Douglas County's Board of County Commissioners on March 11 voted unanimously to apply for a $300,000 shooting-range grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, with a $100,000 cash match from the general fund and $100,000 in in-kind services from the county to fund phase 1 of the Turkey Tracks Shooting Range.

The application seeks grant funding to help build a multi-part recreational shooting facility at Turkey Tracks, a long-used dispersed-shooting site southeast of Westcreek adjacent to Forest Service Road 343 near Highway 607 and across from Rainbow Falls. County staff and the Southern Shooting Partnership say the site will absorb recreational pressure displaced by a recent Pike National Forest decision that closes portions of the forest to dispersed shooting and authorizes construction of several managed ranges.

County Open Space environmental resources coordinator Andy Howe told commissioners the request is to secure the CPW grant with county matches and in-kind contributions. "The request is County Commissioner's approval to apply for a $300,000 Colorado Parks and Wildlife shooting range grant, with a hundred thousand dollar cash match from general fund, as well as a hundred thousand dollars in, in kind services from, from Douglas County," Howe said during the presentation. Special projects engineer Zach Humble described design elements and referenced the county's prior experience on the Cameo range project.

County staff described the anticipated phase-1 deliverables as a traditional 100-yard rifle gallery, a two-bench 50-yard gallery, a 35-yard pistol gallery, a long-range precision rifle course, upgraded roads and drainage, and installation of previously purchased targets and benches. Humble said the long-range precision course and an omnidirectional gallery would provide shooting experiences not broadly available on the Front Range and are intended to attract users away from informal shooting on public lands. He noted the county has already acquired approximately $400,000 in materials that would be incorporated into the first phase if the grant is awarded.

Commissioners and staff addressed environmental and public-safety concerns raised by members of the public during the hearing. Staff said a Forest Service-led NEPA process concluded earlier in the year and that range construction was one element intended to reduce resource impacts and improve public safety. In response to questions about lead contamination and runoff, staff said the county and forest service will conduct a baseline lead study at the site and apply EPA and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment guidance to range design and monitoring. Zach Humble described gallery catchments and the use of monitoring (including XRF testing and monitoring wells) and said the design would include features intended to contain and capture spent projectiles and limit migration. County staff also said Turkey Tracks soils are relatively alkaline, which tends to limit lead mobility, and that soil stabilization and potential removal from berms would be part of long-term stewardship.

Members of the public asked technical questions including whether moving targets could be incorporated; staff said moving targets are feasible but that such design refinements would require further approval by land managers, principally the Forest Service. Humble and staff described ballistically protected firing positions, acoustic dampening and reactive steel targets intended to improve safety and user experience while reducing the need for shooters to walk downrange.

After public comment the board moved to approve the application. The motion carried unanimously (tally 3-0). Staff said, as next steps, they will submit the grant application and continue collaboration with the Forest Service and state agencies on environmental monitoring and site stewardship.

County staff and presenters: Andy Howe and Zach Humble remain the primary points of contact for the Turkey Tracks project; staff said further design and operational details will be returned to the commission as the project advances.