Two letters; the first one is their letter to Ehrlich, which will provide background information, and the second is a generic letter which may be used by readers to send to Ehrlich
The second letter will be in the message that immediately follows, because I find that posting them in one message is stopped by the posting size-limit.
---------- first letter ------------
NATIONAL CAPITAL SKEET & TRAP CLUB, INC. SENECA CREEK STATE PARK
"A Non-Profit Organization"
MAILING ADDRESS:
P.O. Box 83841
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20883-3841
LOCATION:
16700 RIFFLEFORD ROAD
DARNESTOWN, MD 20878
November 15, 2006
Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.
Office of the Governor
100 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1925
Re: Request to Re-Open National Capital Skeet and Trap, Inc.
Dear Governor Ehrlich,
This letter requests that;
1) You immediately issue a signed lease to National Capital Skeet and Trap Club, Inc. (NCSTC) and;
2) You issue a use permit to NCSTC, contingent upon our implementing our engineering plan to reorient the shooting fields to preclude any environmental impact.
To put this situation in context, let us share the background of National Capital Skeet and Trap Club, Inc. NCSTC was established in approximately 1932 in Chevy Chase, Maryland and it was formerly named Montgomery Skeet Club until 1935, when it was renamed National Capital Skeet and Trap, Inc., and moved to Bethesda, Maryland. In 1954, National Capital, a Maryland corporation, moved to the current location at 16700 Riffleford Road, Darnestown, Maryland, and has operated a skeet and trap facility since that time, over 52 years at this location alone.
In 1979, NCSTC agreed to let the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) purchased the land upon which the club is located, thus allowing the State to incorporate the parcel into the Seneca Creek State Park complex. Since that time, NCSTC has continued to operate a shooting club which is open to the public and provides recreational benefit to a broad cross section of Maryland citizens, and as such, is fully controlled by the State of Maryland.
NCSTC has ceased shooting operations, at the instruction of your administration, since October 22, 2003 due to the pending threat of litigation by an environmental group, the Potomac River Keepers, and subsequent investigation by the State and NCSTC which showed that the current field orientation did in fact allow some shot to fall in some areas protected by the Clean Water Act. On February 25, 2005, Potomac Riverkeeper, Inc. filed a three count complaint in the United States District Court of Maryland against National Capital and Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Subsequently, a summary judgment was issued that dismissed two of the three complaints. In September, 2006, the remaining complaint was sent to mediation which resulted in a settlement between Potomac Riverkeeper, Inc. and the State of Maryland and thus eliminated any remaining obstacles to the reopening of the club.
Since October, 2003, representatives of your administration have continually assured NCSTC that a shooting sports facility at this location was important to them and that your administration fully supported reopening the shooting range. For example, in 2005, Dr. Roger Sears, President of the Maryland Division of the Izaak Walton League, sent a letter to Ronald Franks, Secretary DNR, urging that he take action to re-open NCSTC (Attachment 1). Mr. Franks replied, stating “It is for this reason that I have assembled an inter-disciplinary team of professions to conduct a resource assessment of the area leased by NCSTC, and have also tasked the State Parks staff to work cooperatively with both NCSTC leadership and regulatory agencies to develop plans, if possible, to physically reconfigure the range as to avoid future deposits of lead shot into protected areas” (Attachment 2). However, to date, nothing has been done despite the fact that NCSTC has cooperated in every possible way and has complied with every request made of them by the State of Maryland.
During this period, we have;
• Met numerous times with representatives of your Department of Natural Resources.
• Paid for environmental engineering studies requested by the State ensuring there are no outstanding negative impacts to the environment.
• Gained concurrence from the Army Corps of Engineers and representatives of your administration on field orientation and shot fall zones which would preclude any conflict with the Clean Water Act.
• Prepared engineering and associated documentation for implementation of the reorientation of the shooting fields.
• Prepared and submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency an Environmental Stewardship Plan consistent with the Best Management Practices for Lead at Outdoor Shooting Facilities.
• Fully cooperated with the office of your Attorney General on litigation from the Potomac River Keepers, a radical environmental group, for the benefit of our club and the interests of the State of Maryland.
Despite all of this, your administration has not taken one single tangible action to help us reopen this shooting sports facility.
