Orosco Ridge Cleanup cancelled

[CmpsdNoMore]

According to the letter JK4three quoted:

"Orosco will be open for shooting this Saturday."

[loather]

I can see where this one is going. Thanks to all the inconsiderate people who left their trash out there, we'll very likely lose one of the last public shooting areas in san diego now.

This makes it all the more important for those of us who *do* go out there on even an infrequent basis to bring home more trash than we came with. The inconsiderate asshats will always be there, but the more responsible of us need to pick up the slack trash for those who are too lazy to do so.

As an added bonus, you drive *right past* the Ramona landfill on the way in/out. Convenient, innit? Consider the $30 you spend to dump a load of shooting range waste a usage fee for the area. Even if everyone with a truck did this *once* per season, it'd be a whole lot better off.

And for all you who leave your trash out there (and you know who you are):

CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES, YOU SLOBS.

</rant>

*sigh*

[rumblebee]

Yeah....this is the line that's going to kill this place-

Further, I want you all to know that the Forest Service goes into this management review with no bias towards or against the use of the area for shooting.

You know damn well, it's going to play a part in the outcome..

[littlejohn97]

Based on the Ranger's verbiage, it sounds as if she has a good feeling about us taking on the cleanup. She's in the ol' Government bind. If she lets us go out there and someone (remember, this is Kalifornia) decides to sue over the OSHA violation, her head and position on the ladder of success may suffer. I wouldn't tell her to do something with such repercussions.

But it does sound like she isn't against us. And, in the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to haul something out every time we go in.

John

[Jk4Three]

Littlejohn -

I had a conversation with the Ranger and I posted her cancelation notice. I think her action to cancel the cleanup was unwarrented. There have been many successful cleanups, including Orosco in the past, and she alone decided to cancel with less than a week to go. She said she could have issued a warning and had us sign a waver, but decided against this. So, we as adults, were not given the option.

Additionally she said Orosco will be reviewed, likely in January, for an expensive contracted cleanup (her words) including bringing in topsoil to cover the existing soil and maybe a pay to shoot set up like San Bernadino. To me this more likely means closure.

Bottom line, we could have made a difference, yet we were not give the chance, by one persons decision (Kalifornia style). Read any motive here? Anyone want to debate the chance of lead poisoning from a one day cleanup - damn near zero for an adult.

Call, write and complain.

[taloft]

Wow, was somebody advocating doing lead reclamation during the cleanup? I find the language of this letter somewhat troubling. Once they determine that they need to "Manage" the area better, then they can say they don't have the budget to do so. Since they can't afford the manpower, the only alternative will be to close the site. Doesn't look good from my point of view.

[Czechsix]

My feeling is that Orosco is basically done within the next year.

It definitely wasn't a place I go to shoot, only went once and that was enough for me - but as it's still one of the few open areas available here, it'll be a shame to lose it.

[Purple K]

Us Calgunners can be a resourceful lot as seen by the AB585/SB962 efforts. This should be no different. I have access to dust masks, respirators, tyvek suits, etc. I'm sure that there are others on this forum that have the same or simular resources and training. We can make this happen with the right planning. Lead particulates aren't particularly small and are easily protected against.

[scoutsniper687]

Im stil going......to shoot....and ill pick up some trash by my own free will.

[16in50calNavalRifle]

JK4Three and taloft, my thinking is similar.

First, let me share my utter disgust and complete lack of surprise that this ruinous combination of approaches (top-down/nanny state, absurd over-reaction to "threats" from brief exposure to certain toxic items) has pre-empted effective action by responsible citizens.

Second, it's hard to see, in today's surreal America and beyond-surreal CA, that this doesn't mean closure.

Given the idiotic premises, what's the escape from this chain:

* too toxic to walk around and pick up trash with gloves, must be too toxic to walk around shooting

* too dangerous to let citizens clean it up for free

* no money to contract for a wildly over-cautious clean-up

* therefore, must close the area

Just to cap it off, how outrageous is it that despite the willingness of Americans to step up and get something done (see PurpleK's great post above), the idiocy of some users (those trashing the place) and the collapse of common sense and other qualities in public administration will likely doom yet another small amenity to the SD community?