Target range opened, thousands of acres of Colorado forest closed to sport shooting

Federal, state and local backcountry management agencies in seven Colorado counties have started to close off 94,900 acres of Colorado forest to recreation sport shooting. Instead, they are funneling shooters toward a new facility built specifically for them. 

The Devils Nose Target Range opened on Wednesday. It is located southwest of Idaho Springs. 

A coalition of management agencies agreed five years ago to build the range before shutting down the activity in large portions of forest within range of the state's larger populations. The 2019 Recreational Sport Shooting Management Decision cited safety issues as the reason behind the decision. It concluded that increasing numbers of hikers, climbers, snowshoers and skiers, along with increasing numbers of homeowners moving into the mountains, were vulnerable to the largely unregulated sports shooting that was permitted in the forests.

The 2019 decision to close the forest in exchange for opening public shooting ranges came after more than a decade of collaboration, according to a press release from the U.S. Forest Service. The Northern Front Range Recreational Sport Shooting Management Partnership is made up of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Larimer counties. 

Eighty percent of Colorado's population growth is occurring along the Front Range, according to the partnership's web page. The potentials for conflict. The potential for accidentally injurious or deadly conflict was too great to ignore. 

The first wave of closures is in southern Clear Creek, northern Larimer and Grand counties. Additional closures in northern Clear Creek and Gilpin counties are planned when the Clear Creek Shooting Sports Park opens in early 2026.    

The Devils Nose Target Range is open during daylight hours and managed by the USFS. The site includes a vault toilet and three shooting galleries with 24 lanes (25-yard, 50- to 75-yard and 100-yard), each with shooting benches and shade cover.     

There is a full list of public target ranges on Colorado Parks and Wildlife's website. 

An interactive USFS map identifies the closure areas.  

The sport shooting project does affect lawful hunting with firearms in areas where it is currently allowed.