Transformation of color at the Pikeview Quarry
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — City leaders and members of the Pikeview Quarry team came together to see all the hard work in restoring the land to its natural state. From far away, many recognize this area due to the visible scar left behind from decades of mining, the hope that in the years to come, it will no longer bear these reminders.
“Returning it to it as close as we can come to its natural form,” Ronald Gidwitz, Executive Chair of Riverbend Industries, said. “It’s going to have trees and it’s going to have grass. It’s going to have bushes and it will look very, very similar to the surrounding area, that is natural.”
While the Pikeview Quarry was operating from 1903 to 2018, it provided the city with limestone along with the construction of the United States Air Force Academy. Over the years, the quarry has changed ownership and in 1972 it was purchased by Castle Concrete, known now as Castle Aggregates.
“Well, this has been a scar on the mountain for over 100 years,” Gidwitz said. “My family’s owned the property for 50 years and for 49 of those years, I’ve been hearing about how it is ugly it is, it is a detriment to the growth of the community, people don’t want to be around it, but now all of a sudden, it’s turning green.”
A tree planting ceremony was held to signify the beginning of the revegetation phase, with these initial trees serving as the beginning to a greener landscape for this sight.
“It is inspiring to be able to see the green and the hope come out of what was formerly a mining reclamation site,” Britt Haley, City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Service Department Director, said. “Now we’re seeing the living component of it and for me as a parks director, it is beautiful to see that transformation into that living landscape.”
In the effort to restore the land to its original state, crews crafted a plan to ensure the slope was stable and move 3.5 million cubic yards of dirt, which is expected to be completed by Friday. Afterward, topsoil will be laid down to help facilitate the growth of vegetation across the once-bare area.
“So, from the interstate, you won’t see that pink scar they called it, it’ll be a dark color,” Jerald Schnabel, President and General Manager of Castle Aggregates, said. “Then we’ll seed it and mulch it and by next spring, you should see a big green surface up here, that will blend in with this National Forest behind us, probably as natural as it ever could be after the fire.”
Over 31,000 Colorado native trees and shrubs will be planted, with revegetation species including Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Chokecherry, Golden Currant, and Wood’s Rose among them.
“We understand that as they plant across this landscape, it’s going to then take hold across the entire project,” Haley said. “That is a goal for us, along with the trees and shrubs, to be able to have that naturalized experience. Now, what we would like to hope for, and we hope everyone will hope for is gentle rain for all of these plants to take hold.”
As for what’s next on the land, the city of Colorado Springs is considering turning it into a mountain bike park as there will be direct views of downtown and the Pikes Peak region, details can be found here.
“We know that, in fact, from prior studies that our community uses our parks and our open spaces more than other cities typically do,” Haley stated. “So to know that we could have an amenity of some recreational opportunity in the future, whether it’s just trails, whether it’s for mountain biking, whether it can encompasses all those opportunities, walk your dog, take your kids out and enjoy the outdoors that we have here in Colorado Springs. All of those things are being made possible through this project.”
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