By Brittany Steffensen
What if sport shooting was eliminated on US Forest Service (USFS) land in Boulder County and neighboring counties to the north and south? As equestrians who escape into the mountains for fun filled weekend trail rides, how would this impact your visits to the Front Range?
With the rapid population growth and recreational use along the Front Range, recreational sport shooting on National Forest lands has become increasingly popular, bringing with it rising concerns about safety of all persons enjoying these lands. A collaborative, interagency solution has been in the works for many years through the efforts of the Northern Front Range Recreational Sport Shooting Management Partnership (NFRRSSMP). Their goal is to provide safe, responsible, and accessible recreational sport shooting opportunities while addressing conflicts between multiple recreational users on USFS lands across the northern Colorado Front Range.
On February 8th, the board of directors of BCHA had the pleasure to sit down and hear from Mr. Gary Sanfacon, the Project Coordinator for the NFRRSSMP. As a Boulder County native, Sanfacon is honored to serve as the point person for this partnership between Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Larimer counties, in addition to the U.S. Forest Service, Northeast region of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forest, and Pawnee National Grassland. Sanfacon, too, has been impacted by sport shooting in the mountains of Boulder County. He shared that the ultimate goal for NFRRSSMP is to remove sport shooting (not permitted hunting) on Boulder County’s national forest land by providing a public shooting range west of the current Boulder Rifle Club.
At this time, the NFRRSSMP along with the county commissioners are focused on raising funds to support the development of the public shooting range. Thus far approximately $2 million has been raised for the 3 phase building plan estimated to cost a total of $5 million. In December 2020, the County Commissioners approved the Boulder Rifle Club’s land use application (phase 1 only) to construct a public range that would include 25, 50, and 100 meter ranges. The Boulder Rifle Club has thus far been awarded over $900,000 from Colorado Parks and Wildlife for range construction. Additional funding opportunities are being explored in order to move forward with phase 3 and 4 of construction.
The reality of all phases of the public shooting range being approved in Boulder County is likely, as alternative shooting opportunities have been implemented already in two of the counties in the partnership. As of fall of 2021, Clear Creek and Gilpin County have been awarded partial funds for development of a public shooting range where construction of the shooting sports park has already started. Construction, however, is only a small part of the progress. Requirements related to length of shooting ranges, state of the art sound mitigation, “blue sky” rule, and residential proximity all play a big part.
BCHA members—and all equestrian users of USFS lands in Northern Colorado—are encouraged to be aware of this partnership and what it could mean for the dichotomous relationship that exists today between sport shooting and equestrian use of USFS land in and around Boulder County. If you would like additional information on the progress and current standing of this plan, you can visit Colorado Parks and Wildlife or Sport Shooting Partners The Boulder County Commissioners are involved in this process and encourage input from residents–you can share your comments directly with the Boulder County Commissioners HERE.