Interactive Map of the USFS Final Decision regarding closures
The map allows you to zoom in or search by address to see where the closures will be. Please note that the closures will go into effect when Gilpin County has built a 15 lane range.
USFS Community Meeting Thursday, July 18th, 2019 6-7 PM Gilpin County Community Center on Dispersed Shooting Decision Click here for the flyer about the meeting
USFS Proposed Action Letter of December 15, 2017. USFS Letter
Community Meeting on Monday, November 6, 2017 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Gilpin County Community Center, 250 Norton Drive, Black Hawk, CO 80422. The purpose is to review proposed action maps from the US Forest Service regarding dispersed shooting on USFS lands in Gilpin County. Click here for the flyer about the meeting.
Please click the links below to view the maps and other documents submitted at the meeting above:
Alternative 1 - Proposed Action
Alternative 2 - Focused Concept
Alternative 3 - Local Factors
Alternative 4 - No Dispersed Shooting
BOCC letter for two additional sites for consideration on February 25, 2016. Click here for pdf version.
September 9, 2015 USFS Forest Plan Amendment Letter. Click here for pdf version.
Revised 2015 - U.S. Forest Service Releases Proposed Management Direction for Recreational Sport Shooting. Click here for full release. Click here for USFS Map.
Video 1 - Sport Shooting in the Northern Front Range.
Video 2 - Purpose of the Sport Shooting Partnership.
Video 3 - Partnership Strategy and How to Participate.
Click here for educational flyer on Shooting Range Project.
VIRTUAL Meeting Planned on April 13, 2015. Please click here for full press release on meeting.
August 13, 2014 - Removal of two recommended sites. Please click here to see letter.
July 7, 2015 - Removal of three recommended sites. Please click here to see letter.
The public comment written for each site during the meeting held on July 24, 2014 have been compiled and can be viewed as a PDF. Please click here to see them.
Shooting Range Information:
There were close to a hundred people at the meeting on July 24, 2014. Comments and remarks from the meeting last night are being collated and will be placed on this site shortly. Please check back next week.
Gilpin Resident, Landowner or Interested Person(s):
The Commissioners hosted an open house discussion the evening of July 24, 2014 to discuss the process outlined below and to hear concerns/solutions. The flyer for the meeting is attached to this message with details of the discussion. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
The County is working with our partners to identify possible sites for a developed shooting site. Nothing has been determined regarding any site, but five sites have been forwarded on for further consideration by our partners. Those partners include the Counties of Boulder, Larimer and Clear Creek; U.S. Forest Service; and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Jefferson County is also going through a similar process.
This partnership was created to deal with the regional safety issues of shooting on public lands and the conflict that can and has arisen as result of this use in relation to other recreational uses, environmental considerations and dwellings/citizens.
In 2013, many meetings with the partners occurred where the preliminary criteria for identifying Potential Opportunities for developed shooting areas were established. It is understood that these criteria do not limit the placement of any shooting site. It was important in the consideration of the preliminary criteria that they would not encompass a large land area which could prohibit some suitable locations. It was further understood that secondary and tertiary levels of review would further rule out more locations. There will be three levels of review is evaluating any site, with each subsequent level of review generating more detailed information.
The Preliminary Criteria:
- Distance from municipalities - 1 mile
- Distance from residential development
- Subdivision and/or townsite - ½ mile
(ghost towns were not considered, such as Baltimore or Nevadaville)
- Single homes - ¼ mile
- Distance from recreational development, such as trails, campgrounds, recreation areas, etc - ¼ mile
- Distance from communication towers - ¼ mile
- Slope less than 10%, as measured in tiers
- Accessibility to the site - distance from roadway types such as year-round maintained, seasonally maintained, unmaintained within 100 feet, 101-500 feet, and 501 - 1,000 feet.
A link to the map of the sites identified on public lands is attached which was discussed during an open house on July 11, 2013, at the Community Center.
The second phase of the evaluation of potential developed shooting sites is now complete. Areas identified in the preliminary phase one search were further evaluated in the second phase. A ranking system was developed and each potential site was evaluated based on this system. The criteria used to further evaluate a site in this phase (phase two) included the following:
- Size of Parcel
- Shooting Currently on-site
- Homes Passed
- Number of Owners
- Willingness for Development
- Road Improvements Needed
- Wildfire Hazard
- Disturbed Area
- Geological Hazard
- Natural Buffer
- Ridge or Valley
- Elevation
- Distance to Water
- Floodplain
- Flora (plants)
- Fauna (animals)
- Zone
- Entitlements
- Historic Feature
- Other County/City Involvement
- Proximity to County Line
- Time to Denver
- Distance to Dwelling
The Board of County Commissioners reviewed the top sites based on this ranking system on May 20, 2014 and gave staff direction to forward the top sites, in no particular ranking order to the public and partnership. That information was posted on the county website later that week and Roger Baker, County Manager wrote about the effort and recent developments in his weekly column published in each of the two local newspapers on May 29th.
Those five sites are:
Tacoma Mine [U.S. Forest Service - Boulder Ranger District]
Emory [U.S. Forest Service - Boulder Ranger District]
County Line/State Park - [Golden Gate State Park]
Lake Fork - [Golden Gate State Park]
Columbine - [U.S. Forest Service - Clear Creek Ranger District]
Information and maps on these five sites can be found on this link, also found on the County website:
http://gilpincounty.org/Board of County Commissioners/Recreational Sport Shooting Collaborative/Phase_2_Complete_letter.pdf
The Tertiary or Development Considerations will be considered next in the development of a site, those include but are not limited to the following:
- Safety
- Aspect of site
- ADA accessible
- The site must be available to the entire shooting public.
- Development Impacts
- Parking
- Environmental Considerations
- Grading
- Drainage & Erosion
- Flora
- Fauna
- Lead
- Acceptable Mitigation
- Sound study
- Neighboring parcel impacts
- Buffer
- Utilities - Power Lines & Cell Coverage
- Highest and best use of the site
- Cost
- Acquire
- Design
- Build
- Partnership
- Long-term Management/Enforcement
As we move forward in the evaluation process, it is again important to note that nothing has been determined regarding the placement of a developed shooting site, but that based on the agreed criteria, these sites appear more suitable than others. Public participation is encouraged while the evaluation of these sites moves forward. We look forward to working with our partners and the public in evaluating these sites in greater depth.
Disclaimer: This map is a preliminary draft map presented to the public during the Shooting Range Collaborative open house in Gilpin County on July 11, 2013. No decisions have been made regarding this map or the areas identified therein. The purpose of this map was to introduce to the public the collaborative, initial selection criteria and sports shooting options in general. For more information regarding the collaborative and their efforts, please visit http://www.sportshootingpartners.org . Comments regarding the map can also be made on the sports shooting partners website. Our mapping efforts are an ongoing work in progress and this map will be replaced with additional public maps as they are made available.
The information provided on this website is compiled from recorded plats, deeds, other public records and a variety of data resources. The many sources contributing to this website have been submitted at varying levels of quality, accuracy, and scale and have often been manipulated to align with other data layers. This data is for informational purposes and should not be substituted for a title search, property appraisal, or survey. It is provided as is without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Gilpin County be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages. Gilpin County does not assure the accuracy of the GIS data.