Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services PR&CS Administration, 1401 Recreation Way, Colorado Springs, CO 80905 Revised Agenda TOPS Working Committee Please silence your phone during the meeting. ______________________________________________________________________________ Wednesday, November 7, 2018 7:30 a.m. Open Space Room ______________________________________________________________________________ Agenda Preview Committee and Staff Announcements Staff Approval of Minutes Committee ______________________________________________________________________________ Citizen Discussion Citizens ______________________________________________________________________________ Action Item Red Rock Canyon Open Space Master Plan Amendment Scott Abbott/John Stark Friends of Red Rock Canyon Presentations Corral Bluffs BioBlitz Sharon Milito White Acres Alternatives Britt Haley ______________________________________________________________________________ Citizen Discussion Citizens ______________________________________________________________________________ Adjournment COLORADO SPRINGS PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD ___________________________________________________________________________ Date: November 7, 2018 Item Number: Action Item - 1 Item Name: Minor Amendment to the Red Rock Canyon Master and Management Plan Trail System SUMMARY: Red Rock Canyon Master and Management Plan Trail (Red Rock Canyon Trail/ Red Rock Rim Trail) Connector. Heavy rains and the subsequent flooding in 2013 and 2015 required action to close the location for the proposed trail due to severe erosion and rogue trail proliferation. Prior to the floods Park staff had installed a culvert at the intersection of Lion Trail and Red Rock Rim Trail. Many attempts at fortifying this intersection had failed so the installation of a culvert took place. After the installation, increased intensity of rainfall in 2013 caused severe damage to the rogue trail running east to west downhill into Red Rock Canyon. Use of this area continued through 2014 and 2015. The floods of 2015 increased damage further and led to the decision among city staff to plan a closure of the entire area in September 2016. The area has been physically closed since that time. Requests from members of Friends of Red Rock Canyon (FoRRC) began in approximately November 2017 regarding construction of the trail per the master plan. City staff began researching the rehabilitation of the eroded area and feasibility of constructing the trail as requested. PREVIOUS PARKS BOARD ACTION: The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board approved the Master Plan in 2013. BACKGROUND: See above FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: N/A COMMITTEE/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: The TOPS Working Committee approved the Master Plan in 2013. STAKEHOLDER PROCESS: Conversations with Friends of Red Rock Canyon, Presentation to TOPS Advisory Committee ALTERNATIVE: Construct 1500’ of trail on unsustainable soils, slopes and wildlife habitat per the approved Master Plan. RECOMMENDATION: City Staff recommends removing this trail connection from the Master Plan. PROPOSED MOTION: Recommend removal of the identified trail from the Red Rock Canyon Open Space Master and Management Plan Attachments: Amendment Powerpoint Proposal to amend the Red Rock Canyon Master Plan Recommendation to Remove Trail November 7, 2018 Scott Abbott RECENT PROJECTS • South Landfill Connector Trail • Upper Codell • Red Rock Overlook • Inteman reroute • Dog Park Fencing • Bike Ramping at Sand Canyon • East Fork Sand Canyon • Bock Trail RED ROCK RIM CONNECTOR Google 2018 OBSERVED ISSUES 1. Trail runs through existing landfill area, which includes old infrastructure and monitoring wells. 2. Proposed trail would be over 1,500 linear feet on highly erosive slopes adjacent to drainage and sensitive wildlife habitat. 3. Proposed trail would lead to the ridge top where rogue use should be discouraged. Google 2005 TITLE TITLE TITLE TITLE 2007 RED ROCK CANYON MAP UNSUSTAINABLE SEGMENTS WILDLIFE HABITAT RESOURCE MAP Questions ? Friends of Red Rock Canyon’s Request for Reclamation and Trail at the North End of the Landfill in Red Rock Canyon Following a flood a couple of years ago, the trail at the bottom of the landfill was closed temporarily for safety reasons. The trail is listed in the Master Plan as an unsustainable trail that must be re-routed. Contrary to the Master Plan, city staff has decided to permanently close the trail. Friends of Red Rock Canyon (FoRRC) appealed the decision to the parks department, but were denied. The Master Plan should not be changed without a public process and permission of the TOPS Working Committee and the Parks Board. We