Recently, especially in the city, gun use has already been so wrapped up in cultural, political, ethnic, legal and moral questions, that it’s difficult for most city dwellers to imagine sport shooting as anything more than a distasteful metaphor, or nightmare to a lawyer. But, outside of the urban grind, laws surrounding gun use make room for sport shooting, which has speed bumps instead of stops, and erring bullets instead of cultural and historical inevitablities.
SPORT SHOOTING IN RESIDENTIAL FORESTS
While more people settle into and more residences, and more homes pop up near forests, sport shooting in places like the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests has a hike in activity. The U.S. Forest Service is consequently seeking comments regarding how federal officials should adapt or alter the management of recreational sport shooting on federal land.
Currently, the Forest Service adheres to an 18-year old management plan for sport shooting, but it doesn’t give credence to issues regarding recreational sport shooting.
The Forest Service officials explained that “[t]he mixing of recreational sport shooting activities on National Forest lands in close proximity to residences and other high-use public areas is causing safety concerns.”
NEW LAWS FOR SPORT SHOOTING
A new proposal for amending the Forest Plan for Arapahoe-Roosevelt has progressed for several months, but this recent announcement came just one week after Glenn Martin, a 60-year-old Monument man, was killed by a stray bullet at a Rainbow Falls Park campground in Pike National Forest (north of Woodland Park).
“Our hearts go out to his family,” said Tammy Williams, Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests spokeswoman.
Pike and San Isabel national forests were closed to shooting, with signs posted in nearby areas condemning and prohibiting the use of guns in surrounding areas. So far, the Forest Service has produced a map which defines a 1.1 million acre area within the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests’ lands that may be opened for dispersed sport shooting under current regulations, in addition to roughly 287,000 acres also identified as a no-go zone for sport shooting, whether target or game.
THE ISSUE that lead to the change
So, it seems the initial issue of residential areas popping up precariously close to sport shooting ranges was exacerbated by accidents such as that of Glenn Martin and his family, both in the eyes of the public and Forest Service officials. This seems to be the catalyst that sped along the updating of game laws.
