Here's how Rocky Mountain National Park came to be

[Rick Smith]

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https://www.hastingstribune.com/ap/lifestyle/heres-how-rocky-mountain-national-park-came-to-be/article_b28a28fa-4fde-5b9f-9fb4-eb195a133b9d.html

Hastings (NE) Tribune

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Here's how Rocky Mountain National Park came to be

• Piper Russell - The Gazette (TNS)

Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park encompasses an impressive range of stunning mountain environments, including everything from forests and tundra to crystal-clear alpine lakes.

With more than 300 miles of hiking trails and excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing, Rocky Mountain National Park is an incredible place to experience nature and has a rich history, as well.

The Ute Indians inhabited the area until the late 1700s, and the U.S. government acquired the land that is now Rocky Mountain National Park with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. The Pikes Peak gold rush of 1859 drew many miners, hunters, and homesteaders, followed by a homesteading period in the 1860s.

A few decades later, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Rocky Mountain National Park Act on Jan. 26, 1915, establishing the park's boundaries and protecting the area for future generations. After the park was established, visitors started to flood the area to enjoy the roads, trails, lodges and more. The National Park Service built Trail Ridge Road in the 1930s, and even more visitors started to travel to Rocky Mountain National Park in automobiles.

After a decline in visitation during World War II, Congress approved the Mission 66 program, which sought to improve facilities by 1966. The National Park Service removed all the buildings and built new campgrounds and parking lots.

In the 1960s and 1970s, national environmental laws changed the way the National Park Service managed its lands. Now, a team of education rangers, law enforcement rangers, carpenters, mechanics, biologists, administrators, engineers, resource specialists and volunteers manage Rocky Mountain National Park.

In every step of Rocky Mountain National Park's history, it has shown an incredible natural beauty and provided the opportunity to connect with nature. The most popular national park in Colorado, it's known for showing off a big part of why life in the Centennial State is so great.

[Ed Rizzotto]

For me, the elephant in the room of this “history” is the missing mention or explanation of how the YMCA of the Rockies got to carve their large property out of what was reportedly the boundary originally proposed for the park.

ed rizzotto

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