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Conditions set for reopening shooting range
The U.S. Forest Service Pike and San Isabel national forests, Cimarron and Comanche national grasslands announces that the South Rampart Shooting Range on the Pikes Peak District in El Paso County could reopen if specific conditions are reached. The range closed in July following a fatal accident.
Forest Supervisor Bob Leaverton said he will consider reopening the popular range once certain conditions are met. These stipulations include: substantial range clean-up; infrastructure improvements; and a full-time, on-site manager. He also has discussed the potential to entertain a land-exchange proposal should a private entity or other government agency want to assume ownership and management of the area.
The shooting range was established in 1990 to provide public recreational shooting opportunities in partnership with several volunteer groups. In March 2007, the U.S. Forest Service initiated a review through the National Rifle Association to look at the shooting range and make recommendations.
Some recommended improvements include: marking the perimeter of the range; providing signing, re-establish lateral berms and backstops, rules and regulations; increased patrols; ground water and user studies; constructing a silt fence to contain the lead shot; and developing a master plan for the range. The site continued to be used as a recreational shooting area until July 18, when an incident resulted in the death of a shooter.
The U.S. Forest Service is part of the “Front Range Shooting Sports Partnership.” This partnership is made up of shooting sport and wildlife partners and agencies such as the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Bureau of Land Management. One focal point of this partnership is to identify and support opportunities for managed, sustainable recreational shooting opportunities along the Front Range and across all land ownerships.
The partnership believes that by understanding the demand and supply, a plan can be developed and implemented for sustained recreational shooting opportunities.
Partnership findings indicate the range averaged 40,000 visits annually, which represents demand for an unsupervised, no-fee shooting range.
However, there are over 20 other shooting ranges in the area that have some level of supervision and charge a fee. An inventory of these ranges identified 1,144,000 recreational shooting opportunities available each year (22,000 per week) in Teller, El Paso, Fremont and Pueblo counties.
The closure of the range should not significantly impede the ability of sports men and women to prepare for hunting season. In addition to the 20 private ranges, over 90 percent of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests’ land base remains open to recreational shooting.
The US Forest Service recognizes and supports recreational shooting as a valid and important use of National Forest System lands.
Follow us on TWITTER: PSICC_NF.
Forest Supervisor Bob Leaverton said he will consider reopening the popular range once certain conditions are met. These stipulations include: substantial range clean-up; infrastructure improvements; and a full-time, on-site manager. He also has discussed the potential to entertain a land-exchange proposal should a private entity or other government agency want to assume ownership and management of the area.
The shooting range was established in 1990 to provide public recreational shooting opportunities in partnership with several volunteer groups. In March 2007, the U.S. Forest Service initiated a review through the National Rifle Association to look at the shooting range and make recommendations.
Some recommended improvements include: marking the perimeter of the range; providing signing, re-establish lateral berms and backstops, rules and regulations; increased patrols; ground water and user studies; constructing a silt fence to contain the lead shot; and developing a master plan for the range. The site continued to be used as a recreational shooting area until July 18, when an incident resulted in the death of a shooter.
The U.S. Forest Service is part of the “Front Range Shooting Sports Partnership.” This partnership is made up of shooting sport and wildlife partners and agencies such as the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Bureau of Land Management. One focal point of this partnership is to identify and support opportunities for managed, sustainable recreational shooting opportunities along the Front Range and across all land ownerships.
The partnership believes that by understanding the demand and supply, a plan can be developed and implemented for sustained recreational shooting opportunities.
Partnership findings indicate the range averaged 40,000 visits annually, which represents demand for an unsupervised, no-fee shooting range.
However, there are over 20 other shooting ranges in the area that have some level of supervision and charge a fee. An inventory of these ranges identified 1,144,000 recreational shooting opportunities available each year (22,000 per week) in Teller, El Paso, Fremont and Pueblo counties.
The closure of the range should not significantly impede the ability of sports men and women to prepare for hunting season. In addition to the 20 private ranges, over 90 percent of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests’ land base remains open to recreational shooting.
The US Forest Service recognizes and supports recreational shooting as a valid and important use of National Forest System lands.
Follow us on TWITTER: PSICC_NF.
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