Friends of Stratton Open Space
Purpose
Volunteer organization to support Stratton Open Space, working with Colorado Springs Parks staff.
November 20, 2024
Trail Closure, December 2nd to 13th
Stratton Springs Path, between Meadows Trail and Ridge Trail, will be closed Monday, December 2nd to Friday, December 13th for fire mitigation work. The crew will be hand-thinning with chainsaws and chipping in the area.
Mitigation work around Chutes and Ladders and the area north of there is nearly complete. The contractor mistakenly removed trees along part of Ladders Trail. CS Fire consulted with Parks staff on how to address the problem. The contractor will build buck and rail fence along sections of trail and move in larger brush to help keep people on the trail. That work should begin next week. Lower Chutes could have intermittent closures, for a few hours over several days, as the contractor moves out material.
October 8, 2024
Trail Closures, October 15th to 18th
The Chutes Trail, Ladders Trail, and Gold Camp Path will be closed Tuesday, October 15th through Friday, October 18th for fire mitigation.
August 28, 2024
Fire Mitigation Underway
Fire mitigation work began in Stratton open space on August 19 and will continue through at least March 2025. The plan is to remove smaller and unhealthy conifers, invasive species, and about 50% of the scrub oak, leaving clusters of scrub oak, while also leaving a 10-foot buffer along trails. Most of the work will be done with masticators, small skid loaders on rubber tracks with a special rotating blade in front. Work in drainages will be mostly by hand with chainsaws. Some larger equipment will also be used, mainly in the Chutes and Ladders area. KOAA had a report on the mitigation, which shows a masticator in action.
Some temporary trail closures will be needed at times. You can use COTrex to find routes around the closed trails.
July 8, 2024
What's that orange flagging tape?
You might have already seen the orange flagging tape on trees and some signs about fire mitigation. Colorado Springs Fire Dept is planning a fire mitigation project in Stratton Open Space. To plan and implement the mitigation, they divide areas into units. The orange flagging tape marks the boundaries of the units. In the area around Chutes, you might also see blue flagging tape, marking larger trees to remove.
The main web page for Stratton Open Space on the city web site has a tab, Fire Mitigation Work, that has more information, and should be updated as more information is available. That web page has a link to slides from a June 26 presentation and a link to a map of the areas planned for mitigation.
CSFD is hiring a contractor for the mitigation work. Work will start after August 19, to accommodate nesting birds.
May 30, 2024
2024 Volunteer Project Schedule
The schedule for this summer's volunteer projects is up! You can view it on our Calendar page.
April 10, 2024
South Suburban Reservoir Closed
South Suburban Reservoir in Stratton Open Space, the reservoir that usually allows dogs during the summer, is closed while CS Utilities repairs the dam's outlet. Trails are still open, but reservoir access is closed. Repairs are expected to take to the end of this year.
TOSC has a list of dog parks:
https://www.trailsandopenspaces.org/get-outdoors/dog-park/
Bear Creek dog park has access to the creek for pups.
More information on the reservoir project from CS Utilities:
https://www.csu.org/Pages/SouthSubResClosure.aspx
