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 - 2005URGENT! 7.27.2005:The Environmental Assessment (EA) on the Airport Business Park has been released, and a final Public Hearing will be held Thursday, August 4th. Your attendance is needed at this meeting if we are to permanently preserve 475 acres of open space. Please join us at: Deerfield Hills Community Center Alternately, you may mail your comments to: Vanessa Henderson Comments must be received by August 4th, 2005 At stake is 475 acres of open space, in the form of rare tallgrass prairie, and a trails system to go along with it. The Trails and Open Space Coalition is concerned about the following issues: While we appreciate that the Airport has agreed to protection of the land, they have not agreed to a permanent protection mechanism. We would like to see a conservation easement on that acreage in order to assure permanence. Though pedestrian trails and a trailhead have been noted in the EA, it is not noted what party will develop, fund and maintain such. We also believe that the trails should be accessible to cyclists, and that the trails integrate with city and regional trails systems. Of special significance is a trail connector to Bluestem Prairie Open Space. The Airport Open Space Advocates (AOSA), in which we play a role, has additional concerns. Please click here to see their input on this subject. ____________________________________________________________________ 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. Discussions among representatives of the Colorado Springs Airport, the Airport Open Space Advocates (AOSA) and CH2MHill, the consultants who handled the Environmental Assessment, have led to an offer of permanent protection for nearly 475 acres of open space at the airport. A protection mechanism, however, has not been agreed to. Current plans include 365 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. The airport prairie was first recognized as being important 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." The Colorado Natural Heritage Program released a report describing unique conservation areas in Colorado Springs. Regarding the airport prairie, it states "Very few large patches of tallgrass prairie remain in Colorado … The Colorado Springs Airport encompasses the largest known occurrence of a big bluestem - prairie sandreed tallgrass prairie in Colorado. The community is most extensive within about two square miles south of the airport between Drennan and Powers Roads and occurs in small patches within surrounding areas. The TOPS (Trails, Open Space and Parks) Working Committee and the City of Colorado Springs Parks Advisory Board each passed a resolution in 2005 stating that the Airport prairie "provides majestic views of the front range, Pikes Peak, and the Spanish peaks, affording a unique sensation of spaciousness and solitude despite its proximity to its urban and airport surroundings." Similarly, they asked that a mechanism be put in place to provide permanent protection. 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 for 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.
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