The pristine wilderness of Colorado’s Pike National Forest has become the unlikely stage of a fierce Second Amendment battle after federal officials imposed sweeping restrictions on recreational shooting across nearly three-quarters of the 1.1-million-acre forest.
The decision, which was finalized in January 2025, has ignited a constitutional firestorm that pits Second Amendment advocates against federal land managers in what many view as a critical moment for gun rights on public lands.
On January 17, 2025, Forest Supervisor Ryan Nehl signed the final Decision Notice for the Integrated Management of Target Shooting Project, effectively closing over 800,000 acres of Pike National Forest to dispersed recreational shooting. The sweeping restrictions impact three ranger districts that span El Paso, Teller, and surrounding counties, including popular shooting destinations such as Turkey Tracks north of Woodland Park and areas along Rampart Range Road.
The Forest Service justifies the ban by alluding to growing safety concerns: shooting-related wildfires that spark 5-10 blazes annually at Turkey Tracks alone, at least one verified fatality linked to recreational shooting, and escalating conflicts among the forest’s 2.5 million annual visitors. The plan calls for replacing dispersed shooting with six developed shooting ranges featuring targets, lanes, and noise abatement systems.
The announcement has generated opposition from gun rights organizations who view the restrictions as an unprecedented assault on the right to bear arms. Ian Escalante, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO), has emerged as one of the most vocal critics, characterizing the ban as part of a broader assault on Colorado’s gun culture.
“If we don’t fight back NOW, Colorado will never be the same again… This is an attack on our Colorado way of life,” Escalante warns, describing the forest closure alongside recent state legislative efforts to restrict semi-automatic firearms as “a direct and deliberate attack on law-abiding Coloradans.”
RMGO, which boasts over 200,000 members, has mobilized its grassroots network to challenge what Escalante calls an unconstitutional overreach by federal bureaucrats. The organization argues that close to 73% of the forest to recreational shooting violates both the letter and spirit of the Second Amendment, particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, which established that firearm restrictions must align with historical traditions of regulation.
The constitutional objections extend beyond grassroots activism into formal legal channels. The Mountain States Legal Foundation’s Center to Keep and Bear Arms has filed an administrative objection arguing the restriction constitutes “a blanket violation of the Second Amendment.” Attorney Greg Sutherland, representing the foundation, contends that “by restricting the people’s right to engage in dispersed target shooting within the Pike National Forest, the USFS is attempting to regulate arms-bearing conduct in violation of the Second Amendment.”
The legal challenge hinges on the Bruen standard, which requires that any firearm restriction demonstrate historical precedent for such regulation. Gun rights advocates argue that federal land has traditionally been open to recreational shooting, making the Pike National Forest closure an unconstitutional deviation from established practice.
Regardless of who is in office in DC, the threat of unconstitutional actions against the Second Amendment coming from federal agencies is a persistent threat. Unlike politicians, these bureaucrats are not accountable to voters at the ballot box. Nevertheless, pressure can be placed on them through litigation and committee probes in both chambers of Congress to shed light on bureaucratic misbehavior.
This case is a reminder that only constant vigilance can protect the Second Amendment from the many threats it faces — be they from politicians or functionaries in the permanent bureaucracy.
The ultimate resolution will determine whether constitutional rights or bureaucratic safety concerns prevail in America’s public wilderness.
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About José Niño
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. You can contact him via Facebook and X/Twitter. Subscribe to his Substack newsletter by visiting “Jose Nino Unfiltered” on Substack.com.
