The pulse of Pikes Peak
Colorado Springs lives and breathes Pikes Peak. The mountain isn’t just a backdrop, it’s the pulse of the city. Its forests breathe cool air over the foothills while its trails call to hikers, bikers, and other recreationalists.
The landscapes we lace up our boots to explore, the forests we breathe in, and the slopes we point to with pride are now proposed for one of the largest logging projects in Colorado’s history. The Pikes Peak Vegetation Management Project puts nearly 195,000 acres of our beloved forest at risk.
Wildlife at risk
And it’s not just our home on the line: These forests shelter some of the rarest and most vulnerable wildlife in the region. The Mexican spotted owl, the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, and the elusive Canada lynx, all protected under the Endangered Species Act, depend on this habitat for survival. The project proposes creating “fuelbreaks” or large openings as wide as 1200 feet, fragmenting wildlife habitat and causing these species irreversible harm.
Our wildest forests
Some of this logging is set in our wildest, most untouched forests. The project footprint includes four roadless areas, forests protected under the Colorado Roadless Rule. This safeguard exists for a reason: it bans roadbuilding and other harmful activities like logging and mining, allowing trees to grow old and massive, wildlife to live undisturbed, and people to enjoy the backcountry.
Roadless forests protect some of the last pockets of Colorado where nature still operates on its own terms. Any logging in these areas could have severely harmful impacts on the wild characteristics these protections were created to preserve.
Yet the project goes even further. It proposes logging all over the forest, including our high-altitude forests. If our goal is true wildfire resilience, we should be focusing on treatments near homes and infrastructure, not on the farthest, most remote trees.
How to protect what’s at stake
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Once mature trees are logged, once roadless areas are entered and once endangered species are harmed, there is no going back – at least not for a human lifetime. Pikes Peak needs a community willing to demand protection for the wild places that make our home extraordinary.
The choice is ours, but the clock is ticking: there are only a few days left to make your voice heard on the future of Pikes Peak. The public comment period is open through December 17, 2025. Submit a public comment today to ensure that Pikes Peak remains protected for wildlife, recreation, and future generations to come.
Authors
Kelli works on campaigns to protect our national forests at the state and national level. Kelli lives in Denver, where she enjoys baking, hiking and crocheting.
