Public Lands Shooting Shift?

We wonder if The National Forest Service "might" be phasing in a policy and management shift regarding where recreational sport shooting activities can take place on USFS-administered public lands.

Four Ranger Districts on Colorado's Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests (ARNF) recently released draft plans to manage where recreational sport shooting (RSS) activities may take place.

Here is the official website of the ARNF proposal:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=46910

It has long been speculated by RSS enthusiasts that Federal Land Managers would someday begin to address uncontrolled RSS activities in areas where urban development interfaces with the "wide open spaces" of public lands.

Although there is no stated connection between the ARNF's proposals and a broader policy shift by Regional Forest managers, one would reasonably assume that other National Forest officials are closely watching how the ARNF approach to RSS issues plays out.

Clearly, uncontrolled RSS activities can be appropriate and dangerous in close proximity to dense urban development and heavily used travel corridors.

We have not yet had time to study the ARNF proposals in detail.  However, one aspect of the proposal literally leaps off the page to catch our attention.  In the attached map, you can see that the ARNF has designated only two sites as "Designated Shooting Area."

(NOTE: Here is the link to a full size version of the map graphic shown here:

http://a123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic.download.akamai.com/11558/www/nepa/101606_FSPLT3_2554011.pdf

Narrative continues below map graphic.

We have long been of the opinion that RSS activities will eventually become highly restricted, if not actually regulated, on public lands.  The transgressions of a few who trash public lands and who shoot in reckless and unsafe places and ways have perhaps forever tarnished the good behavior of the vast majority of RSS enthusiasts.

We have also long harbored hopes that the Forest Service would be pro-active and work with the RSS community to develop many accessible, safe Designated Shooting Areas, if not actual controlled shooting ranges.

As we move into an uncertain RSS future, we feel it would behoove both RSS enthusiasts and public lands managers to reach out to each other and engage in a productive, ongoing dialog regarding how to efficiently address what is certain to be a growing set of issues on public lands across America.