Basalt SWA Range Reopens to the Public in Colorado
OutdoorHub 08.21.12
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are announcing that after a short closure, the Basalt State Wildlife Area shooting range will reopen to the public Aug. 22 at 7 a.m.
Local wildlife officials closed the range to the public after a fire burned two-acres on a hillside behind it earlier this month.
During the closure, Colorado Parks and Wildlife managers consulted with local fire mitigation experts to reduce the possibility of future fires. Work included the removal of brush and the construction of a berm to stop rounds from striking beyond the range property.
In addition to the large-scale work, new rules have been instituted, including a no smoking policy and prohibiting the firing of rifle rounds beyond the 100-yard berm.
Other rules prohibiting the use of tracer rounds, steel-jacketed ammunition, exploding targets and the use of fully automatic firearms remain in place.
Range users are cautioned to obey all rules posted on signs at the range and are encouraged to contact local authorities with any information regarding range rule infractions.
Violators of range rules will be fined and banned from using the range in the future.
The popular range has been on the Basalt State Wildife Area since the 1960s. According to wildlife officials, the fire earlier this month was the first one reported at the facility in its nearly 50-year history.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife was created by the merger of Colorado State Parks and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, two nationally recognized leaders in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado’s wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs.
To learn more about Colorado’s state parks, please see: http://www.parks.state.co.us
To learn more about Colorado’s wildlife programs, please see: http://wildlife.state.co.us
