Clare Tone

Removing Recreational Sport Shooting from National Forest Land Along the Northern Front Range

Advocacy-public lands-resources /

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 […]

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Fires Bring Action to Colorado Horse Communities

Archives-Guest articles & contributions /

Originally published by Nicker News Written by Randy Winter Feature phot0: Helen Richardson, Photographer, Denver Post [divider style=”solid” color=”#cccccc” opacity=”1″ icon_color=”#666666″ icon_size=”15″ placement=”equal”]EDITOR’S NOTE: Randy Winter is an experienced endurance rider, an active horse community member, a Best Horse Practices Summit sponsor, and creator of Rein Safe. He sent this report from his home in Boulder, Colorado, which the Middle Fork and Marshall fires narrowly missed. Those fires forced the evacuation of 35,000 people and destroyed 900 homes.[divider style=”solid” color=”#cccccc” opacity=”1″ icon_color=”#666666″ icon_size=”15″ placement=”equal”] Randy Winter writes: December 30 was quite a day. The wind was howling. Around 11 am, we saw emergency vehicles go by and saw smoke just west and south of us. A friend lives directly in that area and she kept us posted on the progress of what would quickly be named the Middle Fork Fire. We prepared to evacuate. The fire roared past us to the south. Fortunately, fire crews got this fire under control quickly. But then we started hearing about a new fire, dubbed the Marshall Fire. This fire was 15 miles south of us. We had winds of 80 mph. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)  is located in this area because of high winds generated by the terrain. Huge wind turbines dot the landscape. Winds funnel down through the canyons like when you put  your thumb over the end of a hose to increase the distance of water spray. The Schnook winds can be fierce as they travel west to east coming down out of the Rockies. Officials

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Galloping Into 2022

Archives-Our Community /

For BCHA, 2021 was a great year of promoting, protecting and advocating for the equestrian community of Boulder County. We are galloping into 2022 with new energy and enthusiasm, but let’s do a half-halt and recap what we have accomplished: BCHA grew our Board of Directors and retained important committee leadership! Want to collaborate with a great group of board and committee members? Please reach out to Clare Tone to see how you can help us accomplish more in 2022. BCHA re-upped our educational offerings by pivoting to monthly guest presentations via Zoom. We are fortunate to have so many knowledgeable folks who are so generous in sharing what they know with our horse community. Have something to offer our community in 2022? Reach out to Brittany Steffensen BCHA worked with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) to make available the H.O.O.F. Livestock Operation Find Form. Filling out and submitting your information allows the BCSO to maintain a central livestock database, and enables them to quickly contact you during an emergency. Find out more, fill out the H.O.O.F Form today! BCHA awarded two Youth Scholarships in June. Spread the word. We are accepting rolling applications through April 2022. Find out more.  Your BCHA Board of Directors attended a retreat in July at Broken Arrow Ranch to clarify goals and cement relationships. BCHA expertise was sought out numerous times throughout the year for insights on equestrian trail access from community partners. These included the City and County of Boulder. We are grateful for our long legacy of leadership

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