- Contact El Paso County Commissioners: keep wind farm 1.5 miles away from Paint Mines.
- TOPS Working Committee reports.
- Fountain Creek Regional Trail closure at Carson St bridge.
- Cheyenne Cañon forest restoration project info.
- Trail and road closures in Cheyenne Cañon for FEMA work.
- Bear Creek Park road closure Feb 10-27.
- Governor voices public support for Ring the Peak trail.
- Upcoming events.
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NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4, 2015
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Contact EPC Commissioners: Paint Mines.
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EPC Commissioners meet 9 am Thurs, Feb 5.
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Please contact El Paso County Commissioners before February 5th and let them know that you want the NextEra company to place wind turbines no closer than 1.5 miles away from the Paint Mines.
No amount of money will “mitigate” the damage to the user experience that close-in turbines would create.
Background: NextEra is proposing to erect a wind farm on 23,000 acres east of the Paint Mines near Calhan. The wind farm company had offered to pay parks $200,000 if it were allowed to place turbines 2300 feet (less than half a mile) from the Paint Mines. TOSC does not oppose the construction of the wind farm, but maintains that in order to ensure the conservation values of Paint Mines, El Paso County should require that the company place turbines at least one and a half miles away from the park.
County Commissioners can and should make protecting Paint Mines a condition of approval for this project.
See the post on our website for more information and contact info for EPC Commissioners.
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TOPS Working Committee reports.
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COS Parks Projects; Ute Valley plan goes to Parks Board.
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Some news from today’s TOPS Working Committee meeting:
- Parks has a list of 113 projects for 2015! Some of the highlights: Venezia Park groundbreaking (late April), Legacy Loop grant request, Midland Trail pedestrian bridge (March), Cottonwood Trail improvement, new master plans for Stratton, Blue Stem Prairie OS and University Park OS, updated Bike Map, plus a complete updated catalog of all of our trails and open spaces.
- TOPS Working Committee got a look at the proposed Ute Valley Park Master Plan, which now passes to the Parks Advisory Board on Feb. 12th. Parks Board will vote on the plan March 12th, so if you still would like to comment, do so now. Here’s a link to the master plan.
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Carson St bridge closure Feb 2-mid March.
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Fountain Creek Regional Trail bridge to open weekends.
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 Colorado Springs Utilities will be overseeing repair work to the Carson Street Pedestrian Bridge in the Security – Widefield area beginning Monday, February 2, through mid-March. The bridge is used by Fountain Creek Regional Trail users to provide access over Fountain Creek.The bridge will be closed while the repair work is being completed. It is anticipated the bridge will be re-opened on weekends.
For further information, please contact El Paso County Parks at 719-520-7529.
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Cheyenne Cañon forest restoration.
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Ongoing project to increase forest health.
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Some members have contacted us about work being done in Cheyenne Cañon, with concerns about the long-term effect of the tree cutting and heavy equipment on the area. We received a very complete and reasoned reply from our City Forester, parts of which we would like to share.
- The first objective of the project is to increase forest health by removing dead and diseased trees, thinning oak brush so it will regenerate, and re-colonize areas of grasses and shrubs that have suffered from too much shade.
- The second objective is to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire through scientifically proven formulas: increasing distance between tree crowns, eliminating ladder fuels, etc.
- Plans are in place to minimize soil disturbance by scheduling the work during a time when soils are usually frozen, and performing soil rehab and re-seeding in the early spring.
- The contractor is performing to a detailed set of requirements and rules, and is under daily supervision by the City Forestry Department.
Bob Falcone, President of the Friends of Cheyenne Cañon, expressed his support for the project and the Forestry Department, “We are happy to see the city forestry department taking proactive steps to improve the health of the forest and to minimize the fire danger in the canyon. We appreciate the city forestry department efforts to keep the Friends of Cheyenne Canon informed of the project.”
The City Forester will answer questions and respond to requests for more information. Reply to this email to ask TOSC for his contact information.
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Road and trail closures in Cheyenne Cañon.
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