Author: Seth Boster seth.boster@gazette.com

Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s annual big game brochure has been hitting hunters’ mailboxes — the annual reminder to start planning for the seasons ahead. The brochure is also available at CPW offices and posted online. And the agency is urging hunters to view it ahead of the primary draw application period, running March 1-April 1. Hunters…

Editor’s note: This article has been revised to include the second reading required for the e-bike ordinance, set for Feb. 25.  The Colorado Springs City Council on Tuesday voted 6-3 to expand electric bike access across parks and open spaces after another long discussion that represented the culmination of a yearslong debate. After hearing dozens…

A plan for a new open space in Colorado Springs is to be unveiled at an upcoming meeting. The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School, where city parks department officials will once again convene any and all interested in the future of Fishers Canyon Open Space. A meeting…

A future vision is being shaped for a state park between Denver and Colorado Springs. A draft master plan for Castlewood Canyon State Park has been posted online, along with a survey for feedback and dates for upcoming meetings. One is virtual, slated for 6 p.m. Jan. 15. Another meeting will be held in person…

A master plan is coming together for a highly anticipated open space between Colorado’s two largest cities. Lost Canyon Ranch became the town of Castle Rock’s largest-ever open space acquisition earlier this year — “a place of awe and wonder,” reads a project webpage, where a questionnaire was recently posted. The town is calling input…

El Paso County parks leaders have a long-anticipated plan to address fears of ruin at a geologic expanse. Nearly a year in the making after years of advocates calling for it, a draft master plan “sets the stage for a sustainable and enjoyable Paint Mines Interpretive Park,” read a statement from a county spokesperson. The…

A policy expanding electric bike access on Colorado Springs trails fell short of its first vote of endorsement Wednesday, with a board committed to city open spaces opting instead to amend the proposed ordinance that aimed to classify the motor-assisted bikes as “non-motorized use.” Another parks board is set to review the proposal ahead of…

Officials planning a nature center in the northern, forested boundaries of El Paso County recently presented adjusted concepts amid opposition. “We’re definitely listening and responding,” the county’s parks director, Todd Marts, said during an open house at Bear Creek Nature Center. Envisioned to be built among the pines of Fox Run Regional Park, Fox Run…

Coloradans’ love for the outdoors spells a big economic win for the state, according to a new study celebrated by industry leaders. Said Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation Industry Office director Conor Hall in a news release: “This research reaffirms what we know to be true: that the outdoor recreation economy is a significant force in Colorado…

Another opportunity approaches for people to weigh in on the future of what some see as Colorado Springs’ next premier open space. That’s Fishers Canyon Open Space, the 343 acres acquired by the city’s Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) fund in 2021. The land of pine and oak rising to granite promontories near 9,000…