Sunday, 18 September 2005
The following is a copy of the minutes of the meeting of the board of the Oregon Association of Shooting Ranges, of which CRGC is a member. The OASR is a division of the Oregon State Shooting Association. The board meeting took place on Saturday, 17 September 2005, at the Headquarters of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Salem.
Attendees.
Tim Pitzer led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Introductions.
Minutes of last meeting were waived and will be read at the next meeting where we will have a quorum for approval.
Chairman George Pitts stated that the attendance at this meeting is down due to the ranges conducting Hunter Sight-in Days at their ranges. Sight-in Days requires a large draw on range officers and they need every man they can get.
Treasurer's report was read by Tim Pitzer and will be submitted for approval at the next meeting. Chairman George Pitts requested the "to date" and "year to date" headings on the financial report be clarified. To date means from the beginning of OASR to the date of the report. Year to date reflects the fiscal year from July 1 to the date of the report. Our fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 31. Tim Pitzer will reflect the clarification on the next financial report. Chairman George Pitts also stated that some OASR member ranges have not received a receipt for their dues. Tim Pitzer stated that he will begin sending receipts by U.S. Mail rather then e-mail. Jim Hoduffer suggested renewal notices be sent to the ranges earlier in order to get them on the agenda for the club meeting. Tim will begin mailing renewal notices at least 45 days in advance of the renewal date. Chairman George Pitts proposed that OASR repay OSSA for the start-up cost OSSA incurred to get OASR off the ground. These expenditures were for meetings, travel, printing etc. and totaled $2778.89. It was agreed the cost should be returned to OSSA and George will put the issue to an electronic vote of the Board.
Old Business:
The Isaac Walton Range was revisited. The club has made no headway. OASR Directors made a visit to IW range at their request and laid out a very do-able plan of action for them. There has been no contact since. They did not request P-R funding as suggested by OASR. We will contact them again and let them know we are still available. We wish to assist them in any way possible.
Don Lewis asked about the status of 4 corners Rod & Gun Club. Tim Pitzer replied that 4 Corners is now an OASR member range. We have not received a recent update from them but will make contact soon. Chairman George Pitts asked for more participation by member ranges. We have many issues to cover and need more members to take on assignments to get the jobs done.
George also asked if the member ranges are keeping their membership informed of OASR activity. George suggested that Directors give a report of OASR meetings at the General Membership meeting of their range to be entered into the minutes of their range. The club membership needs to know what their investment in OASR is providing.
Leslie Lewis stated there is a need to expose the public to the shooting sports. We need to develop programs to attract new shooters. It was agreed that new shooters find enjoyment once they get to the range and fire their first few rounds downrange.
Environmental Stewardship Plans:
We need more ESP's completed by OASR ranges. We are behind on the promise we made to Ed Guster of the EPA. Our ranges need the ESP's to properly manage their environment. Also, the completion of an ESP will highlight any areas that need attention. Don Lewis suggested a model ESP to assist ranges in the completion of their first ESP. We will provide a model ESP for this purpose.
New Business:
Chairman George Pitts apologized for the short notice for this meeting. We intended to have it at Thunder Ranch in Lakeview. This did not materialize due to the unexpectedly large amount of training Thunder Ranch is providing for Law Enforcement, Military and Homeland Security. We hope to reschedule when the schedule allows at T-R.
George asked if we should consider a OASR membership sign for our member clubs to display at the entrance to their range. It was agreed that a sign of about 18x24in would be good. We will investigate cost and design to be presented at our next meeting.
Willamette Valley Sportsman's Club:
Tim Pitzer reported on WVSC. They are a Skeet and 5 stand range, located in Corvallis close to the airport. The city has pulled their lease and informed them they can only continue if they use steel shot. Cost will not allow this and they will decide at their next meeting how to respond. WVSC hired AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc. to develop an ESP for them. This did not satisfy the city. There is much more to this story and we will revisit at our next meeting for the benefit of others. All range operators need to be informed of the events leading to the possible closure of this range.
OASR provided assistance to WVSC in dealing with this issue. In doing so, we made contact with some positive DEQ officials. We will continue discussions with these officials in our attempt to persuade Oregon DEQ to voluntarily accept the Federal EPA Standards for range management.
Director Jim Hoduffer will examine the AMEC ESP report for information we can utilize to enhance our ESP's, as well as information that is unnecessary.
AMEC is sponsoring a Shooting Range seminar in November. Chairman George Pitts will be speaking on Public Relations. He will arrange for attendance by OASR officers.
