Whatcom County shooting range issued violation for errant bullets
A shooting range north of Ferndale is facing daily fines for allowing bullets to land on a neighboring property, the Whatcom County Department of Health and Community Services said Tuesday.
More than 100 bullets and bullet fragments from the Custer Sportsman’s Club at 3000 Birch Bay Lynden Road were found on nearby land during a ”multiyear investigation,” the Health Department said in a statement Tuesday at its website.
A notice of violation was issued last week, following an Oct. 23 administrative hearing, the statement said.
“Our priority is making sure lead from the range stays contained and properly managed on the range property,” Environmental Health Manager Sue Sullivan said.
The Health Department statement cites environmental concerns over lead, but it doesn’t mention whether people’s lives were endangered by errant gunfire.
“Whatcom County Health and Community Services can only address solid waste concerns under WAC 173-350-025. Any other concerns would be within the jurisdiction of other agencies,” Health Department spokeswoman Marie Junek told The Herald.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Deb Slater told The Herald that deputies have been sent to the gun club twice since 2024.
“In early 2024, deputies in Whatcom County responded to reports of stray bullets in the 3000 block of Birch Bay Lynden Road, near the Custer gun range. After investigating, they found no evidence of criminal activity,” Slater said in an email. “On Jan. 9, 2025, deputies returned to the same area in response to another report of stray bullets. They contacted the Custer gun club and asked them to inspect the berm surrounding the back shooting bay to determine if any adjustments were needed to prevent future incidents. No criminal activity was found.”
According to a timeline of the investigation, complaints about the gun range date to October 2023, when a neighbor “expressed safety and environmental health concerns regarding lead bullets and fragments landing on his property. (The neighbor) stated that he has expressed concern to range management for years, but no action has been taken to stop it.”
Lead bullet fragments are a solid waste, and state law requires the Custer Sportsman’s Club to ensure that “solid waste created by activities at the range (is) properly contained and managed on its property,” the Health Department statement says.
Full compliance is required by Dec. 30, along with “a corrective action plan explaining how it will maintain compliance,” the statement says. “Fines of up to $125 per day can be levied for each day that “escaped bullets or bullet fragments are found on neighboring properties.”
Whatcom County’s only other shooting range, the county-run Plantation Rifle Range, remains closed. Its indoor range closed in July 2021 for renovations, and the outdoor range closed in November 2022 because of lead contamination.
Several outdoor shooting areas have been closed recently because of lead contamination.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 5:15 AM.
