Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County.     Over 100 people packed into the Gilpin County Recreation Center meeting room last Thursday night, July 24, to offer their comments on the proposed shooting range sites. Large sheets of paper were placed around the room with names of the sites and columns to list pros and cons. There were few pro comments on any of the sheets.

Residents have been protesting against the ever-increasing gunfire in those neighborhoods bordered by United States Forest Service property, where it is legal to fire guns as long as the shooters obey the rules of the USFS. Monitoring the shooters has become an almost impossible responsibility and while most complaints will be responded to, it is usually too late for law enforcement officers to take action.

At Thursday's meeting, Gilpin County Commissioner Gail Watson told the participants that choosing a shooting range site is all about safety and trying to find an appropriate site. She also said that the Emory Road site is no longer on the list of potential locations. Emory Road is off Pactolus Road, just before the intersection of Pactolus and South Beaver Creek, and would have impacted many residents in the area. When she made the announcement, the audience burst into cheers and spontaneous applause.

Ray Rears, Gilpin County Planner and Historic Advisory Liaison, then told them that Columbine Campground outside of Central City had been added to the potential site list. He said that Gilpin County had limited resources and would have to partner with neighboring counties to be able to develop a shooting range. He said Columbine has a 10-acre potential for development and the area is already used for shooting.

The Lake Fort site, near Smith Hill and Golden Gate State Park, is the largest potential site. County Line site is off Gap Road and is small; Tacoma is off Tolland Road, near the old Forest Service work camp.

"All of these sites are on public land so we don't have to go through the regular use process," said Rears. "Safety and noise are priorities. No one wants to listen to gunfire all day."

When asked how and who will manage a shooting range, Rears’ answer was, he didn't know yet.

One person asked, "Wouldn't it better to have the Front Range shooters shoot on the Front Range?" Commissioner Buddy Schmalz said they were trying to do the right thing for everybody.

Sheriff Bruce Hartman said his department cannot respond to all the calls, can't get there while it's going on. He also said, "It is extremely difficult to write a warrant when someone is shooting on private property." He said that since 1975, the population of Gilpin County has doubled, which could account for the increase in shooting reports. He said there would be fewer complaints if there were a designated area for people to shoot, but it would be long term before the change would occur.

Commissioner Watson responded to a funding question saying, "The money would probably come from hunting licenses. We wouldn't approve it if funds would have to come from taxes."

One man told the commissioners that shooting is a part of Forest Service history. "You are taking away the rights from millions of people who shoot legally now." One woman asked the commissioners, "With all these people who now shoot illegally, will they suddenly become law-abiding citizens if there is a range? Problem shooters will remain problem shooters. They won't obey the law—that defies logic."

One pro shooting comment was "The yahoos in the woods are not being watched. You cannot misbehave at a shooting range, so it might help. But a shooting range won't solve all the problems."

Another funding suggestion came from a man who asked why the National Rifle  Association didn't fund a shooting range. "We should demand that the NRA help. They popularize the sport so they should support it."

Another suggestion was to fund the range as if it were a ski area; have the shooters develop the ranges on forest service land, like the ski area developers do. "People pay $100 a day to ski. Why can't they pay $100 to shoot?"

At the end of the session, one person asked, "Why are we arguing when we don't know anything. Why even go ahead? They don't know how they will manage a site, but they still bust me for having a dog off leash."

The commissioners emphasized that the meeting had been held only to gain insight from the community and share facts and opinions on the subject. There is a long road ahead for the proponents of the shooting range project.