Kaboom of the wild? Proposed howitzer testing in the Adirondacks alarms critics

LEWIS, N.Y. — The Adirondacks are a vast stretch of forested mountains noted for the haunting call of loons, the crackle of campfires and the soft swish of kayak paddles on placid lakes.

Should the boom of howitzers be allowed here, too?

An unprecedented proposal to test large artillery in a rural Adirondack Park town has some residents and environmentalists up in arms, and park regulators are holding a rare public hearing on it.

Opponents fear the blasts on private land would shatter the tranquility and potentially spook moose, deer, bears and birds. Environmentalists also note that the proposed range is near state-owned forest land and fear the big bangs could threaten the patchwork of private and public land that comprises the 6-million-acre (2.4-million-hectare) park.

"I hunt. I shoot. I reload. I know guns,” Dan Canavan said at the home he shares with his wife, Lanita, about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the proposed testing range in Lewis. “You can’t equate a 155 millimeter howitzer with a hunting rifle, but that’s how he’s been selling it.”

Private military contractor Michael Hopmeier says the howitzer barrel tests would support national security and contends that any noise — once it travels through the woods to the nearest neighbor — would not even be as loud as other sounds common to country life, like chainsaws and firearms.

Howitzer in the woods

Hopmeier wants to establish a testing range off a country road, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Lake Champlain.

Under the proposal, steel projectiles would be fired out of barrels as wide as 155 millimeters (about 6 inches) 30 times a year over a distance of about two football fields. Tests would be conducted midday on weekdays, no more than twice a day. A metal shipping container filled with sand and gravel could catch the projectiles, which would have no explosive warheads on them.

“We are not investigating explosive shells. We are not blowing things up,” Hopmeier recently told officials of a nearby town.

He said his company wants to assess things like barrel wear and recoil for the military. Regulators at the Adirondack Park Agency have requested more information multiple times since the initial 2021 application.

Hopmeier's company, Unconventional Concepts, Inc., said in the application that tests would support research at a U.S. Army lab at the Watervliet Arsenal, about two hours south. No current contract exists, but Hopmeier said in an email that they could accept government contracts after testing authority is obtained.

The Army's DEVCOM Armaments Center said in an email that it has no current plans for howitzer testing at that Adirondack site, “but may consider future artillery experimentation based on Army priorities.”

The proposed range would be near the site of a Cold War-era nuclear missile silo Hopmeier's business bought in 2015 — one of a dozen that once ringed the now-defunct Plattsburgh Air Force Base. Today, the old silo site is used for research.

The actual artillery testing would be done on land near the site. Though the area is remote, 44 homes are within 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) of the proposed testing range.

Does artillery belong in the Adirondacks?

Howitzer blasts are extremely loud — roughly 180 decibels at the source, a noise level higher than most fireworks and more than enough to cause hearing loss and bodily damage.

While testing would be conducted away from famous Adirondack attractions like Lake Placid and Lake George, Hopmeier's proposal has attracted widespread attention. More than 1,400 comments from the public were sent to state regulators, with only 19 expressing support.

Lanita Canavan, who is on the town council, worries about losing the quiet character of the remote municipality of roughly 1,300 people and the birds being chased from her feeders. April Guilder wonders about the tests affecting local water.

“Who’s sticking up for us? That’s my question,” Guilder asked at a recent informational meeting at the town fire hall. “I don’t feel like there’s anybody that’s doing that, and that’s kind of frustrating.”

Some are already upset with Hopmeier for “Jaded Thunder” military exercises last September, which involved his property and helicopters from the U.S. Army's Fort Drum. Multiple people complained about low-flying choppers and gunfire. One area resident said she felt like she was in the movie “Apocalypse Now.”

Though the howitzer proposal is separate, some residents see it as another disturbance related to Hopmeier.

Still, Jim Pulsifer, who owns the proposed testing land, said that if he thought the noise would be too loud, he would not be involved. He said that since the work would help the country and bring much-needed employment to the area, he offered his land free of charge.

“I know there’s a lot of people that moved into the Adirondacks for their little peace and quiet,” said Pulsifer, who lives near the test site. “Well, people have to live in the Adirondacks, too — and make a living.”

After several delays, a public hearing is now scheduled for April 22. An administrative law judge is expected to spend months exploring whether test-firing howitzers is compatible with the rules and character of the park.

Hopmeier questioned whether the park agency has the authority to prevent him from testing, but said regulatory approval from them “makes things cleaner.” However, he has also filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify the board's vote to hold the hearing, arguing that one member with past ties to an environmental group should have abstained.

“Allowing them to treat me unfairly and disregard basic rights is a disservice to my community and country,” Hopmeier wrote, “so I fight on.”