Information courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service
Do you enjoy sport shooting in the Pike National Forest and want to have a say about future management? Plan to participate in a 30-day public comment period regarding the draft environmental assessment or attend one of three upcoming public meetings to learn about plans for future management and proposed restrictions to target shooting in Pikes Peak, South Park, and South Platte Ranger Districts within the Pike National Forest.
The Forest Service seeks comments on the draft environmental assessment for the Integrated Management of Target Shooting on the Pike National Forest Project. The project addresses the need to:
- Provide opportunities for target shooting on National Forest System lands
- Identify areas unsuitable for dispersed target shooting
- Identify locations to be developed as shooting ranges
- Establish a conditions-based adaptive management framework to manage target shooting in the future
Public meetings will be held in person and online:
Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, 6:30 – 8 pm
In person at the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, 11400 US-24, Divide, CO 80814
Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, 1 – 3 pm
Virtual meeting held on Microsoft-Teams. Details on how to join the meeting are available on the project webpage in the “IMTS Public Meetings” document.
Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, 6:30– 8 pm
In person at the Sheridan Library, 3425 W. Oxford Ave., Denver, CO 80236
The Pikes Peak, South Park, and South Platte Ranger Districts encompass more than 1.1 million acres in central Colorado, including parts of Douglas County. Both the number of people living near the forest and the participation in target shooting have increased over the past decade, resulting in the need to mitigate risks to public safety, including shooting-related wildfires, resource damage, and user-conflict injuries while maintaining the opportunity to engage in this popular activity.
Douglas County is one of the 11 partners in the Southern Shooting Partnership, which will prepare a recreational sport shooting strategy that provides safe, responsible and accessible recreational sport shooting opportunities while addressing conflicts near residential areas with other outdoor recreation users across the Front Range.
For more information, visit our webpage.