A popular northern Wisconsin campground has been closed because gunfire on neighboring property has been deemed to be a threat to campers, according to local sheriff’s officials.
Oconto County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Ed Janke said a man is holding target practice on his property next to the Boulder Lake Campground in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, which is within his rights.
Chief Deputy Ed Janke stated in a press release to NBC26 that the matter has been resolved though court proceedings and the threat is now stable. Officials no longer believe there is a significant public safety concern. Representatives of the National Forest Service and officials say they hope to meet to possibly re-evaluate the closure of the Boulder Lake Campground.
“There were some weapons being fired in the vicinity of the campground on his property,” said Janke. The sheriff’s department received about a half-dozen reports about the unidentified man walking through the area armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Janke said sheriff’s officials haven’t forwarded any reports to the county district attorney.
The campground, which is about 55 miles northwest of Green Bay, has 89 campsites and is generally open from May to October. Chequamegon-Nicolet spokeswoman, Hilary Markin, said the Forest Service has canceled 87 reservations for the upcoming season. In 2017, the campground had 30,204 visitors, Markin said.
Dick Kendall, chairman of the Town of Doty, said the closure is disruptive to the thousands of visitors who use the campground and the stores and restaurants that serve them.
“It’s very devastating to the people who haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. “It’s very unsettling and raises a lot anger and angst in a lot of people.”
Paul Ehrfuth, who heads Oconto County’s economic development corporation, said many campers are being “screened out from what (they) like to do” because of safety concerns caused by one individual.
“That’s a significant economic impact for those businesses not to have those 90 (camping) groups (every week),” he said. “As dependent as we are on tourism, it will be noticed.”