ask the TOPS Working Committee to protect the Master Plan, which calls for a trail in the area. It was an important part of the Master Plan for FoRRC and the many citizens who participated in the Master Plan process. We also request your support is developing a reclamation plan for this area. This trail connection is critical for walkers in Red Rock Canyon but it will also be used by cyclists who want to avoid the higher, dusty road across the landfill. This connector trail is important for tourists and visitors with limited time. People with limited hiking ability (out-of-condition, over- weight, elderly, and slightly handicapped) also need some attractive shorter walking loops. The loop this trail would create will be one of the best short loops in the park, that starts and ends at the parking lot. This trail connection is beautiful and shady and gives people an option to avoid walking across the landfill. The connector trail that should be re-built will be one of the best routes for the historical and geological interpretive trails recommended in the 2013 Master Plan. The interpretive trails that go through the landfill are too long and focus on the damage from human activity on the beauty and geologic history of Red Rock Canyon Open Space. Perhaps most importantly it is our belief that the water diversion management needs to be re- designed. Presently the water control features are unsightly and do not protect the trail from being destroyed. Work is needed to rehabilitate the land after it was damaged by the landfill and dirt quarry. Why wait years to fix the problem ? FoRRC requests that City Parks Dept. develop a comprehensive plan for rehabilitation of the north end of the landfill, that includes water management, fixing the quarry area, eliminating the concrete structures, building a sustainable trail (called for in the Master Plan), and restoring the natural habitat. Let’s find out what it will cost to restore this beautiful close-in part of RRCOS. FoRRC would like to help. FoRRC thanks you for considering this matter and finding a better solution. Sincerely yours, President of FoRRC COLORADO SPRINGS PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT TOPS WORKING COMMITTEE ___________________________________________________________________________ Date: November 7, 2018 Item Number: Presentation Item # 1 Item Name: 2018 BioBlitz Presentation Summary: For the 20th Anniversary of the TOPS Program, BioBlitzes were completed on four (4) TOPS properties in 2017. For 2018, Sharon Milito and our wonderful scientists were willing to volunteer for another TOPS BioBlitz. The recently acquired 80 acre parcel located at the Corral Bluffs Open Space was chosen for the event which was on Saturday, September 8th and Sunday, September 9th. During this year’s BioBlitz, a total of 1250 species were observed by 18 scientists with 501 species documented on iNaturalist. A special “thank you” to Sharon Milito for volunteering her skills and talent to organize and run the event, to Christi Mehew for organizing the details to make it enjoyable and for the TOPS Ranger Team for providing public hikes and informative subject matter talks while the scientists searched for and documented species. Background: A BioBlitz, is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers conduct an intensive field study over a continuous time period. In 2017, the first four BioBlitzes of TOPS properties were conducted to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the TOPS Program and to gather data for future use. In 2018, we decided to conduct another BioBlitz because the science teams and Sharon Milito who leads the BioBlitz activities were willing to return and do this again for a TOPS property. The Corral Bluffs Open Space was chosen for this year’s BioBlitz because of ongoing purchases of Corral Bluffs property by the City, and to collect explicit ecological data for use in future master planning. Our objectives are to use this information to help create a baseline of resource information with which to develop future natural and cultural resources and public use management strategies. Science teams were led by and represented by specialists from several regional establishments according to their specialty. • Mammals Fort Carson- Roger Peyton; Bats: Colorado Parks & Wildlife- April Estep • Birds Aiken Audubon Society: Anna Joy Lehmicke • Botany Melissa McCormick • Mycology Ed Lebow and Ikuko Lebow; Colorado Mycological Society- Vera Evenson • Insects Mile High Bug Club- Eric Eaton, Heidi Eaton, Bell Mead • Reptiles and Amphibians Lauren Livo; US Fish & Wildlife Service- Max Canestorp • Education and General TOPS Stewardship Rangers. 2018 Corral Bluffs Open Space Bioblitz Report Presented to City of Colorado Springs TOPS