Outdoor Pikes Peak Initiative · Article 13 of 24
Themes from the listening sessions were not left as a word cloud. The project team wrote value statements for seven strategic areas, then attached strategies and action items drawn primarily from community feedback and land-manager feedback. Those statements were vetted in subcommittee work sessions. They are the pillars the rest of the plan stands on. The plan prints them in full.
The seven statements
Partnership: “Partnerships among land managers, volunteers, municipalities, nonprofits, businesses and the community are key to maintaining and sustaining the Pikes Peak region’s natural resource and recreation needs.”
Communication: “Intentional communication is essential to fostering effective inter-agency coordination, industry stakeholder support and involvement, and community leader and public understanding of local natural resources and recreation values and initiatives.”
Connectivity: “Connecting communities and recreation opportunities within the Pikes Peak region creates a more sustainable, equitable and enjoyable future.”
Natural resource conservation: “Exceptional conservation, habitat connectivity and adaptive management of the Pikes Peak region’s plant and wildlife species, and the habitats on which they depend, ensures resilience and sustainability in the face of stressors such as changing climate, increased and changing recreational use and urban development.”
Recreation: “A broad spectrum of exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities that are accessible, inclusive, enjoyable and responsibly used, provides important health, wellness and economic benefits to local communities and visitors and instills a sense of appreciation and stewardship for the Pikes Peak region’s natural resources.”
Management: “Exceptional cross-jurisdictional management fosters collaborative planning and delivers effective staffing, maintenance, enforcement and funding for the Pikes Peak region’s natural resources and recreational opportunities.”
Funding: “A sustainable funding mechanism that crosses multiple jurisdictions and incorporates recreation and natural resource pillars is imperative to ensure a long term sustainable outdoor region for future generations.”
Three decision-support tools were built from these statements: the Project Framework Criteria, the Areas of Opportunity map, and the Conservation Summary map. A new project that is not already on the regional list is supposed to be read against these sentences, not against a vibe. The full strategy and action-item charts live in the appendix.
Source: Outdoor Pikes Peak Initiative Vision Plan 2025, prepared through the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance as the local Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnership, with support from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Great Outdoors Colorado. Project team: PPORA, Trails and Open Space Coalition, N.E.S. Inc., Bachman PR, and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Geography Department. The plan was written across a four-year process and released in 2025; some statistics reflect a point in time before publication. Value Statements and Strategies, page 96; Appendix E.
