USFS Closes Mt. Herman Road to recreational shooting!

The USFS has listened to and stepped up for the community and closed Mt. Herman Rd and many of the spur roads between Monument and Rampart Range Road to recreational shooting.  It is time for us to support them in this decision and help clean up and restore Mount Herman. Information and maps about the closure are linked below.

More importantly we need you to come join us and help with the cleanup and restoration efforts.

FOMP is organising trash cleanups at the recently closed shooting areas on Saturday July 12th from 8am-noon and Tuesday July 15th 6pm-dusk (this will replace our regularly planned trail work and seedling release work session).  The main area we will be working is approximately 4.5 miles from the main parking lot up Mount Herman Road (MHR).  If you are unclear where this area is , just wear leather gloves and sturdy footwear (there will be broken glass and other similar hazards), bring a rake and personal water supply (a hat, bug spray and sunscreen  are also good ideas) and head up MHR until you see us.  We are purposely only going half a day because this cleanup, involving up to 16 distinct areas all the way to Rampart Range Road, will take the rest of the season to get cleaned up and restoration started.  Show up for the entire time if you can or just an hour or two, or even just bike-hike-run-horse ride on through and fill a bag up on your way. Every little bit helps!

If you have any questions about the cleanup effort please contact Jon Nordby (719.640.1347) or Chris Tirpak (719.439.8865). Large groups are welcome so rally your group and come join us. 

Additional Information on the closure can be found on these posts on the website:

Recreational Shooting Closure Maps and Order
https://fomp.org/2014/07/09/recreational-shooting-closure-maps-and-order/

Recreational Shooting Closure Implemented on Pikes Peak District
https://fomp.org/2014/07/08/recreational-shooting-closure-implemented-on-pikes-peak-district/

Thanks and we hope to see you out there soon!
FOMP

FOMP is glad to see the USFS taking action to make the area safe for all forest users!

FOMP will be sponsoring a cleanup day soon, please stay tuned!

Release Date: Jul 7, 2014

Contact(s): Barb Timock, Public Affairs Officer, 719-553-1415

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO., July 8, 2014…Effective July, 7, 2014, the Pike National Forest – Pikes Peak Ranger District has issued an Order closing a 9,567 acre area in El Paso County to recreational shooting. The Order is necessary to provide for public safety and to protect natural resources and facilities. It prohibits discharging a firearm, air rifle or gas gun in the designated area.

Erin Connelly, Forest and Grassland Supervisor of the Pike & San Isabel National Forests, Cimarron & Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC) said, “My focus is on ensuring public and resource protection while more than 94 percent of the PSICC remains open to this sport. This closure will improve the overall safety for visitors to the PSICC.”

The Order affects the area surrounding Mount Herman Road (Forest Service Road 320) from Monument, Colorado west to the Teller County line. This area does not provide for safe or reasonable recreational shooting due to the steep terrain and concentrated public use. The area surrounding Mount Herman Road is particularly rugged and contains a variety of recreational opportunities. Due to the proximity of this area to Denver and Colorado Springs, the volume of recreational shooting has increased substantially in recent years.

Hunters are unaffected by this Order.  The Order does not impact individuals with valid State of Colorado hunting licenses who are actively involved in hunting during an open season.

More details may be found @: http://prdp2fs.ess.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/alerts-notices(Scroll to Closures).

Note: above link should probably be: http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/alerts-notices