ODF release - TILLAMOOK STATE FOREST, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) worked with the non-profit Trash No Land to make major improvements to the four shooting lanes at Wolf Creek in the Tillamook State Forest. They reopened the lanes this month after being closed for several weeks to complete the work. “The improvements include increased yardage at the lanes, packed gravel walkways and staging areas, new signage, and fire and other safety improvements,” said Ben Burns, Recreation Facilities Manager for ODF’s State Forests Division. “Thanks to the $30,000 raised by Trash No Lands we were able to get all this work done in just a few weeks.” One of the most notable improvements was the increased yardage for the lanes. “The number one ask from target shooters using the lanes was increased yardage,” said Bill Cogley, president and co-founder of Trash No Land. Lane 1 was 35 yards, and now it’s 120 yards. Lane 2 was 24 yards, and now it’s 70 yards, Lane 3 was 60 yards plus the 16-yard pistol berm, and it’s now 70 yards with the pistol berm slightly longer at 18 yards, Lane 4 was 80 yards and is now 106 yards. “The 100-yard distance is important because that’s what most hunters and target shooters use to sight in their rifles,” said Cogley. “What people were doing is setting their target way up the backstops in areas with a lot of vegetation to get the 100-yards. During summer that was a big safety concern since those rounds had the potential to start fires.” Cogley and Burns are confident the new 100-yard plus lanes will greatly reduce that hazard. “We also did a lot of vegetation management before the contractor started work,” said Burns. “Crews from South Fork Forest Camp (SFFC) cleared out brush and dry vegetation on the sides and back of the lanes to improve fire safety.” SFFC is jointly run by ODF and the Department of Corrections and does many construction and maintenance projects in Tillamook State Forest. They also provide trained fire crews during wildfire season. The other big improvement at the lanes was the addition of gravel. “These lanes often were a muddy mess six-to-eight months out of the year,” said Cogley. “It made it inconvenient and messy to stand and walk out to set up and retrieve targets. So, some folks were kind of lazy and didn’t want to walk through the mud to pick up their used targets and pack out their other trash if it was wet and muddy. Now the lanes have gravel walkways out to set up the targets and gravel behind the Jersey barriers where folks shoot from. Our hope is this will greatly reduce the trash left at the ranges.” Although the walkways are not ADA compliant, they do provide better wheelchair access. “One of our board members uses a wheelchair so he was an advocate for making the walkways easy to use for those with mobility issues,” said Cogley. “The compacted gravel makes that possible now.” The other improvement was better informational signage. “Increased use of visuals on the signs make them quicker and easier to read and the repaired wood kiosks at each lane should make them more durable,” said Burns. Trash No Land also repainted the concrete Jersey barriers with a camouflage design, scrubbed graffiti off of boulders and picked up trash. “Our hope is with all these improvements the estimated 25,000 yearly users of the lanes will take better care of them,” said Cogley. “Without a doubt these are the best public land shooting lanes in the entire Northwest which is why you see so many shooters out here.” Cogley appreciates the 10-year working relationship with ODF. “Our non-profit became official back in 2017, and we started it because of ODF’s willingness to listen, work and improve Wolf Creek in a collaborative manner. It’s truly a win-win for everyone.”