Sport shooting is one of the most popular outdoor activities across the Pikes Peak region, so a unique partnership has been established to try and find a way to develop safe, recreational sport shooting locations and facilities.
The partnership was announced on Tuesday between local counties as well as the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife. They will begin with what they are calling a “listening tour” in local communities, to get feedback from folks on the best locations, and the best way to manage this popular sport.
Andy Hough with the Southern Shooting Partnership said “we very much support the second amendment and shooting rights, we’re trying to find creative solutions to allow people an even better experience than they’ve had in the public lands in the past, while at the same time, addressing the concerns and safety risks”.
Some of the primary goals they would like to achieve during these listening tours include indentifying viable locations for a variety of recreational sport shooting facilities along the Front Range, identifying areas where recreational sport shooting activities may be inappropriate, develop information and education programs to promote safe and responsible shooting, and how to share and leverage financial, technical and staff resources of all the partner agencies to put this plan in to motion.
While recreational sport shooting is very popular, there have been road blocks to allow more and more people to legally participate. Some lands are limited in cities, counties and lands that are managed by other natural resource agencies.
Organizers want to emphasize that all recreational activities on public lands are governed by federal, state and local regulations, and it’s the shooter’s responsibility to know where they are and which regulations apply.
The series of listening stops will begin December 7th at the Calhan VFW Post, from five to seven p.m. The main topic will be the possibility of developing a shooting range at the Ramah State Recreation Area.
For more information on the partnership and the plan, check out the Southern Shooting Partnership website. Here’s a link.
Southern Shooting Partnership launches public listening tour
