The company in charge of returning a historic mining pit to nature in Colorado Springs’ northwest mountains is celebrating key progress in the yearslong job.

Castle Aggregates is “thrilled” by the looks of Pikeview Quarry, said Jerry Schnabel, the company’s president and general manager.

The months have seen the scar’s familiar red turn to the yellow of a certain landscape matting, to a darker mulch color, to today’s green seen from a distance — the result of grass and 31,000-plus trees and shrubs planted since April, according to the company. Spring and summer saw irrigation joined by generous rains, Schnabel said.

Before the dry fall, “it seemed like it rained every afternoon for us,” he said. “It really developed good, sturdy growth.”

But “we’re not out of the woods yet,” Schnabel added. The vegetation “has to go another entire year with no irrigation. The headstart we got this year needs to survive next year on its own.”

That’s according to a plan approved in 2020 by Colorado’s Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. The approval put in motion what would be the most significant reclamation project in Colorado Springs since Queens Canyon Quarry, above Garden of the Gods, around the turn of the century.

And the reclamation approval put in motion a controversial land deal with the city’s parks department.

For about $9 million out of the Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) fund, City Council agreed to a package deal that would give the city 163 acres around Black Canyon Quarry — the smaller, flatter scar above Manitou Springs seen as a future launchpoint for recreation around Waldo and Williams canyons. The acquisition would include about 40 acres the city would be in charge of reclaiming.

The city would also gain 148 acres of parkland below Pikeview Quarry. And if Castle Aggregates’ reclamation of Pikeview’s 125 acres was successful, the city could decide on accepting the higher terrain and building an envisioned “world-class” mountain bike park there.

Some have questioned the city’s financial ability to reclaim Black Canyon Quarry, while concerns have also lingered on Pikeview’s notorious history of sliding.

During an April visit for tree planting at Pikeview, Schnabel told Mayor Yemi Mobolade: “I’m assuring you that you’re not buying a potential slide.”

Schnabel said he’s been encouraged by around-the-clock readings from computer systems on site. They have been relied upon since 3.5 million cubic yards of material were reportedly used to build a “buttress” across the quarry’s face, ahead of revegetation.

“The mountain is behaving very well,” Schnabel said.

The Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety will make the final determination, slated for 2026.

“There will be a lot of scrutiny between now and then, especially on vegetation,” Schnabel said. “I’m comfortable with stability, but we can’t guarantee what is going to grow next spring and what isn’t.”