The debate continues over the U.S. Forest Service’s role in controlling recreational shooting on public lands near Front Range populations.

The debate has been going on for about three years now, since officials launched a project called Integrated Target Shooting Management in Pike National Forest. The project has drawn packed meetings and hundreds of comments from concerned people in El Paso, Douglas, Teller and Park counties.

Although target shooting is a recognized and historic activity in national forests, Pike land managers report an increasing number of shooters, campers, hikers, bikers, off-roaders and other outdoor enthusiasts engaging in unsafe activities. Ricochets and near misses have been reported over the years, as well as increasing amounts of trash, downed trees and flying sparks from wildfires.

“Due to the overall increase in use of the forest … we have reached a point where (target shooting) in its current form is no longer a sustainable recreational activity,” said Jennifer DeWoody, the forest service’s project manager, at a recent meeting.

The meeting was part of a series in which possible strategies were presented.

The proposal: to ban shooting in about 72% of the Pike National Forest and to build at least one shooting range in each of the Pikes Peak, South Platte and South Park ranger districts. While three ranges would be the minimum, up to nine could be built over time, officials said.

The same figures apply to an alternative strategy that would ban dispersed shooting in almost 59% of the forest, instead of 72%. The last alternative presented was a “do nothing” approach, which would limit shooting bans to those already imposed in areas deemed unsafe. (Maps of the alternatives are published on a project website: tinyurl.com/2s3jat5x)

The Forest Service’s most recent presentations included a report summarizing 1,667 comments received over the past few years, many of which concerned the extensive closures.

The closures are “a power grab by the federal agency,” it said in a summary comment. “The public should be able to use public lands with no (or few) restrictions.”

In response to further comments citing Second Amendment rights, the Forest Service stated, “The proposed action and the alternatives do not interfere with the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. Rather, they establish how target shooting will be managed in the Pike National Forest…”

The agency has also heard concerns about unintended consequences.

Perhaps closures would “increase the impact on the areas that are still open and cause people to move to more remote areas,” said one commentator. Others speculated about a “funnel effect” – shooters would be forced out of the forest and crowd into the designated shooting ranges.

Of particular interest is the popular shooting range known as Turkey Tracks, located near the Teller-Douglas county line north of Woodland Park. Although some know the site is dangerous — including homeowners who have reported near misses — the Forest Service has proposed redesigning the site and developing it into a shooting range that meets its standards.

Jerry Smith, an enthusiast at the local gun club, said: “It needs 24/7 maintenance and monitoring. Even if you leave it as it is now and build a shooting range, I still wouldn’t want to go there.”

Although he was concerned about the details, Smith praised the Forest Service’s efforts to address the isolated shootings and echoed the sentiment of some rescue workers in recent years: “It’s just gotten out of control.”

Feedback from the past few years shows that “half didn’t want oversight, half wanted oversight,” says Andy Hough, who heads the interagency Southern Shooting Partnership, which worked with the Forest Service on a plan.

There were also mixed opinions about the fees for the shooting ranges – some see this as the only way to afford possible supervision and maintenance. The Forest Service emphasized an “adaptive strategy” in which management can be adjusted.

First of all, “the general philosophy is to manage these (trails) with as few rigorous management techniques as possible,” said Carl Bauer, Pikes Peak District ranger, at a recent meeting.

However, this does little to allay the fears expressed by local residents during the series of presentations.

South Platte District Ranger Brian Banks said he sympathized with them. “The reality of living in an urban forest is that you can’t find a place where you’re separate from everyone else,” he said. “There’s no perfect, excuse the pun, silver bullet.”

Hough has tried to allay fears by emphasizing the precise design and safety components of the planned ranges, calling them “idiot-proof,” and adding, “In my optimistic world, we will build such good ranges that a number of shooters, widely dispersed, will want to shoot at these facilities.”

The Southern Shooting Partnership has put up $400,000 to begin construction, Hough said, instead of the Forest Service, which cannot purchase materials “until a final decision is made and/or the litigation is resolved,” Hough noted.

Comments can be submitted on the Integrated Management of Target Shooting project website until September 4. A final decision could be made in early 2025.