Closure of shooting sites on Redington Pass extended

The closure of three target shooting sites on Redington Pass east of Tucson has been extended for a third time — banning the resumption of shooting at the sites until next Sept. 30.

National Forest officials closed the sites, between mile markers 5 and 7 on the Redington Road, in January 2013 because shooters had trashed the area with shooting debris and bullet-riddled targets. A risk assessment found that lead concentrations in the soil posed an unacceptable risk, and workers began removing contaminated soil after a first closure extension went into effect in the fall of 2013. A second yearlong extension went into effect in the fall of 2014.

And now “the Santa Catalina Ranger District will extend the closure for the three sites for (another) year, while working with stakeholders on management of recreational shooting in the area, and overall multiple-use management of Redington Pass,” Heidi Schewel, spokeswoman for the Coronado National Forest, said this week.

Individuals and groups working to “reclaim” the popular Redington Pass area from irresponsible shooters expressed support for the closure extension.

“I definitely think it’s a good idea,” said Cyndi Tuell, a conservation attorney who is representing the Sierra Club as a volunteer on Redington Pass matters. “Until they can figure out a way to manage target shooting out there more responsibly, they need to keep it closed.”

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Kirk Emerson, president of a group called Friends of Redington Pass, said the group is part of a “collaborative area management planning process that is going on right now.”

She said the closure extension indicates that “the Forest Service wants to benefit from the volunteers who are working on these issues.”

Redington Pass is “sort of a quintessential multiple-use area,” Emerson said. “It is a very special place, being so close to Tucson. It attracts an enormous number of user groups,” including target shooters, hikers, hunters, horseback riders, off-road vehicle users, picnickers and others.

“Friends of Redington Pass has convened an effort to bring these users together and work collaboratively,” she said. “We are moving forward well and hope to have some recommendations out by mid-winter.”

Schewel of the Coronado Forest, noting that cleanup of the sites has been completed, said the main reason for the closure extension is to allow additional time for the forest to work with user groups on developing a management plan for target shooting and other recreational uses of the Redington Pass area.