The Pikes Peak Multi-Use Plan (PDF - 44MB) is a resource management plan that protects Pikes Peak while allowing recreational use along with commercial and housing development. History
Certain lands on Pikes Peak were set aside in 1913 as a municipal water supply reserve for the benefit of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. These lands were to be administered by the USDA Forest Service in cooperation with the cities for purposes of storing and conserving the water supply, protecting the lands from pollution, and preserving the timber on the lands to accomplish these purposes. The Forest Service continues to administer the lands, in cooperation with the cities, focusing upon watershed protection, preservation of wildlife habitat, forest management and fire management. The service strives to maintain the lands in their natural condition to the extent consistent with these purposes. Demands on the resources of Pikes Peak are escalating - demands for greater access, commercial and residential development and recreational opportunities. The Forest Service and Colorado Springs Utilities, co-stewards of Pikes Peak, must balance the demands for recreation and development with the responsibility to prevent further loss of the mountain's natural resources. Finding that balance and setting guidelines to maintain it are the challenges this study set out to meet. Mission
To conserve the national asset that is Pikes Peak, while enabling prudent use which does not cause loss, decay, waste or injury to its resources. Effort
The area surrounding Pikes Peak has come under increased pressure to accommodate recreational uses as well as housing and commercial development in recent years. The lands are administered by a multitude of public agencies and private landowners. The Forest Service manages approximately 100,000 acres of the area directly and through permits and interagency agreements. A large percentage of this land has been set aside as municipal watershed serving several local communities, including Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. Colorado Springs Utilities is responsible for the protection and management of approximately 15,000 acres of city-owned watershed land in the area. We also have been a long-standing partner in the administration of nearly 30,000 acres of federal lands designated as municipal watershed. The population of both El Paso and Teller counties has boomed in the last several years resulting in more requests for additional uses on the mountain. Many of the public agencies have developed project-specific master plans and management systems that pertain to particular sections of Pikes Peak under their jurisdiction. Colorado Springs Utilities worked with the Colorado State Forest Service in 1984 to develop a Watershed Forest Management Plan (completed in 1987) for those lands on Pikes Peak owned and protected by the City since before the turn of the century. The Pikes Peak Highway has been operated by the City of Colorado Springs since 1948 through a Special Use Permit from the USDA Forest Service. A Corridor Master Plan was developed to address some recognized problems and identify opportunities for improving some of the operating aspects of the highway. Site-specific planning and projects are currently underway within that corridor, but are restricted in how they can deal with off-site impacts. The North Slope Recreation Area is an example of an interagency project developed and operating on about 2,200 acres of city-owned watershed land, but only addressing specific uses and protections in that area in its long-range plan. Current use patterns and potential user demands on Pikes Peak, both utilitarian and recreational, need to be addressed on a much broader scale in the context of ecosystem management. An integrated resource management plan that assesses the larger landscape, involving all of the landowners, management agencies, interest groups and concerned citizens, is required in order to direct future use and guide both development and protection. The Pikes Peak Ranger District, Pike National Forest, Colorado Springs Utilities and a consultant planning team lead by Design Workshop of Denver developed the Pikes Peak Multi-Use Plan (PDF - 44MB) , along with a full public involvement process under the guidance of Black and Veatch of Kansas City. The plan balances the demands for recreation and development with the responsibility to prevent further loss of the mountain's natural resources. To learn more about the plan, e-mail or call Colorado Springs Utilities at 719-448-4800. | 
