Post by bchutchens on Jan 31, 2010 18:57:05 GMT -8
Travel responsibly on designated roads, trails, and areas.On your way to and from shooting spots.
•Practice target shooting and other shooting sports only on lands opened to shooting.Always practice minimum impact travel techniques for your mode of transportation.
•Stay on the trail even if it is rough and muddy. Driving and walking on the track edge widens trails. Cutting switchbacks increases damage, cause erosions, and visual scarring.
•Walk single file to avoid widening the trail.
•When traveling in open country on foot where there are no trails, spread out to disperse impacts and avoid creating new trails.
•Comply with all signs and barriers.
•Buddy up with two or three shooters. Traveling solo can leave you vulnerable if you have an accident.
Respect the rights of others including private property owners and all recreational trail users, campers and others to allow them to enjoy their recreational activities undisturbed.
•Be considerate of others on the road, trail or within the shooting area.
•Never take a shot unless you see the target clearly and you know what lies between you, the target, and beyond.
•Property such as signs, kiosks, and buildings are not targets.
•Don’t shoot across roads, trails, waterways or into caves.
•Do not shoot in developed recreation sites such as campgrounds, trailheads, parking areas or boat launches.
•Leave gates as you find them.
•If crossing private property, be sure to ask permission from the landowner(s).
Educate yourself by obtaining travel maps and regulations from public agencies, planning for your trip, taking recreation skills classes, and knowing how to use and operate your equipment safely.
•It is your responsibility to contact the land manager to learn of any permit requirements, closures or restrictions related to shooting sports.
•Obtain a map of your destination and determine which areas are open to your type of travel.
•Make a realistic plan, and stick to it. Always tell someone of your travel plans.
•Check the weather forecast before you go.
•Prepare for the unexpected by packing a small backpack full of emergency items.
Avoid sensitive areas such as meadows, lakeshores, wetlands and streams. Stay on designated routes.
•Other sensitive habitats to avoid include living desert soils, tundra, and seasonal nesting or breeding areas.
•Don’t use trees and other natural objects as targets. These impacts leave a permanent negative image about shooters relationship with nature.
•Do not disturb or shoot historical, archeological, and paleontological sites. They can not be replaced.
•Avoid “spooking” livestock and wildlife you encounter.
•Motorized and mechanized vehicles are not allowed in designated Wilderness.
Do your part by leaving the area better than you found it, properly disposing of waste, minimizing the use of fire, avoiding the spread of invasive species, restoring degraded areas, and joining a local enthusiast organization.
•Respect the shooting community by only shooting targets.
•Pack out all target trash including shotgun shells, fragmented clay pigeons, or any targets. These leave a negative image about shooters.
•Carry a trash bag on your vehicle and pick up litter and target trash left by others.
•Do not shoot household appliances and other objects dumped in shooting areas. It is misconstrued that shooters are the dumpers.
•Practice minimum impact camping by using established sites or durable surfaces and camping 200 feet from water resources and trails.
•Observe proper sanitary waste disposal or pack your waste out.
•Before and after your trip, wash your gear and support vehicle to reduce the spread of invasive species.
•Don’t mix shooting with alcohol or drugs.
www.respectedaccess.org/open-access/index.php?id=2