Clark County Council keeps SWAT access to Camp Bonneville; orders staff to pursue limited contracts and remediation talks

Clark County Council on Wednesday heard multiple public comments urging the county to stop law‑enforcement training and explosive storage at Camp Bonneville and to require remediation of contamination, and then gave staff limited direction to negotiate new agreements while preserving short‑term training access.

The most urgent appeals came from residents who said prior agreements and unauthorised uses have harmed the conservation property. “It’s time to remove all explosives and deny future access of SWAT, ATF, and the MEDU,” Patty Reynolds told the council during public comment. Anne Shaw added that the Army transferred Camp Bonneville to Clark County under a conservation conveyance and that “there are no provisions in the conservation conveyance that allows for the storage or detonation of explosives.”

The public comments were followed by a detailed staff briefing and a presentation from members of the Sheriff’s Office and the Southwest Washington Regional SWAT team.

County lands manager Kevin Tyler and Public Works Director Ken Later told the council the county has paused work on three separate draft agreements after finding prior documents that may have lacked authority and that the ATF draft agreement was the furthest along. Tyler said the paused agreements were being redrafted to prevent subletting and to tighten allowed uses. Public Works staff described current use as three categories: a shooting range (used by sheriff and some partners), a simulation/“simulation house” for tactical exercises, and a small fenced area where ATF has stored explosive‑related evidence…