Howitzer Testing Proposal Ignites Battle Over Soul of New York's Adirondack Park

A proposal to establish a large-caliber artillery testing range inside New York's Adirondack Park has triggered fierce opposition from residents and environmental advocates, prompting state regulators to schedule a formal public hearing for April 22. Private military contractor Michael Hopmeier, through his company Unconventional Concepts, Inc., is seeking approval to test 155-millimeter howitzer barrels on privately owned land in the rural town of Lewis, approximately 10 miles west of Lake Champlain. Under the plan, steel projectiles with no explosive warheads would be fired up to 30 times annually across a distance of roughly two football fields, with tests limited to weekday midday hours. A sand-and-gravel-filled metal shipping container would serve as a catch system for the rounds. Hopmeier maintains the project would support national security research linked to the U.S. Army's Watervliet Arsenal, located about two hours south, and argues that noise levels reaching neighboring properties would be comparable to common rural sounds such as chainsaws and gunfire. However, no active government contract currently exists for the testing. The proposal has drawn overwhelming public opposition. Of more than 1,400 comments submitted to state regulators, only 19 expressed support. Residents living within two miles of the proposed site — numbering 44 households — have voiced concerns about noise disruption, wildlife disturbance, and impacts on local water quality. Howitzer discharges register approximately 180 decibels at the source, a level sufficient to cause hearing loss and physical injury. The controversy is compounded by prior tensions over military exercises conducted on Hopmeier's nearby property last September, which involved low-flying Army helicopters and generated multiple complaints from area residents. An administrative law judge is expected to spend several months determining whether the testing operation is compatible with the regulations and character of the six-million-acre park. Hopmeier has simultaneously filed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the hearing itself.