Colorado Springs, CO — One year after the planting of more than 31,000 trees and shrubs at the reclaimed Pikeview Quarry site in northwest Colorado Springs, the company overseeing the project is facing an unexpected hurdle: lack of precipitation.
The seedlings—including Pinion and Ponderosa Pine, Rocky Mountain Juniper, wax and golden currants, and chokecherries—were planted as part of a long-term effort to rehabilitate the once-active quarry and transform the site into public open space. However, an unseasonably dry year has put the success of the revegetation work in jeopardy.
According to the company managing the reclamation, the lack of snow and rain over the past year has severely impacted the young plants’ ability to take root and thrive. If conditions do not improve, there is concern that the entire slope may need to be reseeded—an effort that could delay the project by at least six months.
The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety is expected to evaluate the site this July to determine whether the vegetation can survive without continued irrigation. A positive assessment would allow the land to move closer to its intended future as a city-owned park.
That transfer, however, is contingent not only on successful revegetation but also on the long-term stability of the land. Representatives from Colorado Springs Parks have emphasized that they will not accept the donation until they are assured there is no risk of future sliding or instability on the steep terrain.
The Pikeview Quarry has been a prominent scar on the landscape of the city’s northwest side for decades. Its reclamation and transformation into public open space has been widely supported by both city officials and residents, who are eager to see the area restored and repurposed. But with the impacts of climate variability increasingly evident, the path to restoration is proving more complicated than originally anticipated.
The coming months will be critical in determining whether nature can take its course or whether human intervention will again be needed to help restore one of Colorado Springs’ most visible landscapes.
