Massena Rod & Gun Club crowded by federal agents

LOUISVILLE — For years, federal agents stationed in the north country have used the Massena Rod & Gun Club as a training ground.

Those federal agencies sometimes reserve the club’s lower range for days at a time, restricting access to other members. The restrictions are prompting Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, to call for improved coordination, scheduling and communication between the federal agencies and the club.

Mr. Owens and Mr. Schumer submitted a letter to John Morton, U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement director, and David Aguilar, Customs and Border Protection interim commissioner, requesting that each agency’s field office meet with the club’s board of directors to address the issue. The senator and congressman noted gun club crowding was an “unintended consequence” of increasing federal border personnel in the area.

“We have received numerous inquiries informing (us) that when your agents are using this facility, they are often doing so in a manner that is unnecessarily preventing other individuals in the area to use and enjoy this facility,” the letter noted.

Mark S. Billings, president of the rod and gun club’s board of directors, said the club and local law enforcement have had a mutually beneficial relationship for many years. He said the closest gun club that could accommodate training for CBP and ICE is in Tupper Lake.

“We’re the only place in town for them to shoot,” he said.

The federal government pays for a gun club membership for its trainees, he said. But unlike other club members, the federal agents are allowed to block access to other members while training. The agencies restrict access at the club four or five times a year for a week at a time, and additional time if trainees need to make up a day.

“With the number of law enforcement we have, it kind of crowds the range,” he said.

Mr. Billings said he wants to work out a solution that would still allow the agencies to use the club.

“There is no problem,” he said. “We’re more than happy to work with the law enforcement up here.”