NCSTC has worked diligently to eliminate any possible impediments to the Department of Natural Resources authorizing the reopening of the shooting range. In March of 2005, National Capital submitted an engineering plan and proposal which rotates the shooting field, at our expense, one hundred and eighty degrees, and provides noise abatement features in order to maintain our long standing good relations with the local community. These plans, as requested by DNR, included the previously mentioned Environmental Stewardship Plan while ensuring total compliance with the Clean Water Act.
Later in 2005, officers of NCSTC met with several members of Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). NCSTC was informed that Maryland’s immediate concern was to resolve the pending lawsuit but reassured NCSTC that DNR wanted to retain the shooting range and would work to resolve any outstanding issues after the lawsuit was resolved. But again, DNR has not taken any action at all to allow reopening of the club. Nor has DNR, to date, allowed NCSTC to go forward with our proposed reorientation of the fields which are designed to address even the perception of any remaining environmental issues.
After the settlement in September, 2006, NCSTC again requested a meeting with DNR to talk about the path forward to the re-opening of the shooting range. However, to our dismay, Secretary Ron Franks refused to even discuss the issue until after the 2006 election. According to the information we received, this refusal was by your direction.
Governor Ehrlich, the time to reopen NCSTC is now. The election is over and the opportunity to take action without political concerns is at hand. Every environmental and legal issue has been addressed. Insofar as the club sits on State of Maryland property, the authority to reopen this club is unilaterally within your power, all it takes is your direction to do so. The shooting and hunting community in Maryland has steadfastly supported you through two election cycles and has shown commitment to the Republican Party. Now it is your turn to show your commitment to this loyal constituency by immediately taking executive action to reopen National Capital Skeet and Trap Club. Please, let your actions show that you honor the second amendment rights plank of the Republican platform and value the support you have been given by the shooting sports community in Maryland, the Free State.
The Officers of National Capital would be honored to meet with you and your representatives to resolve the action plan to reopen this vital community recreational resource. You can contact us via our club President, Jay Jeffery at (301) 943-2113. We may also be reached by mail at National Capital Skeet & Trap Club, Inc., PO Box 83841, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20883-3841 or vial email at nctscmail@verizon.net.
Please don’t let the closing of this club be your legacy.
Respectfully,
Officers - National Capital Skeet and Trap, Inc.
The second letter will be in the message that immediately follows, because I find that posting them in one message is stopped by the posting size-limit.
---------- first letter ------------
NATIONAL CAPITAL SKEET & TRAP CLUB, INC. SENECA CREEK STATE PARK
"A Non-Profit Organization"
MAILING ADDRESS:
P.O. Box 83841
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20883-3841
LOCATION:
16700 RIFFLEFORD ROAD
DARNESTOWN, MD 20878
November 15, 2006
Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.
Office of the Governor
100 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1925
Re: Request to Re-Open National Capital Skeet and Trap, Inc.
Dear Governor Ehrlich,
This letter requests that;
1) You immediately issue a signed lease to National Capital Skeet and Trap Club, Inc. (NCSTC) and;
2) You issue a use permit to NCSTC, contingent upon our implementing our engineering plan to reorient the shooting fields to preclude any environmental impact.
To put this situation in context, let us share the background of National Capital Skeet and Trap Club, Inc. NCSTC was established in approximately 1932 in Chevy Chase, Maryland and it was formerly named Montgomery Skeet Club until 1935, when it was renamed National Capital Skeet and Trap, Inc., and moved to Bethesda, Maryland. In 1954, National Capital, a Maryland corporation, moved to the current location at 16700 Riffleford Road, Darnestown, Maryland, and has operated a skeet and trap facility since that time, over 52 years at this location alone.
In 1979, NCSTC agreed to let the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) purchased the land upon which the club is located, thus allowing the State to incorporate the parcel into the Seneca Creek State Park complex. Since that time, NCSTC has continued to operate a shooting club which is open to the public and provides recreational benefit to a broad cross section of Maryland citizens, and as such, is fully controlled by the State of Maryland.
NCSTC has ceased shooting operations, at the instruction of your administration, since October 22, 2003 due to the pending threat of litigation by an environmental group, the Potomac River Keepers, and subsequent investigation by the State and NCSTC which showed that the current field orientation did in fact allow some shot to fall in some areas protected by the Clean Water Act. On February 25, 2005, Potomac Riverkeeper, Inc. filed a three count complaint in the United States District Court of Maryland against National Capital and Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Subsequently, a summary judgment was issued that dismissed two of the three complaints. In September, 2006, the remaining complaint was sent to mediation which resulted in a settlement between Potomac Riverkeeper, Inc. and the State of Maryland and thus eliminated any remaining obstacles to the reopening of the club.
