Reduction of Noise Through Design and Regulation

At both public open houses and through submitted comments, the project team has heard that the noise of a shooting range is a significant concern. This post provides more information on the options we will pursue to reduce noise:

    A) Restrictions on locations where shooting may occur,
    B) The development of a designated shooting range (designed to NRA safety guidelines), and
    C) Shooting range design elements to reduce off-site noise.

 A) Restrictions on locations where shooting may occur

The public has raised concerns about the noise and disruption caused by shooting at the gravel pit at the corner of Jonesville Mine Road North and Jonesville Mine Road West.
 
On December 12th, the Department of Natural Resources – Division of Mining, Land and Water, released a public notice (PRJ 234760) regarding the potential to restrict the use and discharge of weapons within material site ADL 231498. This notice is available at this link: https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/Attachment.aspx?id=158706
 
It is expected that this restriction will significantly reduce sound levels for the closest residents. Elimination of shooting in this area will nearly double the distance between residences and the next nearest area commonly used for shooting.
 
The map below indicates the area affected by the public notice PRJ 234760, outlined in red.


B) The Shooting Range as a Designated Shooting Area

This project will construct a shooting range in an area where significant shooting already occurs. The shooting that currently occurs is unorganized and indiscriminate, with comments describing unsafe practices and conflicts between user groups. This project intends to create a designated shooting area where range shooting is performed in the same direction using infrastructure that is purpose-built in accordance with safety guidelines provided by the NRA.

The goals of this effort are to encourage safe shooting practices, reduce user group conflicts, and improve the user and resident experience. In turn, these goals will hopefully include behavioral changes to reduce undesirable activities and noises including explosions.

 1. Physical Architecture Dictates Behavior

In an unorganized area, there is no front or back, which leads to the indiscriminate shooting. A purpose-built range uses environmental design to encourage compliance:

  • Linear Orientation: By installing fixed firing lines and target locations, the infrastructure physically prevents shooters from firing in multiple directions.
  • Safety Buffers: Berms and backstops provide a clear visual boundary for where it is safe to shoot, eliminating the guesswork that leads to unsafe practices.

2. Establishment of Social Norms

Undesirable behaviors often flourish in lawless environments because there is no standard for what is normal.

  • Peer Regulation: When a range has a clear "same direction" rule, an individual shooting in a different direction becomes a visible outlier. This makes it easier for other users to self-regulate the community.
  • The "Broken Windows" Theory: A clean, maintained facility with NRA-standard infrastructure signals that the area is monitored and valued. Users are statistically more likely to respect a site that looks professional than one that appears to be an abandoned dumping ground.

3. Conflict De-escalation through Zoning

In unorganized areas, conflicts between user groups usually arise from overlapping uses (e.g., someone trying to hike or ride an ATV near someone target shooting).

  • Predictability: Residents and other land users gain "spatial certainty." They know exactly where the shooting will happen and in which direction the projectiles will travel.
  • Separation: By designating a specific area for range shooting, it naturally pulls that activity away from multi-use trails or sensitive resident areas, removing the "surprise" element that fuels most group conflicts.

4. Behavioral "Nudges"

The project serves as a behavioral nudge by making the right way to shoot the easiest way to shoot.

  • Convenience: If a range provides stable benches and measured distances, shooters will naturally gravitate toward those spots rather than setting up in random, unsafe locations.
  • Safety Education: The presence of NRA-guided signage and infrastructure acts as a passive education tool, constantly reminding users of the four rules of firearm safety without requiring a formal classroom setting:
    • Treat all guns as if they are loaded. 
    • Always point the muzzle in a safe direction
    • Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. 
    • Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. 

C) Shooting Range Design Elements to Reduce Off-site Noise

The intent is to reduce sound impacts for the surrounding community. By using a "layered defense" strategy, we can reduce the volume and travel of sound through the following methods:

1. Containment at the Source

The most effective way to manage sound is to address it the moment it is created.

  • Canopies: There will be canopies directly over shooting positions. These act as the first line of defense, capturing the initial sound wave and preventing it from traveling upward or outward toward nearby hills and cliff faces (where it might be reflected).
  • Orientation & Consolidation: By grouping all shooting activities in one area and directing them away from residential zones, the "path of least resistance" for sound is directed toward uninhabited areas.

2. Physical Barriers and "Sound Shadows"

To block sound from reaching your ears, the principle of the Sound Shadow is applied. If a solid object breaks the line of sight between the noise and the listener, the volume drops significantly.

  • Earthen Berms: High-mass earthen berms (large mounds of soil) will surround the range. Earth is one of the best natural sound absorbers because of its density and irregular surface.
  • Structural Deflection: In areas where berms aren't feasible, solid structures may be used to deflect sound waves back into the range or upward, away from ground-level neighbors.

3. Advanced Acoustic Refinement

As the design progresses, additional features may be used to further "soften" the environment for the absorption of noise:

  • Acoustic Baffles and Panels: These are materials designed to absorb noise, preventing the "crack" of a shot from reflecting off hard surfaces.
  • Strategic Vegetation: While plants are less effective than berms at blocking loud noise, dense belts of trees and shrubs help "scatter" high-frequency sounds.

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