Karman Line – An Ill-conceived Proposal

By Candice Stutzriem

The following was published in OP/ED Letters to the Editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette on June 4, 2025.

I add my voice to the chorus of protest over the ill-conceived proposal to annex three square miles of remote property into the city of Colorado Springs. Today’s direct mail flyer promises beachfront property for our military “on the banks of the Bostrom Reservoir.”

However silly that sales pitch might be, there are more compelling reasons to Just Say No to annexation.

The federal government should have bought up the land between Peterson AFB and Shriever AFB 50 years ago to prevent this atrocity from being considered today. Space Base Delta Commander Kenneth Klock warns that an uninterrupted expanse from horizon to horizon is essential to conducting satellite tracking from the installation and to separation from urban development.

Assuming a height of 100 feet, the horizon extends approximately 12 miles. This means a minimum 12-mile barrier should encircle Shriever AFB to protect its U.S. defense operations. It wasn’t apparent 50 years ago that encroachment on the mission would reach critical mass in 2025.

Had this question been raised in a meeting of minds between military leadership and state and local government before putting it to a half-million-dollar vote? Did Rep. Jeff Crank, Sens. Hickenlooper and Bennet weigh in on the decision? Preserving that corridor from development ought not to be left to the voters. It is a matter of national defense.

The damage will be irreversible. It appears the City Council is more attuned to turf battles between influential real estate developers than they are to essential military operations in our city.

This development’s threat to the Space Force mission is more real than a jet ski on the Bostrom Reservoir. (Spoiler Alert: There is no Bostrom Reservoir. There is no water.)

Further, we would do well to realize that the five military installations surrounding Colorado Springs are also our number-one employers.

Don’t forget, President Donald Trump is still weighing the decision to relocate Space Command to Alabama. The viability of Schreiver AFB is a compelling factor in that decision. We should be bending over backwards to save Space Command for Colorado, including saving Schreiver AFB.