Title
An Appeal of the Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board Decision to Approve the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan
Presenter:
Britt Haley, Director, Parks Recreation and Cultural Services Department
Lonna Thelen, Program Manager, Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) Program
David Deitemeyer, Senior Program Administrator, Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) Program
Body
Summary:
Through an extensive public process, park staff and the consultant team (Studio Campo) produced the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan approved by the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board on May 8, 2025. The approved Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan has been appealed to City Council.
Background:
Fishers Canyon Open Space, located on the southwest side of Colorado Springs, consists of two parcels acquired by the Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) program in 2021 and 2022. The property is adjacent to residential development to the north and east, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station to the south, Cheyenne Mountain State Park to the southwest, the Pike National Forest to the west and private property to the northwest. The entirety of Fishers Canyon Open Space consists of 343 acres.
Fishers Canyon Open Space has remained closed to the public since acquisition to allow the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services (PRCS) Department to engage in fire mitigation and master planning. In 2023, PRCS in partnership with the Colorado Springs Fire Department, City Forestry and CSU, conducted fuels mitigation on 89 acres of dense over-grown forests.
To establish a holistic new plan for the long-range enhancement and management of Fishers Canyon Open Space, PRCS selected Studio Campo to lead and facilitate an Open Space Master Plan and a Maintenance Management Plan (Management Plan) process. The combination of these plans will guide efforts to develop improvements and appropriately manage the open space over the next 15 to 20 years to meet today’s and tomorrow’s demands for the Colorado Springs Community and the Pikes Peak Region. Staff and the consultant team have prepared the Fishers Canyon Open Space Recommended Plan for review and input by the public, the TOPS Working Committee and the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board.
The Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan seeks to create a balance between the need to protect and maintain the open space’s historic and natural resource integrity with the need to serve the current and future recreational users. The master plan process began in October 2023 with PRCS working with a variety of technical experts to conduct baseline surveys of the property. Data was collected to inform the plan through a variety of methods including numerous site visits, a series of stakeholder meetings, online surveys, in person meetings, neighborhood site tours and a review of existing resource studies.
To help guide the planning process project givens were presented and adopted by participants of the community meetings. These givens represent the responsibilities of PRCS and provide the parameters for the decisions that were made through the Fishers Canyon Open Space master planning process. From within this framework, master plan participants and the project team identified the key issues to be addressed throughout the process and established the project and management goals that served as the guideposts in the decision-making process for the master and management plan.
These goals will provide management and stewardship of the open space through preservation of the natural and cultural resources, balancing wildlife with management practices, implementing a sustainable trail system, improving forest health, and involving the public. The public engagement process discussed the issues, challenges, opportunities, and possibilities within Fishers Canyon Open Space. With hands-on activities during each meeting, the public had an opportunity to hear the information that was presented and provide feedback on how that information was incorporated into the overall master and management plan.
As a summary overview of the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master Plan, the following are the list of recommendations:
1. Commitment to habitat protection.
2. Commitment to natural and cultural resource stewardship
3. Sustainable trail system, trail experience and trail connectivity
4. Trailhead management, visitation management, wildfire strategies, and resource protection management
5. Adaptive Management strategies for phased implementation and future management decision making through ongoing monitoring.
The recommended Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan was presented to the TOPS Working Committee and the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board in March and April 2025. Based on discussions, community and member input, the following revisions were made:
• Eastern boundary fence line - delayed implementation based on monitoring and needs
• Clarification of future multi use on the MacNeill Ridge if the MacNeill Trail on the Pike National Forest becomes a designated route by the US Forest Service.
The recommended Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan was presented to the TOPS Working Committee on May 7, 2025 for final consideration and recommendation to the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board. The TOPS Working Committee unanimously voted (9-0) to recommend the approval of the master plan as presented.
The recommended Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan was presented for consideration to the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board on May 8, 2025. The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board unanimously voted (9-0) for the approval and adoption of the master and management plan as presented with one modification to the text in which mountain bike use may be considered in the future on the Fishers Canyon Trail and MacNeill Ridge Trail when regional trail connections are established.
APPEAL Statement:
A neighbor of Fishers Canyon Open Space filed an appeal of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board decision on May 19, 2025, for City Council review and vote. The appeal claims the approval was premature as the plan did not address community safety concerns. The master plan process followed the review criteria under the 2014 Parks System Master Plan and the Trails, Open Space, and Parks Ordinance. The public process and public record support the robust and complete process, extensive public engagement and generation of an open space master plan that strikes a balance between cultural and natural resource protection and public access.
All public meeting materials to date for the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan, along with compiled comments received throughout the public process, can be reviewed at: www.coloradosprings.gov/fisherscanyon
Previous Council Action:
N/A
Financial Implications:
The responsibility to own, design, construct and maintain Fishers Canyon Open Space is with the City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.
City Council Appointed Board/Commission/Committee Recommendation:
The TOPS Working Committee voted 9-0 on May 7, 2025, to recommend the approval of the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan to the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board.
The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board voted 9-0 on May 8, 2025, to approve the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan with the modification to consider mountain bike use on the Fishers Canyon Trail and the MacNeill Ridge Trail when future regional trail connections are established.
Stakeholder Process:
The community engagement outreach for the project includes a total of twenty-one (21) public meetings and engagement opportunities. Postcards were mailed to 897 addresses of adjacent neighborhoods and properties. This public process was comprised of two (2) community workshops, one (1) community open house, three (3) stakeholder focus meetings, four (4) neighborhood site tours, four (4) online project surveys, and six (6) TOPS and Parks Advisory Board meetings. Additionally, there were outreach youth engagement opportunities at community centers and a local elementary school. A project newsletter provided ongoing project updates for 229 subscribers. The project webpage was updated frequently with meeting materials, presentations and surveys. Based on neighborhood interest in March and April, Park staff met with individuals, stakeholders and adjacent landowners to discuss additional questions and concerns. An additional neighborhood site tour was added to the engagement plan on May 2nd, 2025, with approximately 30 attendees.
Over 2,600 citizen engagements were recorded during the master plan process. The community plan review was posted on January 23, 2025, with a corresponding survey that was open three and a half weeks. Comments were reviewed by the planning team and modifications were made to the plan for further refinement of the proposed master and management plan. Although not all requests could be accommodated, the planning team did their very best to address and include all suggestions that were voiced within the context of the established givens and plan goals. All of the input received from the public can be found within the appendix of the document.
The Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan represents a significant collaboration between the planning team, staff, agency partners, stakeholders, numerous partnership organizations, and the public. This comprehensive plan will guide the future of this important open space resource for the next 15-20 years.
Alternatives:
City Council can approve, change, postpone, uphold or deny the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan.
Recommended Action
Proposed Motion:
Deny the appeal, thus upholding the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board’s adoption of the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan, based upon the findings that the Fishers Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan meets the criteria for the 2014 Park System Master Plan and the purposes of the TOPS Ordinance set forth in City Code Section 4.6.101.
Summary of Ordinance Language
N/A