Aiken Canyon Preserve

Aiken Canyon Preserve is a 1,621-acre (6.56 km2) Nature Conservancy-managed state property in Colorado. It was first observed and named after Charles Aiken, a 19th-century U.S. surveyor, pioneer, and ornithologist who first surveyed the region in the 1870s and identified more than 75 bird species. The preserve consists of foothills, shrub and woodland ecosystems and is 12.4 miles (20.0 km) southeast from Colorado Springs located on the eastern slope of the Rampart Range which is within a smaller foothill system of the Front Range. The surrounding mountain ranges of the Rampart Range and Palmer Divide created the nature preserves sustainable ecosystem. There is also a four-mile (6 km)-loop hiking trail on the preserve. The preservation title came into effect in 1991 when the Nature Conservancy signed a 99-year conservation lease to maintain exclusive rights of 1,080 acres (440 hectares) while still being state-owned, the Nature Conservancy then acquired the remaining 541 acres (219 hectares) which totalled the preserve to 1,621 acres (656 hectares) of land. The land still left on the east side of Aiken canyon is owned by Fort Carson and the remaining west side is owned by the Bureau of Land Management. Aiken Canyon is one of the state's Natural Areas and one of The Nature Conservancy protects, an effort that began more than 50 years ago.