ADA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Some Ada Township neighbors are questioning whether they're safe living next to the Kent County Conservation League's shooting ranges.
Tim Nolan, who has lived in his neighborhood since 2014, says his property borders the conservation league. Two incidents have left him concerned about using his own backyard.
"Every time I walk back there now, I have to stop and think, 'Are they shooting there? Is it a good idea to be in my own woods?'" Nolan said.
The first incident occurred in 2016 when Nolan was walking through woods on his property with his wife and daughter.
"My wife had ducked down, and as a hunter, experienced hunter, she said, 'That was a round that just went over our heads,'" Nolan said.
This spring, Nolan says he was preparing to cut firewood when he heard a shot from the range, followed by what he describes as a whirring sound, before hearing something strike a tree.
"It struck a tree out there, and I heard it make a loud knock, almost sounded like a golf ball hitting a fence," Nolan said.
He says he immediately contacted Ada Township and the Kent County Sheriff's Office.
Nolan says this is not about shutting down the league or opposing gun ownership. He and his neighbors are gun owners themselves.
"We want our kids and neighbors to be safe in their own homes, in their backyards," he said. "This is not an anti-gun thing. This is a, 'We want you to be safe' thing."
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A representative of the Kent County Conservation League declined to comment when a reporter approached them in person after emailing the manager.
An Ada Township planning report had referenced that an inspector with the NRA conducted an inspection of the league's facility in May.
In Township meeting minutes from May 26, under the Township Manager's report section, the minutes note, "no confirmed evidence that a bullet left the range."
Ada Township Manager Julius Suchy said by email that officials are waiting for the inspection report before commenting and that the report will be made public once it's received.
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