A little common sense goes a long way

Frontiersman editorial board

Some landowners in the Jim Creek area are banding together in a cooperative management agreement to help protect the area from misuse. For some time, locals and others have used the area for target practice and as a place to dump vehicles, and the residents there have had enough.

It's laudable that these neighbors are uniting to effect a positive change in their community, but it's unfortunate they should have to do it. There are appropriate uses for public lands, which constitute much of the area in question, and target shooting is among them. The problem is not always that people are using the land improperly, but that they are not considering others.

We shouldn't have to form groups and write laws to convince people to practice common sense and common courtesy … and that's really what we're talking about here.

When someone else's home is visible, you shouldn't have to check local codes to decide whether or not to launch your clay pigeons in that direction. Before firing a weapon it seems only reasonable that the shooter would make the effort to ensure his recreation won't endanger someone else. It's common sense. It's courtesy.

The residents of Jim Creek are also upset about the messes others leave in the area -- from spent rounds to unwanted automobiles. While these neighbors are determined to do something about it, it should also be mentioned that the problem exists throughout the Valley. Some people, it seems, think the entire Mat-Su Valley is their personal landfill and junkyard. You don't have to travel far to see another abandoned car or a pile of refuse.

There are too many great things about the Valley to list. The large majority of people who live here are good people and good neighbors. Unfortunately, just a few selfish people can turn our nice neighborhoods into trash piles and graveyards of unwanted vehicles. One has to wonder how someone rationalizes dumping trash or leaving a gutted-out auto on public lands.

The neighbors at Jim Creek have the right idea to tackle the first part of this equation. They've decided to pool their efforts to prevent people from trashing their neighborhood. The rest of us also need to join in an effort to ensure that people who trash our Valley are caught and punished in a meaningful way.