooters in the woods and very much in favor of causing a positive difference that results in quality recreation for all who visit our state lands.

Things will start slowly, as we have a lot of work to do and a lot of ground to cover. We will need some help in each of the state forests throughout Washington, so be thinking of adopting a forest and some shooting sites to help out when you can.

 
I’ll keep you updated as we progress. Ultimately, this will be a good thing for preserving our heritage of shooting on public lands. It means a lot to our current and future generations, as well as, the second amendment values we hold tight to.

So chip in and help Trash No Land and WA DNR! Stewardship Keeps It Open!

Thanks All,
Bill Cogley
Pres Trash No Land