The Clark County Council rejected a proposed deal 2-3 on Tuesday, Aug. 19, to allow the FBI to continue training at Camp Bonneville. Before the vote, residents raised concerns of broken trust, security lapses and millions in unresolved cleanup obligations, echoed by some council members.
Council Chair Sue Marshall and councilors Glen Yung and Wil Fuentes in opposition, while Michelle Belkot and Matt Little backed the proposal.
Camp Bonneville, a 3,840-acre former U.S. Army training site northeast of Vancouver, was used for live-fire exercises from 1909 until its closure in 1995. The Army transferred the land to the county in 2006.
The FBI has continued training at the range for more than 30 years, most recently under a 2012–2022 agreement, leaving behind unexploded ordnance, lead and other hazardous materials. The new proposal would have allowed up to 80 training days under a one-year contract.
Residents strongly objected. Patty Reynolds pointed to a January theft of 12,000 rounds of FBI ammunition from the range, 10,000 rounds of 9 mm and 2,000 rounds of 5.56 rifle ammo, which is still under federal investigation.
“If the county continues to ignore both of these entities, then usage of the ranges should be ceased until the areas are acceptably cleared of chemical contamination and remediated to the level that should have occurred when the base was closed,” Reynolds said.
Environmental advocates also flagged conservation violations. Jim Byrne, speaking for Friends of Clark County, said the county risks violating federal land-use restrictions.
“This property was conveyed to Clark County in 2006 under a conservation conveyance,” Byrne said. “A shooting range is not permitted under a conservation conveyance. Is it safe for visitors to enjoy the park with bullets whizzing by? No.”
Gregory Shaw, who lives near the site, argued the FBI had ducked its obligations.
“The FBI doesn’t care about cleanup. It has used this range for 34 years and never once remediated lead contamination,” Shaw said. “I request that you withdraw this item from the agenda and indefinitely suspend action on this agreement.”
According to county staff, remediation would begin once the firing range closed, which was expected to occur following the one-year contract. However, the FBI’s share of remediation became another sticking point.
Under the earlier terms, the bureau was to pay $400,000 for cleanup — a figure later adjusted to $515,000 due to inflation. That FBI contribution was reduced to $315,000 after the Clark County Sheriff’s Office began using the range in 2019, leaving the county to cover the remainder.
“My concern is that we’re going from them contributing less, and the fact that the sheriff’s office is now using it doesn’t make a difference in the remediation of the land there,” Councilor Yung said. “I feel like they should honor their original agreement.”
Marshall and Fuentes cited the stolen ammunition as broken trust.
“The agreement lapsed three years ago. We weren’t informed that there were probably over 12,000 rounds of ammunition they were storing on the range, and I think the trust has been broken,” Fuentes said.
“I’m not going to be supporting it,” Marshall added. “If those 12,000 rounds had been found, I would feel better about this, but that they’re still at large gives me great concern. I do agree it’s important to have trained law enforcement, but ultimately we’re going to have to find a different location for that.”
Councilors Belkot and Little expressed that the new one-year agreement addressed those concerns, containing provisions for the FBI to lock stored ammunition securely.
The 2-3 failed vote was met with applause from several residents who attended the meeting.
