Leave it to a resident for the solution.
Following the expiration of the Alberta Environment and Parks 28-day lockdown of SW19-TWP59-RGE23-W4M, we reached out to a number of Echo Lake area residents for their thoughts.
The quarter in question has long been a place to go squeeze off a few rounds, tear around on a quad and dump your trash with impunity.
But had the closure of the illegal firing range — the one that sparked two spring fires and has caused immeasurable grief for residents in the south eastern portion of Westlock County — actually worked?
The answer we received was a tentative “maybe” and in our estimation resident Bevin McNelly hit the nail squarely on the head when we asked him for his thoughts.
“The real solution, to me, is to shut this area down in the spring when the fire threat is on, then have somebody hired that has some authority that patrols the area on the weekends when it’s busy,” said McNelly.
His quote is succinct, but speaks volumes. Because ultimately what this whole situation boils down to, in our estimation, is enforcement, and specifically, a lack thereof.
Speed limit signs are great, but if police stopped issuing speeding tickets, nearly everyone would speed. When there’s no threat from the police or Fish and Wildlife and there’s no possibility of punishment, people sink to the lowest common denominator.
To be blunt, closing the site for 28 days probably did nothing more than move the “bad apples” to another site. That isn’t a solution.
The real solution is enforcement, which unfortunately does cost money — a lot more than a heavy chain, lock and a small sign stating that the quarter is closed.
And until government — that is, the county and province — come to grips with the fact that policing public land costs money, we guarantee the problem will return.
