New USFS project would build designated shooting ranges in Pike National Forest
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- The U.S. Forest Service is holding a public open house Tuesday for a new project that would change recreational target shooting on Pike National Forest land.
The project is called the Integrated Management of Target Shooting on the Pike National Forest.
The Forest Service started working on this project in 2021. They plan to build three new target shooting ranges for the public to use. Target shooting outside of these ranges while on national forest land would be illegal.
The Integrated Management of Target Shooting project hopes to provide more opportunities for target shooting on national forest system lands.
"We need this project because the number of people visiting the forest and the number doing dispersed target shooting in particular, have risen over the past decade, and this has resulted in unsafe conditions and resource damage in some areas," said Shawna Graves, U.S. Forest Service.
The Forest Service is considering nine potential locations for these new ranges. They would be in various locations in Teller, Park, and Douglas Counties.
The first open house will be held at the Teller County Sheriff's Office at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Wednesday they'll have a virtual meeting from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The last meeting will be on Thursday in Denver.