Tim Pitzer handed out Range Manuals provided by Interstate Technology Regulatory Council. These two manuals cover Characterization and Remediation of Soils and Environmental Management of Small Arms Firing Ranges. These very informative manuals provide us with another look at environmental management and will assist in our understanding of issues we need to address. I will have more manuals available at our next meeting.
George Pitts commented on the value in conducting an Open House. George and Eleanor attended the Siuslaw Rod & Gun Club Open House. The event was well accepted by the public and introduced many to the shooting sports. New members were signed up and the new range realignment was shown to city officials. The Open House was a very informative and positive community event. Siuslaw is to be congratulated for their positive approach to addressing the concerns of the city and turning what could have been a very negative experience into a positive community development.
November 5th was suggested for the date of the next meeting of OASR. Rick Patterson from National Shooting Sports Foundation is available at that time to attend our meeting. Suggested location is the Siuslaw Rod & Gun Club. They have offered their facilities for OASR. George will poll the directors about the time and location by e-mail.
New Members:
Clatskanie Rifle and Pistol Club and Burns Butte Sportsmen have inquired about membership and have been supplied with information. We would welcome both clubs to OASR membership.
Meeting adjourned for lunch at 1210pm.
Meeting reconvened at 1pm and was called to order by Chairman George Pitts.
During the break, ODFW Kenn Condon informed us that the P-R Grant committee will hold their grant review meeting on April 18, 2006. Grant applications are due no later than April 15th of each year.
Kenn also offered to host an annual meeting of OASR at ODFW Headquarters each year. The suggested date for 2006 would be July 15th. George thanked Kenn for the generous offer and will present the proposal to the Board by e-mail.
Eric Richardson, Wildlife Restoration Program Manager presented a PowerPoint program on Pittmon-Robertson funds. P-R was created in 1937 by Congress. Amended in 1970 to include Hunter Ed. And Range Development. P-R is funded by an 11% tax on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment. Also a 10% tax on Pistols and Revolvers. Hunter Ed. receives 8.7% of P-R funds. Much more information was presented and will be discussed at our next meeting.
There was a discussion of hunting license fees. Some federal wildlife funds are dispersed by the amount of license sold. Jim Hoduffer suggested lowering the price of hunting license. It is too high for many to take advantage. Don Lewis agreed that many do not hunt because of the high cost. Youth are missing the hunting experience and this will be the end of hunting if the fees remain prohibitive. ODFW has a Board that convenes to address issues with hunting license and Eric offered a seat on the Board to OASR. Jim Hoduffer will represent OASR on this ODFW Board.
Chairman George Pitts related that often ranges are required to identify their property. Some groups are quick to claim a wetland on a shooting range. George asked if the ODFW assist OASR with planning and designations of our ranges. Eric stated that, if requested, ODFW would dispatch a biologist to assist with design and wetland identification. The statement from ODFW could be a tremendous help in persuading a city or county council. We thank ODFW for their offer of assistance.
2:00 PM. Kenn Condon Hunter Ed. and Shooting Range Program Manager.
Kenn hopes to have the P-R grant form online in January. A range could access the form, fill in information, print out copies and send an electronic copy to ODFW. They would then need to mail a copy with signatures to ODFW.
Many problems have been identified in the journey a grant makes through ODFW. There are 17 hoops for the grant to jump through before a check is cut. Kenn is cleaning up the process and is committed to having problems solved for the next round of grants. Grant committee members will need to sign off the final draft of grants before they can proceed. This will prevent grants being forwarded before they are ready and being rejected later in the process. There are many other bottlenecks being cleared. We have confidence Kenn will have things under control. OASR stands ready to assist in any way.
The Gibbs and Clatskanie grants were lost in the shuffle of 2004-2005 grants. Tim Pitzer produced copies of their grants and a list of grants approved at the last grant committee meeting and they were on the list. Kenn checked his files and found where they were lost in the system. Gibbs will be funded this year while Clatskanie will be resubmitted for the next round.
This year's grant awards will be given an extension on the completion time, due to the end of the construction year. Checks will be coming soon. OASR will continue to monitor the progress of this year's awards.
Jim Hoduffer asked, "what qualifies a range as a public range?" Jim was informed if they conduct hunter education classes, Open House, sight-in days, etc. These events are public events and would qualify. The term "Public Range" does not mean the public has free access to the facilities.
It was agreed that this was a very informative meeting and will be discussed with more directors at our next OASR meeting. Directors have a better understanding of the function of ODFW and an appreciation of the work and services they provide.
OASR thanks Kenn Condon and Eric Richardson for taking their Saturday off to provide us with a overview of ODFW and insight into how our funding is dispersed.
Meeting Adjourned at 3:00 PM.