Working to Preserve Open Space and Rural Land; and Create a Network of Trails, Bikeways and Greenways in the Pikes Peak Region
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Airport Open Space - 2005
Discussions among representatives of the Colorado Springs Airport, the Airport Open Space Advocates (AOSA) and CH2MHill, the consultants who are doing the Environmental Assessment, have led to a tentative offer of permanent protection for nearly 500 acres of open space at the airport. This is dependent, however, on the outcome of the environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed business park at the airport, which should be completed early this year by CH2MHill. Current plans include 380 contiguous acres of open space in the southeastern part of the property, adjacent to both the proposed business park and rapid deployment facility. Talks are underway regarding possible mitigation efforts, which include reclamation of a scraped area, reseeding of tallgrasses such as big bluestem and prairie sandreed, and control of noxious weeds. AOSA has voiced concerns regarding the number and size of planned interior roads, trail connections to nearby open space, and view corridors, among others. If you have an interest in preserving land and views at the airport, please come to the next public meeting (proposed for mid-March), or an AOSA meeting, and share your views. Information on the above will be posted here when available. The FAA will make a decision in late May/June. When Katherine Lee Bates wrote the words "O beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain", she did so after a trip to the top of Pikes Peak. Looking east, back in 1893, she must have seen a stunning vista of a sea of grassland. Indeed, one can get a closer look at those "amber waves of grain" by driving on Powers Boulevard just south of the Colorado Springs Airport. In the fall, along the north side of the road, one can now see the burnt orange colors of big bluestem grass, and tall yellow of prairie sandreed, the key grasses of a unique area called the Colorado big bluestem - sandreed prairie. The importance of the airport prairie was first
recognized by scientists at The Nature Conservancy, who wrote
to the city, "The Airport Prairie site is an unusually large
example of tallgrass prairie and is no doubt of state significance.....I
would encourage the city to seek some kind of protection for this
area in a manner that will preserve the natural values ….The
results of this walk-through confirm that it is a high quality
remnant of what was once a widespread Front Range/foothills natural
community....… The City of Colorado Springs Open Space Master
Plan also identified the airport prairie as being valuable, reading
"Directly south of the airport is an expansive stand of relatively
rare tallgrass prairie. The area consists of rolling grasslands
with sweeping views of the Front Range and the surrounding high
plains. It is highly visible from Drennan Road, the main route
to the airport." In May of 2002, a group of conservation scientists met at Colorado College to discuss Colorado big bluestem prairie, and concluded that the airport prairie has important conservation values, and is in excellent condition due to the grazing techniques used by the previous owners Powers and Lewis. The airport prairie has local significance, in its uniqueness among the varied landscapes of El Paso County, and its historical context here, as an example of the kind of landscape is probably what the early settlers would have seen. In the Fall of 2001, the Airport submitted a master plan for development of the airport prairie. Included in the development will be a golf course, hotels and business sites. Citizens' groups spoke to the city planning commission and city council in an effort to protect at least some of the big bluestem prairie. While the airport offered an intention to set aside a portion of the property for 25 years as open space, they later revealed at the city council hearing that they would develop the entire parcel if economic conditions warranted it. The city council approved the master plan, with Richard Skorman and Sallie Clark as dissenters, for which we owe them a debt of gratitude. For now, none of the airport prairie is protected. Based on an inquiry by AOSA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determined in February of 2003 that the airport would need to perform an environmental assessment (EA). This process will produce a report in 2005 that details the impacts that the airport's proposed development will have on the rare Colorado bluestem prairie located there. It is our hope that this document will reveal how the development should best be sited in order to permanently protect the natural values of the airport prairie. AOSA currently is represented on the airport planning committee that will oversee the production of the EA. This is a significant step in the direction of permanently protecting a significant portion of the Colorado bluestem prairie, thereby balancing economic development with preserving our common natural heritage. A number of meetings have been held with AOSA and citizens to discuss the EA and how preservation of significant portions of the bluegrass could occur. Conservation and citizens' groups involved in protecting the airport prairie have always recognized that some development may be appropriate and even desirable in areas that are not sensitive, or are located by a disturbed area such as a road. While preservation of the entire airport prairie would be laudable, it may not be realistic. Regardless, the airport has an opportunity to enhance our city, and send a message to visitors that we in Colorado Springs value the natural world, and can co-exist with it. Imagine a development that was centered and designed around the big bluestem prairie, so that it honored the natural values there. Imagine interpretive trails and signs, so that visitors could enjoy it as well as citizens. Imagine tremendous, protected views of Pikes Peak and the Spanish Peaks. A balance of economic development and open space protection could produce a development that would benefit everyone! What you can do: Supporting Organizations: Trails and Open Space Coalition Airport Master Plan, circa 2001. This is under considerable revision.
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The
Airport Open Space Advocates (AOSA) have been working closely
with the Colorado Springs Airport to protect a part of the biggest
open space parcel in the city of Colorado Springs. The airport
prairie includes 1,280 acres of undeveloped land south of the
Colorado Springs Airport, between Drennan Road and Powers Blvd.
(see map) Not only does the area have open space values, but conservation
values as well, as great examples of rare Colorado big bluestem
and prairie sandreed exist on the property. 