DERR-2024-009962

SITE VISIT REPORT
DATE: 8/1/2024
SITE: Moab Base Camp
SITE ADDRESS: Located along Gemini Bridges Road, approximately 5.6 miles from State
Road 313, Moab, Grand County, Utah.
AREA OF INTEREST: Former Shooting Ranges
PREPARED BY: Allison Stanley
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Environmental Response and Remediation
195 North 1950 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84116

ATTENDEES: Allison Stanley (DERR)
Bill Rees (DERR)
Jeremy Bell (Crossroads of the West Council of the Boy Scouts of America)
Joshua Haacke (Crossroads of the West Council of the Boy Scouts of America)
Kirk Kyster (MT2 Firing Range Services)
Chris Hess (MT2 Firing Range Services)
Curtis Page (DEQ District Environmental Engineer)

ARRIVAL TIME: 8:30 AM - DEPARTURE TIME: 11:30 AM
SUMMARY: This was the first site visit for the Moab Base Camp under the Voluntary Cleanup
Program (VCP). The objectives of the visit were to complete introductions among the team, walk
the footprint of the previous firing ranges, and to discuss next steps under the VCP. The VCP
Applicants are Crossroads of the West Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the School and
Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA).
The total acreage of the Site listed under the Voluntary Cleanup Agreement is 41.6 acres and
encompasses the entire Moab Base Camp, which hosts Boy Scout units for camping activities
through June and July. Roughly 3 acres of the Site have historically been used as a firing range
for .22 long rifles and shotguns. The firing ranges have not been used since 2019. Jeremy Bell
informed the team that shooting activities occurred for approximately a decade, with 40 to 50
people using the range a week, for five weeks out of the year. No camping or other activities are
conducted at the footprint of the range and the area is considered “open-land” the rest of the year.
The rifle range was clear to identify with a primary impact berm and two side berms,
approximately 5-10 feet in height. The range floor consisted of compacted dirt with large rocks
underneath the firing line. The firing line for the shotgun range was harder to identify as the area
was open land. However, based on the debris field of the clay pigeons, it is estimated that the
shooting occurred at the south-east corner of the range (see associated map). Based on
coloration, there were at least two types of clay pigeons used (biodegradable pigeons are white
and standard pigeons are black). Based on the debris pattern, it is also likely that the pigeons
were thrown by hand. The heaviest clay pigeon debris were found up to approximately 120 feet
from the firing spot. Some clay pigeons were also found along the firing line of the rifle range.
Lead among the shotgun range was much harder to identify as the team spent a significant
amount of time looking for lead pellets along the ground. The only identified lead was located at
an ant hill just west of the drainage canal (see associated map). It is unknown why little lead was
found among the surface; however, the team brainstormed a few possibilities including the
impact by the monsoon season or cattle grazing. The surface consisted of very loose sand making
it possible that the lead pellets are deeper in the soil.
The Site is isolated with no nearby neighbors, and it is believed that the Bureau of Land
Management owns the land directly surrounding the Site. Approximately 380 feet from the
shotgun firing line the ground starts to slope until it meets with a wash that runs in a west to east
fashion. No water was observed in the wash at the time of the visit. A drainage canal leading to
the wash was also located in the area of the estimated shotfall zone (see associated map).
After walking the footprint of the two firing ranges, the DERR explained to the group the VCP
process and the DERR’s experience with other firing ranges. The DERR also discussed the type
of Environmental Assessment comments that will be sent to the Applicant and consultant. Some
of the topics of discussion included the recommendation to gather background samples for
metals, potentially amending the VCA to include the firing ranges only, and confirming the
industrial exposure scenario outlined in the VCA. The DERR also requested a Site
Characterization Workplan and Quality Assurance Project Plan and provided some examples to
the Applicants and Consultant.

ASSOCIATED MAP:

PHOTO LOG:

Photo 1: View of the rifle range.

Photo 2: Another view of the firing line and berms in the rifle range.

Photo 3: Casings scattered behind firing line in rifle range.

Photo 4: Estimated firing line for shotgun range (broken tent poles are stored here
temporarily after the scouting season).

Photo 5: From estimated shotgun firing line looking north-east.

Photo 6: From estimated shotgun firing line looking north.

Photo 7: Team looking for lead pellets in shotgun shotfall zone.

Photo 7: Attendees from MT2 looking for lead pellets along the drainage canal.

Photo 8: View of drainage canal leading to the wash.

Photo 9: Sloped surface leading to the wash.

Photo 10: View from the drainage canal looking back to the road, shotgun firing line, and rifle
range.

Photo 11: Lead pellets found at an ant hill.

Photo 12: Back of the rifle primary impact berm.

Photo 13: Clay pigeons found in the heavy debris area.

Photo 14: More scattered clay pigeons found in the heavy debris area.

Photo 15: The team walking the footprint of the former firing ranges.

Photo 16: Parking lot and camping area south of the firing ranges.

Photo 17: View from further inside the Moab Base Camp area. The Site is isolated with no
nearby neighbors. The dirt road in requires an SUV or a truck.