Jennifer Peterson and Susan Davies, executive directors of the Rocky Mountain Field Institute and the Trails and Open Space Coalition, respectively, issued news about Waldo Canyon recently.
In September 2020, the city of Colorado Springs purchased 315 acres of land from Castle Concrete, which included the Black Canyon Quarry property. Through the Re-Imagine Waldo Canyon planning process, that was identified as a potential future trailhead, access and parking location.
Since the acquisition was finalized, the city has been working diligently with the previous owners and the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety on the transfer of reclamation responsibility.
The city anticipates this process will wrap up by the end of the year, which will then open the door for reclamation planning in 2022.
The city will then start a master planning effort for the property, including public feedback to further refine the vision for the space. The popular recreation site northwest of Manitou Springs was among the areas that burned in the summer of 2012.
The U.S. Forest Service has also been working in tandem with the city and submitted Waldo Canyon as a priority project in 2023 under the Great American Outdoors Act. If successful, the project would receive funding to support additional planning, analysis, design and implementation work in 2023 and beyond.
On Aug. 19, representatives of partners including the Forest Service, Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services, TOSC and RMFI toured the area and discussed elements of the Re-Imagine Waldo Canyon Community Vision Final Report (see tinyurl.com/Waldo-Canyon-report) in which the community participated.
The group plans on future site visits and meetings to continue conversations and keep momentum going.
An upcoming ballot measure will ask voters to approve an increase and extension of the Trails, Open Space and Parks sales tax. Voters established the TOPS tax of one-tenth of one percent (0.10 percent) in 1997 and renewed it in 2003.
Since the TOPS program began, more than 7,000 acres of open space have been acquired, 66 parks have been built or improved and more than 50 miles of trail have been constructed.
On Nov. 2, voters will be asked to approve an increase in the TOPS tax from 0.10 percent to 0.20 percent and to approve extending the tax by 20 years. A successful ballot measure resulting in increased funding and capacity means projects like Waldo Canyon will happen much sooner.