COLORADO SPRINGS — A major wildfire mitigation project is underway at the future Fishers Canyon Open Space above Broadmoor Bluffs.
"Conservation of the natural and cultural resources, preservation of the wildlife habitat, as well as protection of the mountain backdrop from the city of Colorado Springs,” said Colorado Springs Parks Senior Landscape Architect, David Deitemeyer.
One of the most important parts of the mitigation work is addressing wildfire danger.
The park is in one of the highest wildfire-risk regions of Colorado Springs.
“Basically we're making a forest that is more resilient to high-severity fire,” said Colorado Springs Fire Department, Wildfire Program Coordinator, Cory Ashby.
Project managers say this will be one of the most complete and extensive mitigation projects ever in our area.
They will draw on experience from previous projects while having the rare opportunity of doing the work before the park is developed.
It means they don’t have to work around things like signs and trail systems.
“Being able to blend the wildlife habitat, fields mitigation, forest science, all together in one package,” said Colorado Springs, City Forester, Dennis Will.
The mitigation will take several months to complete.
The next step is taking public comment and putting together a master plan for the park will then begin.
“We really want to stress that the property will remain closed to the public until 2024,” said Deitemeyer.
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