LEWIS, N.Y. (WCAX) - After thousands of public comments, a proposal for a first-of-its-kind privately-owned artillery testing site is being discussed by the Adirondack Park Agency this week.

The applicant, Michael Hopmeier, is the president of Unconventional Concepts, a private military contractor with sites across the country. He owns an abandoned nuclear missile silo in the town of Lewis, where he recently conducted a military exercise that drew criticism from his neighbors.

He is asking the APA to approve the firing and testing of a howitzer cannon at least 30 times a year on Hale Hill Road as part of ballistics testing.

Environmental groups like Protect the Adirondacks are among the many who have commented on the proposal. They don’t believe his proposal is the right fit for the

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