- An anonymous Associated Press story, produced and timed
for release by federal bureaucrats running the Arizona Tonto National Forest,
will appear in many of tomorrow's newspapers (8-9-01) nationwide, announcing
the closure of 80,000 acres of the forest to outdoor marksmanship. The
areas to be closed, adjacent to the Phoenix metro area, have been in continuous
use for decades, without incident, by citizens conducting traditional firearms
practice.
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- Following a three-month intensive amelioration drive,
lead by recently appointed Tonto Supervisor Karl Siderits, in which area
residents were repeatedly assured that no blanket actions were likely,
the federal agents did what activists suspected had been planned from the
outset -- the total restriction of marksmanship in the commonly used and
easily accesible sites that people use to practice and gain proficiency
with arms. The move goes into effect Monday, and is expected to be precedential
for National Forests around the country, which have been following the
developments closely.
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- Safety is cited by Siderits and others as their main
concern, though no concrete examples of such a problem have been brought
forward. Forest agents claim in the article, and have claimed publicly
for months, to have witnessed hundreds of examples of criminal conduct
with firearms on Forest Service land (e.g., shooting across roads, which
is dangerous, stupid and strictly illegal). When asked about arrests,
citations or any other disciplinary actions of the purported crimes, Siderits,
PR Officer James Payne, and various rangers admit to knowing of none.
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- Although Tonto officials regularly claim they have insufficient
law enforcement to do anything about the alleged violators they supposedly
frequently witness, additional law enforcement people will be engaged,
according to the report, to enforce the new land closures. In essence,
the plan is to punish the innocent for alleged acts of unidentified guilty
parties.
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- Unlike less free areas in America, where the right to
bear arms is heavily repressed, outdoor marksmanship is routine in Arizona,
with countless thousands of residents taking to open terrain on a regular
basis. The National Forests are one of the main areas used, with some
larger impromptu ranges in use since before WWII.
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- The Tonto Forest comprises 2.9 million acres of public
land, and contrary to its name, is primarily unbroken expanses of open
desert. In effect, the closures are expected to force marksmanship away
from well known and well worn target areas that are easy to reach, to untouched
pristine areas of desert further inland. One justification cited by officials
is that they haven't closed anywhere near as much public land as federal
agents in California have. Dirt bikers, ATVs and all other land users,
including hunters, will still have access to the restricted areas.
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- Unmentioned by the anonymous AP "writer" is
the fact that 54 dead bodies were removed from Tonto National Forest last
year -- a typical count for a year -- none of them related to outdoor marksmanship
or recreational shooters in the forest. Also unmentioned are marksmanship
education programs for the public and the state's school systems, and establishment
of ranges, which were prominent issues during the long running public comment
and town-hall style amelioration campaign.
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- Details on the amelioration campaign, a joint statement
by sportsmen in Arizona and the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association
concerning the planned (now implemented) closures, and direct contact information
for the responsible federal bureaucrats, press the New Stuff button on
our website.
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- Copyright © 2001 Liberty Matters
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