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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho Supreme Court orders Farragut shooting range reopened, overrules lower court

In this 2010 photo, Dave Leptich, of Idaho Fish and Game, talks about improvements made at the Farragut State Park shooting range.  (Kathy Plonka)
In this 2010 photo, Dave Leptich, of Idaho Fish and Game, talks about improvements made at the Farragut State Park shooting range. (Kathy Plonka)

In a victory for sport shooters, the Idaho Supreme Court today lifted an injunction that has kept the Farragut State Park shooting range closed for almost six years; you can read our full report here from S-R reporter Scott Maben. The decision will permit the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to reopen the Farragut range to as many as 500 shooters a year, and possibly more than that if a district court judge determines noise and safety concerns have been addressed.

You can read the court's unanimous decision here, which was written by Justice Jim Jones. It also reversed a district judge's finding that a 2008 law, the Idaho Outdoor Sport Shooting Range Act, was unconstitutional; the law was passed in part to protect the Farragut range from the ongoing lawsuit from neighbors challenging it on safety and nuisance grounds. The state Department of Fish & Game appealed the lower court's ruling; the court sided with the department, and against the neighbors.
 



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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