Outdoor Pikes Peak Initiative · Article 21 of 24
As a Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnership, OPPI was asked for a specific project list that advances both conservation and recreation. The list is not every good project in three counties. Each land manager already has a long one. The task force’s job was to say which efforts are regional. OPPI’s role after publication is to lead, partner, or champion, knowing that timing often belongs to the agency that owns the work.
How a project made the list
The task force used a four-part analysis. First, list initiatives that had already surfaced in research, manager feedback, and public comments. Second, discuss relevance on a spreadsheet. Third, sort them on a high-impact, high-effort matrix and tag each to the vision statements it serves. Fourth, on November 15, 2024, dot-vote: green for high priority, pink for medium, black for lowest. Meetings on October 29 and November 15 are photographed in the plan, sticky notes and all.
The order they landed
- Regional Trail Master Plan
- Ring the Peak Trail
- North Slope Management Plan Update
- Regional Recreation Management Model with CPW
- Camping Management Plan. Waldo Canyon
- Downhill Mountain Bike Course
- Pikes Peak Highway Management Plan Update
- USFS Pike and San Isabel Forest Plan Update
- Centennial Park Play Wave II
- Minnequa Dam Restructuring
- COS Creek Plan
- Regional Land Conservation Plan, including REPI, open space, and viewshed protection
- Visitor Use and Cell Phone Data Project
- Watershed Protection Strategy
- Forest Health and Wildfire Mitigation fuels treatment
- Regional OHV Training Facility
- Front Range Trail
- Land Manager Summit
- Regional Recreation Ranger Program
- Black Hills Property Plan
- Regional Education and Messaging Plan
- Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center
- John Griffin Riparian Project
- Royal Loop and Grand Canyon Hills Trail
- Gold Belt Byway Master Trail Feasibility Study
- Regional E-Bike Policy and Education
- Agriculture and Private Landowner Gatherings
- Access Through Transportation Initiative
- Cell Service Expansion Feasibility Study
The plan repeats the caveat: this is not the full priority list of every agency. It is the set the partnership will keep in front of the community, alongside the decision tools, so new ideas still have a way in. Descriptions live in Appendix G and at ppora.org/oppi.
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. Regional Priorities and Project Recommendations, pages 101–104.
