Summary
LewIs, N.Y., residents and environmentalists are rallying against a plan to conduct howitzer testing on private land in the Adirondacks, drawing enough concern to trigger a rare public hearing scheduled for April 22, according to the Associated Press.
The proposal is centered in Lewis, about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from where Dan Canavan lives with his wife, Lanita, and roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Lake Champlain. Opponents have said the blasts would shatter the area’s quiet character and potentially spook wildlife including moose, deer, bears and birds, while also raising questions about impacts near state-owned forest land within the park.
Canavan, who described himself as familiar with firearms, said in comments at his home that the comparison being made by the applicant did not match the reality of a 155 millimeter howitzer. “You can’t equate a 155 millimeter howitzer with a hunting rifle, but that’s how he’s been selling it,” Canavan said, according to the AP report.
Hopmeier, a private contractor, has argued that the howitzer barrel tests would support national security and that noise from the tests would be no louder than everyday sounds common in rural life. Hopmeier told officials of a nearby town that the plan did not involve explosive shells, saying, “We are not investigating explosive shells. We are not blowing things up,” according to the AP report.
Under the proposal, steel projectiles would be fired from barrels about 155 millimeters wide—roughly 6 inches—about 30 times per year over a distance described as about two football fields. The tests would take place midday on weekdays, no more than twice a day, and a metal shipping container filled with sand and gravel would be used to catch the projectiles, the AP reported.
Regulators at the Adirondack Park Agency have sought more information multiple times since the initial application in 2021, according to the AP report. In the application, Hopmeier’s company said the tests would support research at a U.S. Army lab at the Watervliet Arsenal, about two hours south, and while the report said no current contract exists, Hopmeier said by email the company could accept government contracts after testing authority is obtained.
In an email response highlighted by the AP, the Army’s DEVCOM Armaments Center said it has no current plans for howitzer testing at the proposed Adirondacks site, “but may consider future artillery experimentation based on Army priorities.” The AP report also said the testing would be near the site of a Cold War-era nuclear missile silo Hopmeier’s business bought in 2015; today, the old silo site is used for research.
Even with the tests described as non-explosive, opponents have pointed to how loud howitzer blasts are. The AP report said the blasts would be roughly 180 decibels at the source—higher than most fireworks and loud enough, the report said, to cause hearing loss and bodily damage. The proposal has also attracted widespread attention, with more than 1,400 public comments sent to state regulators and only 19 expressing support.
Some residents also linked the proposal to prior activities on Hopmeier’s property. The AP report said multiple people complained last September about helicopter activity and gunfire associated with what was described as “Jaded Thunder” military exercises, with one resident saying she felt like she was in the movie “Apocalypse Now.” While the howitzer proposal is separate, the AP report said some residents viewed it as another disturbance.
Others emphasized the potential for local employment and said they would not participate if they believed the noise would be excessive. Jim Pulsifer, the owner of the proposed testing land, said that if he thought the noise would be too loud, he would not be involved, and that because the work would help the country and bring employment to the area he offered his land free of charge, according to the AP report.
After several delays, the Adirondack Park Agency scheduled the April 22 hearing, and an administrative law judge is expected to spend months exploring whether test-firing howitzers fits the rules and character of the park. Hopmeier questioned whether the agency has authority to block testing but said approval would “make things cleaner,” the AP report said, and he 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. Hopmeier wrote, “Allowing them to treat me unfairly and disregard basic rights is a disservice to my community and country,” adding, “so I fight on,” according to the AP report.