Volunteer spotlight: Frank Venske | Cleaning up Triangle Pit one shell casing at a time…and providing some education, too

Frank Venske, volunteer extraordinaire at Triangle gravel pit in Capitol State Forest, accepts an award from Larry Raedel, Chief Law Enforcement Officer for DNR. Photo: Nick Cronquist/DNR.

What a difference a volunteer can make. And what a difference five months can make. Take Triangle gravel pit in Capitol Forest, for example. A popular spot for target shooting, the pit was also a popular dumping ground for everything from old TVs, VCRs, and computers to propane tanks and even a pool table. Yes, a pool table. People often used these discarded items as targets.

Then along came volunteer Frank Venske. Now retired and living in Montesano, Frank spends nearly every day at Triangle, cleaning up casings from shotgun shells and picking up trash. In the past five months, Frank has picked up more than 350 bags of garbage, 140 of which were shotgun shells.

In October, volunteers also cleaned up Triangle gravel pit. Unfortunately, shortly after this, people resumed dumping in the area—until Frank showed up.

Frank presides over the area with a sense of ownership. Don’t even think of littering or dumping off that old couch. You’ll have to answer to Frank. He also educates the public about safe shooting and contacts DNR staff if he encounters a situation with the public that requires help from law enforcement.

“Frank is also our unofficial ‘range master’,” says Dwight Combs, an education and enforcement forester in DNR’s Pacific Cascade (PC) region. “People tell me that DNR has a goldmine in Frank.”

“Triangle Pit was an eyesore and a management headache,” said Nick Cronquist, a volunteer coordinator with DNR’s PC region. “With Frank’s efforts, it has been nearly entirely cleaned up.”

With DNR’s recreation budget continuing to shrink, we rely even more on the dedication of volunteers such as Frank. As a way of expressing DNR’s appreciation for Frank’s help at Triangle, DNR staff presented him with a special award of thanks earlier this summer.

Target shooting is allowed on state trust lands, provided it’s done in a safe manner. From time to time, DNR has provided designated shooting areas; however, these are not available at this time. It is legal to target shoot in other areas with an unobstructed, earthen backstop capable of stopping all projectiles and debris in a safe manner. For more details, visit the rules for using firearms and target shooting on DNR-managed land.

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