Rocky Mountain National Park photo ©

Seventy miles northwest of Denver, spanning Grand and Larimer counties, the park is cherished by the residents of Grand, Larimer, Boulder and Denver counties, and appreciated by visitors from around the world. The towns of Grand Lake and Estes Park serve as “gateways” to the park, and the tourism that the park’s wildlife and wilderness attract is a major source of economic stability for local businesses.

Adjacent to Indian Peaks Wilderness and Comanche Peaks Wilderness to the south and to Never Summer Wilderness to the west, the park is also surrounded by Routt, Roosevelt and Arapaho national forests. Because of its unique location, wilderness designation for the park will protect wildlife habitat that extends beyond park boundaries, anchoring a continuous stretch of protected wild lands from the Wyoming border to Rollins Pass, near the Winter Park Ski Resort in Colorado.
 
The Path to Wilderness
Rocky Mountain National Park has been a candidate for wilderness designation since the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964. The park was established by Congress in 1915 with the help of naturalist Enos Mills and businessman F.O. Stanley. In 1974, President Richard Nixon recommended 239,835 park acres for wilderness designation. The area has been managed as wilderness since the 1960's, its wilderness qualities protected and celebrated by several generations of park managers and visitors.

There is an incredible amount of local support for the passage of Rocky Mountain National Park wilderness legislation. The towns of Grand Lake, Winter Park and Estes Park, along with Larimer, Boulder and Grand Counties, the League of Women Voters, Colorado Wilderness Network, Headwaters Trails Alliance and International Mountain Bicycling Association, all endorsed the bill and would like to see the bill passed. 

Natural, Cultural and Recreational Values
The elevations in the proposed wilderness area range from 7,500 to 14,255 feet, encompassing green valleys and alpine tundra. Longs Peak is the highest peak, and is an extremely popular destination during the summer months; Mount Meeker, at 13,911 feet, rises to the south. The valleys below these high peaks are thick with lodgepole pine, juniper and spruce forests, and rich with wildlife – mountain lions, elk, moose, bighorn sheep and mule deer. Lakes and streams contribute valuable habitat to the area, further supporting the robust biodiversity of the region.

The history of the West, a place where frontiersmen witnessed an untamed and awe-inspiring wilderness, is preserved in these lands. The fact that so many adjacent acres have survived intact is one to cherish: The proposed Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness provides a window to our past, keeping our history, and the inspirational power of the land, intact.

The park lands have a long history of homesteading, ranching, lodging, tourism and mountaineering. Traces of original roads and bridges, ancient trails and the remnants of cattle ranches can still be found within the park. Currently, the park is widely used for many forms of recreation including hiking, backpacking, fishing, snowshoeing, skiing, birding, climbing and horseback riding.

The Effects of Wilderness Designation in the Park
While permanently protecting the wild character of the park lands in perpetuity, wilderness designation will do little to change current park management and function. Park managers will continue to encourage hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, fishing, climbing, skiing, snowshoeing and sight-seeing with ample access to one of the nation’s most awesome landscapes (and 355 miles of trails).

Trail Ridge Road and Fall River Road will continue to be maintained for motorized travel so that visitors of all ages and abilities can experience the majesty of the park lands and take with them a lasting and powerful impression of their natural legacy. Existing water storage and conveyance structures in and under the park will continue to operate

Wilderness designation will ensure that the park remains as it is today for future generations of visitors to enjoy and explore. Wilderness designation will clarify park management procedures and preserve opportunities for scientific research. Non-mechanized recreation and trail maintenance will continue, as will access for emergency vehicles. Wilderness designation will reaffirm the park's original mission to preserve vistas and wildlife, protecting the unscarred landscape from a criss-crossing of roads and from policies that could degrade the character of the park’s forests and its quiet places. In addition, clean air, water and open spaces will be preserved to the benefit of public health in Colorado.

For more information, contact Kurt (303-405-6702).