Today there are more recreationists than ever enjoying the outdoors in Boulder County, and along with that more recreational shooters. In this day and age the question is not whether or not there should be sports shooting in Boulder County, but where is sports shooting safe and appropriate? At the moment recreational sport shooting is legal on almost all U.S. Forest Service land in Boulder County alongside activities like hiking, biking, horseback riding, picnicking and camping. While people have been struck by stray bullets and seriously injured already in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest, no one has yet died here. Sadly this is not the case everywhere. With every small closure of one or two popular shooting areas the issue is simply moved to other locations, other communities, other trailheads. The result is an increase of shooting activity in certain areas with greater odds that a bullet will cross paths with another recreationist or resident.

Beginning in 2013 the Front Range Sports Shooting Partnership composed of Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Larimer Counties along with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) worked together to find a solution to the issue. In 2019 the USFS issued an Amendment to their Forest Plan, which will permanently close nearly 80,000 acres of USFS land to recreational sports shooting in Boulder County (this does not affect hunting). This is an area greater than all of Boulder County Parks and Open Space land combined. The USFS interactive map can be seen here: https://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTools/index.html?appid=686de900600743db9e54b167fa7bf40f 

In order for the USFS’s recreational shooting closure to go into effect within Boulder County, the County must establish a public shooting range to provide a safe alternative to lost opportunities for sports shooting on public land. Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties are moving forward with their own requisite shooting ranges in order to close unsafe areas to sports shooting on USFS land to the south of Boulder. It is paramount that Boulder County follows suit by dedicating staff time to finding a suitable location, and putting aside the financial resources to construct a public shooting range.

Boulder County Commissioners,

As residents and visitors of Boulder County we call on you as our County Commissioners to be proactive in protecting the safety of all recreationists, who seek to enjoy the amazing outdoor experiences Boulder County has to offer. We ask that you prioritize the siting and development of a public shooting range, which will meet the USFS requirements by 1) dedicating a member of staff in 2025 (a PTE would be sufficient) to pursue this project as their main objective; and 2) begin setting aside the financial resources to make construction possible. We support Boulder County moving forward with this common sense solution to end the threat of injury or death while we enjoy recreating in our National Forests.