El Paso County, Colorado

Tim Wolken, Parks Director
2002 Creek Crossing
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
Phone: (719) 520-7529
Fax: (719) 520-6389

Vision Statement

Helping make El Paso County a great place to live and play.

Mission Statement

1. Acquire, develop, maintain, and preserve regional parks, facilities, trails and open space.
2. Provide responsible resource management for open space lands characterized by unique natural environments.
3. Provide natural and cultural history interpretation, education, and information services.
4. Produce major community events and festivals that celebrate our heritage and culture.
5. Provide and manage tourism destinations and experiences.

Core Values

1. We are a leader in customer service in the Pikes Peak Region.
2. We provide safe, clean, and well-maintained parks, trails, and open space.
3. We focus on results and continually measure our progress.
4. We recognize that our employees are our most important resource when striving to achieve our vision and we will invest in improving their knowledge, skills and abilities.
5. Our department is citizen-driven and we will continually seek to involve our stakeholders.
6. We are a progressive department that continually seeks to use best practices in all facets of our operation.

Department History

The El Paso County Park and Recreation District was formed in 1971 to provide parks and recreational facilities needed to serve a rapidly growing population. The Department's initial policies gave high priority to the development of parklands in urbanized but unincorporated areas of the County in an effort to reduce pressure on City of Colorado Springs facilities and programs. Within five years, the Department had completed construction of or allocated funds for the construction of parks in sixteen rural and urban areas of the County.

It became apparent, however, that maintenance of these areas was going to become an increasingly difficult financial challenge. In September, 1976, the Board of County Commissioners revised the role of the Department to emphasize the provision of large, regional scale parks and abandon the effort to provide neighborhood parks and programs. While essentially natural in character, the regional parks were designed to include a developed portion with facilities such as turfed, multi-purpose play fields, tennis, volleyball and basketball courts, green space, and picnic areas. The Department’s role was clarified to exclude the provision of structured recreational programs and, in fact, the word "recreation" was removed from the department’s name. The revised role became one that emphasized the provision of natural, historical, and cultural interpretation programs within the structure of a regional park and trails system.

In 1993, the Parks Board adopted a revised mission statement that states:
The mission of the El Paso County Parks Department, as responsible stewards of acquired public lands within a regional park system, is to enhance the quality of life and well-being of the citizens of El Paso County by: a) acquiring, developing, maintaining and preserving regional parks, trails and open space for outdoor recreation and leisure opportunities; b) providing responsible resource management and protection of large preserves of public lands characterized by unique and outstanding natural environments and geologic features; and c) providing natural and cultural history interpretation, education and information services to visitors.

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