Since October, 2003, representatives of your administration have continually assured NCSTC that a shooting sports facility at this location was important to them and that your administration fully supported reopening the shooting range. For example, in 2005, Dr. Roger Sears, President of the Maryland Division of the Izaak Walton League, sent a letter to Ronald Franks, Secretary DNR, urging that he take action to re-open NCSTC (Attachment 1). Mr. Franks replied, stating “It is for this reason that I have assembled an inter-disciplinary team of professions to conduct a resource assessment of the area leased by NCSTC, and have also tasked the State Parks staff to work cooperatively with both NCSTC leadership and regulatory agencies to develop plans, if possible, to physically reconfigure the range as to avoid future deposits of lead shot into protected areas” (Attachment 2). However, to date, nothing has been done despite the fact that NCSTC has cooperated in every possible way and has complied with every request made of them by the State of Maryland.
During this period, we have;
• Met numerous times with representatives of your Department of Natural Resources.
• Paid for environmental engineering studies requested by the State ensuring there are no outstanding negative impacts to the environment.
• Gained concurrence from the Army Corps of Engineers and representatives of your administration on field orientation and shot fall zones which would preclude any conflict with the Clean Water Act.
• Prepared engineering and associated documentation for implementation of the reorientation of the shooting fields.
• Prepared and submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency an Environmental Stewardship Plan consistent with the Best Management Practices for Lead at Outdoor Shooting Facilities.
• Fully cooperated with the office of your Attorney General on litigation from the Potomac River Keepers, a radical environmental group, for the benefit of our club and the interests of the State of Maryland.
Despite all of this, your administration has not taken one single tangible action to help us reopen this shooting sports facility.
NCSTC has worked diligently to eliminate any possible impediments to the Department of Natural Resources authorizing the reopening of the shooting range. In March of 2005, National Capital submitted an engineering plan and proposal which rotates the shooting field, at our expense, one hundred and eighty degrees, and provides noise abatement features in order to maintain our long standing good relations with the local community. These plans, as requested by DNR, included the previously mentioned Environmental Stewardship Plan while ensuring total compliance with the Clean Water Act.
Later in 2005, officers of NCSTC met with several members of Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). NCSTC was informed that Maryland’s immediate concern was to resolve the pending lawsuit but reassured NCSTC that DNR wanted to retain the shooting range and would work to resolve any outstanding issues after the lawsuit was resolved. But again, DNR has not taken any action at all to allow reopening of the club. Nor has DNR, to date, allowed NCSTC to go forward with our proposed reorientation of the fields which are designed to address even the perception of any remaining environmental issues.
After the settlement in September, 2006, NCSTC again requested a meeting with DNR to talk about the path forward to the re-opening of the shooting range. However, to our dismay, Secretary Ron Franks refused to even discuss the issue until after the 2006 election. According to the information we received, this refusal was by your direction.
Governor Ehrlich, the time to reopen NCSTC is now. The election is over and the opportunity to take action without political concerns is at hand. Every environmental and legal issue has been addressed. Insofar as the club sits on State of Maryland property, the authority to reopen this club is unilaterally within your power, all it takes is your direction to do so. The shooting and hunting community in Maryland has steadfastly supported you through two election cycles and has shown commitment to the Republican Party. Now it is your turn to show your commitment to this loyal constituency by immediately taking executive action to reopen National Capital Skeet and Trap Club. Please, let your actions show that you honor the second amendment rights plank of the Republican platform and value the support you have been given by the shooting sports community in Maryland, the Free State.
The Officers of National Capital would be honored to meet with you and your representatives to resolve the action plan to reopen this vital community recreational resource. You can contact us via our club President, Jay Jeffery at (301) 943-2113. We may also be reached by mail at National Capital Skeet & Trap Club, Inc., PO Box 83841, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20883-3841 or vial email at nctscmail@verizon.net.
Please don’t let the closing of this club be your legacy.
Respectfully,
Officers - National Capital Skeet and Trap, Inc.