Anthony Edwards grew up quail hunting in the Arizona deserts. As Tucson residents, he and his dad drove a ways to hunt on private and federal lands.

“As I grew up, those lands I used to hunt became developed, and we had to look for other hunting areas,” Edwards said.

The same is true of the Front Range where Edwards, as a U.S. Forest Service physical resources officer, is part of an effort to ensure gun enthusiasts won’t be squeezed out by development.

“It’s hard to stay ahead of it,” he said. “We see the urbanization and how that’s growing into the forest.”

Front Range Shooting Sports Partnership, formed two years ago, was endorsed this week by El Paso County commissioners for its efforts to determine the need for preserving existing ranges and developing new ones.

The group of 18 members includes federal and state agencies and private groups, including the Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Firearms Coalition of Colorado.

It wants to find out what ranges are available, whether opportunities exist to create new ranges and ways to keep ranges sustainable and economically feasible.

Commissioners Wayne Williams and Amy Lathen said they want to participate in the planning effort.

“People who carry concealed weapons,” Lathen said, “it’s important they practice their skills.”

Edwards said having county government on board is key.

“We don’t believe the forest is the only place where people should be able to shoot,” he said. “We need the county to help us look for a community answer.” That could mean the county helping to identify land for shooting ranges, he said.

The partnership, which takes in an area from the Colorado-Wyoming state line to Pueblo County, inventoried shooting ranges and found opportunities for weapons practice, excluding law enforcement’s private ranges, for 8,410 two-hour sessions a week for pistols and more than 10,000 for rifles.

“It sounds staggering, but I don’t know if there are 50,000 demands out there waiting for a place or not,” Edward said.

The partnership’s next step is to seek public input, although he’s not sure what form that will take.

One sure thing is development is inching toward ranges, which could sound the death knell for places such as Rampart Range shooting area.

“Rampart is close to Cedar Heights, and there’s starting to be some pressure from having that proximity of homes to the shooting range,” Edward said. “That’s the type of scenario when we have to close due to safety.”

To find out more about the partnership, go to http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/ShootingSports/ShootingSportsPartners-Call Zubeck at 636-0238

Photo by Kevin Kreck, The Gazette

Kevin Kreck