Bluestem Prairie Open Space

Bluestem Prairie Open Space wraps around much of the Big Johnson Reservoir, which sits adjacent to the City of Colorado Springs Airport.  The property is surrounded by Powers Boulevard to the north and east and Fountain Valley School to the west and southwest.   Bluestem Prairie offers spectacular views of the Front Range and Pikes Peak to the west and grassland prairie to the east.

In the fall of 2000, the Trust for Public Land purchased Bluestem Prairie and subsequently conveyed the property to the City of Colorado Springs.  Colorado Springs used $8,125,000 from its Trails, Open Space, and Parks (TOPS) sales tax and $275,000 from a Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) grant to facilitate the purchase.  Palmer Land Trust obtained a conservation easement on the property at that time. 

What truly makes Bluestem Prairie such a special place to visit are its vegetation and wildlife.  The property is dominated by a mixed grass prairie composed of grasses including blue grama, buffalograss, sideoats grama, big bluestem, little bluestem, sleepygrass, and green needlegrass.  Other plant species include wavyleaf thistle, silver sage, prickly poppy, scarlet gilia, Easter daisy, sagebrush, yucca, and rabbitbrush.  It is worth noting that big bluestem is a rare and imperiled grass species;  Bluestem Prairie Open Space provides a safe haven for this elusive species.

Additionally, the property is a bird watcher's heaven.  Bluestem is a wintering area for the federally threatened bald eagle, according to the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and hosts numerous other bird species.  While birding, it is also likely that you'll encounter pronghorn antelope, tiger salamanders, black-tailed prairie dogs, and voles.