With the blessing of local officials, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has banned target shooting on more than 2,000 acres on Utah Lake’s western shore, where unregulated gunfire has damaged rock art, sparked fires, threatened public safety and left a spiderweb of tracks and bullet scars on boulders, trees and other natural features.
Public lands along State Road 68 have long been a favorite spot for practicing marksmanship, but now about 50,000 people a year visit this area to shoot, often hauling in appliances, televisions and vehicles and leaving their obliterated remains behind along with countless casings and other pieces of “trigger trash.