Colorado: Attitudes and Opinions of Recreational Target Shooters Being Sought

The Northern Front Range Partnership has developed a survey on its website to gather information about attitudes, opinions and shooter interests along Colorado’s Front Range.   The Partnership is the US Forest Service (USFS), Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the counties of  Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Larimer.  The purpose of the Partnership is to develop “a landscape-level, multi-jurisdictional strategy to provide safe, responsible and accessible recreational sport shooting opportunities while addressing conflicts near residential areas and with other recreational users across the northern Colorado Front Range.”

Last year, the NRA alerted our Colorado members that the USFS is in the process of amending the management plan for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests (ARNF) to address recreational shooting along the Front Range.

Based on comments the USFS received to its initial announcement, including the letter sent by the NRA and 29 other national sportsmen’s organizations, the USFS proposed a direction for managing recreational shooting guided by the four components listed below and invited public comment.  The NRA submitted comments. 

(1)   Adding Forest Plan goals and objectives for recreational sport shooting.

(2)   Identifying lands as suitable for dispersed recreational sport shooting.

(3)   Identifying lands as not suitable for dispersed recreational sport shooting for safety reasons.

(4)   Identifying sites that are suitable as designated shooting areas.

Details about the proposed direction can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/arp/recshootingmgt, along with a map that shows which lands the USFS believes are suitable for recreational shooting, which lands are not suitable, and which are being proposed as designated shooting areas.

Completing the survey is the next step in seeking public comment.  The NRA urges you to take the opportunity to answer and submit the survey as soon as possible to ensure your voice is heard.  It is critical to the future of recreational shooting in the ARNF that shooters take the time and make the effort to engage in this planning process.  Shooters and hunters who shoot on the ARNF are in the best position to chart the future of recreational shooting on over 1.3 million acres of forest lands.