COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The National Forest Service closed the South Rampart Shooting Range Tuesday, following the accidental fatal shooting of an Aurora man at the range.

The popular, unsupervised range is located in the Pike National Forest, northwest of Garden of the Gods, in El Paso County.

"We are deeply troubled anytime a forest visitor is seriously injured or killed while enjoying their time in the forest," said Forest Supervisor BobLeaverton as he announced the emergency closure.

The closure will allow forest officials time to examine all of the facts of the incident, talk to the many partners involved with the shooting range, and take a more thorough look at the current use of the area.

"We will close this area for as long as it takes to review the health and safety issues to the shooting public and our employees before we decide on a course of action,” said Leaverton.

The shooting range, opened in 1990, is used by 40,000 people a year. Leaverton said a panel will be assembled to review safety at the range. No reopening date has been announced.

A National Rifle Association-sponsored shooting range adviser inspected the trash-strewn site in April 2007, according to a decision memo on the Forest Service Web site.

The adviser "recommended that supervision on site was needed immediately," the memo said.

Leaverton said Tuesday he wasn't ready to say whether supervision would be added but that officials would "maybe take a more thorough look at the use of the area."

Shooters in the area getting ready for hunting season may call the Forest Service for tips on other ranges in the area, he said.

"This is a hard decision, folks," Leaverton said. "We're coming up on hunting season. ... It's really an awkward time to be doing this, and I want you to know we are empathetic to that."