Those who have been working toward finding an elusive solution to the problem of establishing safe options for recreational shooting across the northern Front Range were handed their second cause for celebration Thursday in a matter of three days.

Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest Supervisor Monte Williams on Thursday signed the final decision on the Recreational Sport Shooting Management Project, making official an earlier draft decision to protect public safety through restrictions on recreational sport shooting on 226,113 acres of the 1.4 million-acre Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests.

The closures do not impact properly licensed hunting.

“Close, collaborative work with our partners, interests groups and the local community has helped us reach this balanced decision. We appreciate the time everyone has taken to provide input on this complex project,” Williams said in a statement. “My decision continues to deliver recreational sport shooting opportunities while providing for public safety, which was the ultimate goal.”

Williams had issued a draft decision on Sept. 20, which included three primary components: language amending the United States Forest Service Forest Plan to address management of recreational sport shooting; a forest-wide map showing areas where recreational sport shooting is unsuitable and will be restricted; and an adaptive management strategy that allows the Forest Service to quickly respond should new or unforeseen safety issues occur in the future.

Of the 226,113 acres subjected to the closure for shooting, 81,995 acres fall within Boulder County. The areas affected by the closures can be seen at the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest website.

The finalized Forest Service plan will see a phased implementation, as construction of public shooting ranges goes forward under the direction of the Northern Front Range Recreational Sport Shooting Management Partnership. Details concerning the partnership’s progress can be seen at its website, sportshootingpartners.org.

The decision finalized Thursday comes just two days after Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that eight Colorado shooting ranges were awarded $725,000 in grant funds through the agency’s Shooting Range Development Grant Program. The Boulder Rifle Club was among those receiving grants. Located at 4810 26th St. in Boulder, it has been tabbed for potential expansion that would accommodate a public range, and will receive $300,000 for initial construction of a new range. It still must pass through a special use application process with Boulder County.

Garry Sanfaçon, project coordinator for the partnership, was among those hailing Williams for having signed off on the sports shooting final decision.

“Hooray,” Sanfaçon said. “Six and a half years, longer than flood recovery.

“This is a huge milestone,” he added. “We had kind of a three-pronged approach, and one was the Forest Service was going to look at revising the Forest Plan. They have held to their part of the bargain, and now it is up to the counties to provide opportunities for shooters who will be displaced by the closures. It is a great accomplishment.”

Only small changes were made from the previous draft decision to Thursday’s final decision, including some clarifying language and the addition of 539 unsuitable acres identified through the public objection process.

Nearly half the subsequently added closure acreage came in Boulder County.

“Approximately 254 acres were added in Boulder County in the final,” said Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest spokesperson Reghan Cloudman. “And the reason for that is predominantly in a climbing area that we had missed before, where there were a lot of roads and a lot of use.” She identified that as being in the vicinity of a formation known as the Ironclads near Allenspark, near Forest Service roads 105 and 216.1.

The Forest Service decision calls for participating partners, which include Gilpin, Clear Creek and Larimer counties, to each provide two public ranges for recreational shooters. Boulder County is to provide one south of Colo. 7, and one north of that. If brought to fruition, the Boulder Rifle Club would provide the county’s southern option, but a site for the northern end of the county is still less firm.

The second location had been eyed for a quarry property owned by Cemex, east of Lyons. But town’s officials are not pleased with the prospect, due to its proximity to Lyons High School, about a quarter-mile away, and the fact that Bohn Park and Picture Rock Trail also are nearby.

Lyons Mayor Connie Sullivan earlier this week reiterated the Board of Trustees’ intent to send a letter to county officials voicing their concerns.

Sanfaçon said Thursday that the county also has yet to even receive from Cemex a notice of intent to sell the quarry property.

“So we have not moved forward with any sort of analysis” of the Cemex site, Sanfaçon said. “I guess it’s still in play, but we have not received that, and so we are looking at other sites as well.”