Protect the Peak

Each year, Colorado loses an estimated 90,000 acres of open space to residential or industrial development.  Historic farms and ranches shrink at a faster pace than in any other state in the nation.  The state will add nearly 1,000,000 new residents over the next eight years.  And these trends will be magnified in the Pikes Peak region, where counties are experiencing Colorado’s greatest population increases and heavy water and resource extraction pressure.  Because of this, Pikes Peak, America’s Mountain, is one of America’s most at-risk landscapes.  The inspiration for Katharine Lee Bates' America the Beautiful—and one of the world’s great tourism destinations—faces the potential loss of many of its signature open space properties.

The Protect the Peak Conservation Initiative aims to protect a ring of public and private lands that circumnavigate the Pikes Peak massif.  The properties identified for protection under this initiative represent some of the most important publicly accessible, agriculturally productive, and biologically diverse lands that surround this iconic National Historic Landmark.  The properties targeted for protection are diverse—ranging from fifth generation ranches to critical public open spaces such as Colorado Springs’ Manitou Section 16.

Targeted conservation areas in the Protect the Peak Initiative include:

1. the Front Range foothills north and south of Colorado Springs;
2. the Pikes Peak Conservation Corridor on the north slopes of Pikes Peak, between Woodland Park and Divide;
3. the Gold Belt Tour National Scenic Byway corridor, including properties in Dome Rock, Shelf Road, and Phantom Canyon; and
4. important potential future public open spaces throughout the region.