Non-native bushes being removed from Garden of the Gods

QUESTION: I have noticed that there are lots of bushes that have been cut down at the intersection of Gateway Road and Ridge Road near the Kissing Camels formation. I was wondering why the city and/or parks department have done this.
- Sandy Perry

ANSWER: What’s being removed is New Mexico locust, “an invasive, non-native species,” according to the parks department’s Kurt Schroeder. He said the park is being restored to its original state as part of the master plan and this locust “wasn’t here when General Palmer was.” Schroeder says invasive plants “just come in and begin to take over and they crowd out the native species we want in the park.”