Removing Recreational Sport Shooting from National Forest Land Along the Northern Front Range
By Brittany Steffensen What if sport shooting was eliminated on US Forest Service (USFS) land in Boulder County and neighboring counties to the north and south? As equestrians who escape into the mountains for fun filled weekend trail rides, how would this impact your visits to the Front Range? With the rapid population growth and recreational use along the Front Range, recreational sport shooting on National Forest lands has become increasingly popular, bringing with it rising concerns about safety of all persons enjoying these lands. A collaborative, interagency solution has been in the works for many years through the efforts of the Northern Front Range Recreational Sport Shooting Management Partnership (NFRRSSMP). Their goal is to provide safe, responsible, and accessible recreational sport shooting opportunities while addressing conflicts between multiple recreational users on USFS lands across the northern Colorado Front Range. On February 8th, the board of directors of BCHA had the pleasure to sit down and hear from Mr. Gary Sanfacon, the Project Coordinator for the NFRRSSMP. As a Boulder County native, Sanfacon is honored to serve as the point person for this partnership between Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Larimer counties, in addition to the U.S. Forest Service, Northeast region of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forest, and Pawnee National Grassland. Sanfacon, too, has been impacted by sport shooting in the mountains of Boulder County. He shared that the ultimate goal for NFRRSSMP is to remove sport shooting (not permitted hunting) on Boulder County’s national forest land by providing a public […]