Protect the Peak

Pikes Peak, America’s Mountain, is one of America’s most at-risk landscapes.  The inspiration for Katharine Lee Bates’ America the Beautiful—and one of the world’s great tourism destinations—is losing its open lands at a faster rate than nearly any other comparably sized region in the nation.  Scenic degradation, habitat loss, and land fragmentation are the resulting trends.

To date, Palmer Land Trust and its partners have protected 30,000 acres of farms and ranches, wildlife habitat, scenic corridors, and public open spaces in this area through private, voluntary land protection efforts.  Through the Protect the Peak Conservation Initiative, the organization seeks to protect 14,000 additional acres over the next five to ten years.  The goal is to permanently preserve a contiguous ring of public and private lands that circumnavigate America’s Mountain.  The properties targeted for protection are diverse—ranging from fifth generation ranches to critical public open spaces such as Colorado Springs’ Manitou Section 16.

Targeted conservation areas in the Protect the Peak Initiative include:

1. the Front Range foothills north and south of Colorado Springs;
2. the Pikes Peak Conservation Corridor on the north slopes of Pikes Peak, between Woodland Park and Divide;
3. the Gold Belt Tour National Scenic Byway corridor, including properties near Dome Rock, Shelf Road, and Phantom Canyon; and
4. important potential future public open spaces throughout the region.