DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — After yet another wildfire at the Turkey Tracks Shooting Range in Colorado’s fire-prone high country last week, attempts by local leaders to take greater control over the site appear to be on a stalled timeline.
The site off Highway 67 in Douglas County, about 13 miles northwest of Woodland Park on US Forest Service land, has averaged about five to 10 fires a year due to target shooting, according to previous KOAA reporting.
“Douglas County’s number one priority is public safety. That’s one of the reasons why, earlier this year, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners requested a Special Use Permit from the US Forest Service to allow the county to build and operate a formal shooting range at Turkey Tracks,” said Douglas County Commissioner George Teal. “This formal range would transform the currently unmanaged site to a series of safe, well-defined, structured, shooting galleries. We do not have a status update. When we do, we will let you know!”
KOAA reached out to the Forest Service multiple times since Nov. 20, seeking information on the status of the Special Use Permit (SUP). Saying they handle thousands of permit requests, the agency was finally able to send a response on Dec. 3.
“The process is in the proposal stage; there is not a timeline. However, we can share next steps in the process. Currently, we are working with Douglas County on their proposal and will be submitting follow-up questions and comments. Once the proposal is finalized by both parties, it will be accepted as an application,” said Alissa Perske, Public Affairs Specialist for the Forest Service. “Then, the application will go through the National Environmental Protection Act process as an environmental assessment. Once the assessment is completed, the permit will be drafted, reviewed and submitted for signatures.”
The extended timeline and unknown date of approval might bring renewed concern to nearby residents and elected leaders as the fire dangers at the shooting site persist.
On Nov. 28, the Forest Service reported a human-caused wildfire at Turkey Tracks, which was indirectly suppressed by fire crews “due to unexploded ammunition and a focus on firefighter safety,” said the Forest Service for Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands.
It was controlled at 22 acres on Nov. 30. The week prior, nearby Teller County enacted a Stage 1 Fire Ban Restriction due to the lack of moisture at the time in the area.
All of this occurred shortly after KOAA did multiple in-depth reports on the consistent wildfire occurrences and concerns from nearby homeowners about the shooting area.
“Why not just do the common sense thing and during Red Flag Day, when a fire is going to be the most dangerous out here given these conditions, just have a policy and shut this place down during Red Flag Days and let's stop the fire before it starts,” said Daniel Voth, a retired Navy captain who lives less than two miles to the north Turkey Tracks. “Someone once said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Let's do some of that.”
Voth reached out to KOAA hoping to pressure federal and county officials into accountability for the constant wildfires stemming from target shooting.
In January this year, the Forest Service announced only six sites could be used for target shooting in Pike National Forest, including Turkey Tracks, stating it would be developed to have safer shooting lanes and galleries.
But the Forest Service acknowledged "the time required to finalize construction designs, generate funding, and conduct any remediation may be months or even years for some locations.”
Nearly a year later, little, if anything, appears to have changed at the shooting range as rough roads and scattered shooting debris litter the area.
In March, Douglas County’s Board of County Commissioners approved hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to help build up the formal shooting range at Turkey Tracks.
The next month, a human-caused 128-acre wildfire burned through the site during a dangerous Red Flag Warning Day. It came close to crossing the highway, prompting renewed fears from nearby residents.
Their calls to close down the site during high fire danger days are being met with jurisdictional complexities.
Carl Bauer, the District Ranger for Pikes Peak Ranger District, said he can only close Turkey Tracks to recreational target shooting when his supervisor signs a Stage 1 fire restriction order.
“Turkey Tracks specifically is the responsibility and the property of the US Forest Service. My authority as the county sheriff does not supersede the federal government, so ultimately it's their responsibility,” said Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly. “Now, it is in my county and I do have some responsibility for public safety there, but the fact of the matter is my authority does not supersede the federal government.”
It’s because of the continual fire concerns and lack of county-level authority to take action that pushed Douglas County leaders to secure more control.
Sheriff Darren Weekly similarly couldn’t provide a timeline on when the Special Use Permit (SUP) might be approved. He said “it moves at the pace of the federal government, which is very slow,” but added he’s hopeful they’d have an answer soon.
According to Douglas County documents from the week of July 14, staff detailed the proposal to apply for a SUP and determined it was the county’s best path forward to both safely operate the shooting site and formally develop the range.
“Due to general bureaucracy, agency culture, and recent federal staff cuts and budgeting constraints, the USFS is highly unlikely to build the recently approved shooting ranges, including Turkey Tracks, any time soon, if at all,” county staff wrote.
A separate document stated that staff would finalize and submit the application in July, with a goal of permit approval within 90 days.
The government shutdown furloughed staff responsible for processing permits, but after the Forest Service response on Wednesday, it remains clear that the transfer of more control to Douglas County remains distant into the future.
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