Winter Adventures in Rocky Mountain National Park

Just because there's a little bit of snow on the ground doesn't mean that Rocky Mountain National Park shuts down for the winter. In fact, the park offer several opportunities for outdoor winter adventures, including a few ranger led activities.

From the Estes Park area on the east side, visitors can enjoy Snowshoe Ecology Walks on weekends between January 5th and March 23rd.

The park will also be offering Full Moon Walks on the nights of November 28, December 28, January 26, and February 25. This is a great chance to explore the park by the light of the full moon. Each walk will last about an hour to 1.5 hours.

On the west side of the park, starting from the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, RMNP will offer ranger-led beginner and intermediate snowshoe tours, as well as cross-country skiing tours on mostly-level terrain.

For more information, please click here.






Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Are Threats of Budget Cuts Closing National Parks Overblown?

A lot is being made recently on how Congressional budget cuts could possibly close several national parks around the country. Earlier in the month, Craig Obey, Senior Vice President for the National Parks Conservation Association, published this statement on the NPCA website:

“With looming closures throughout the national park system if scheduled cuts occur in January through the budgetary sequester, we are encouraged to hear President Obama and congressional leaders focusing on the necessity of a balanced approach to addressing the federal deficit. In fact, the first leg of that stool was the Budget Control Act, which already cut significant funds for national parks and other worthwhile programs. It is time for our leaders to bring more balance to the equation.

“If Congress fails to find a solution by January, more than $200 million dollars could be cut from the National Park Service budget, which would likely close visitor centers and campgrounds, and could put as many as 9,000 rangers and other park employees out of a job. These cuts could close as many as 200 park sites across the country.

“According to a recent poll, 92 percent of Americans believe funding for national parks should either remain steady or be increased. Sequester or not, our national parks will face a tough decade ahead. They cannot afford additional cuts after two consecutive years of cuts and a budget in today’s dollars that is 15 percent less than it was a decade ago.

“America’s 398 national parks – from the Statue of Liberty to Yellowstone’s geysers, to the magnificent Grand Canyon – are treasured places that tell the stories of our country’s shared heritage, drawing tourists, and tourist dollars from throughout the world. We call on the President and Congress to find a balanced approach that doesn’t mindlessly cut national parks, which generate more than $30 billion in economic activity each year.”

I'm going to have to take the contrarian view here, and say that these fears are simply overblown. Whenever the idea is floated that parks could be closed due to budget cuts, it conjures up images of Rocky Mountain or Glacier National Park being shut down. In reality, those headlines are referring to national park units that most people have never heard of, such as Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument in Texas, or River Raisin National Battlefield Park in Michigan. The cynical side of me thinks that these assertions are meant to scare people into coughing up more of their tax dollars.

Right now there are 398 national park units, which include national parks, monuments, battlefields, lakeshores, seashores, historic sites, etc. Based on the current budget shortfalls within the National Park Service - even before the proposed cuts - it's pretty obvious that the NPS has over-extended itself. From my perch it's clear that the NPS has taken on responsibilities for far too many properties beyond the scope of their charter.

Wouldn't it be better if the federal government sold parks such as Devils Postpile National Monument, or Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, back to the states to be managed under state park systems? Or, what if some parks, such as Weir Farm National Historic Site, or Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, were sold to private entities - with certain stipulations - and run as for-profit organizations, or maybe even as a non-profit foundation, similar to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello?

In my view, this would allow the NPS to concentrate its limited resources on running the parks and monuments that deserve national recognition and preservation, more efficiently.

What are your thoughts?


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Fee Free Days Announced for Rocky Mountain National Park

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced dates in 2013 when more than 2,000 national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and other federal lands will offer free admittance to everyone.

“Our national parks, wildlife refuges, forests and other public lands offer every American a place to get outdoors, learn about our nation’s history and culture, and restore our spirits,” Salazar said. “By providing free admission, we are rolling out the welcome mat for Americans to visit and enjoy these extraordinary treasures that belong to all of us.”

Tourism and outdoor recreation tied to public lands are powerful economic engines in communities across the country. Recreation on federal lands provided 440,000 jobs and contributed $55 billion to the economy in 2009. Each year, over 280 million national park visitors pump $31 billion into local economies, supporting 258,000 jobs.

The Fee Free Days in 2013 include:

* January 21: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

* April 22-26: National Park Week

* August 25: National Park Service Birthday

* September 28: National Public Lands Day

* November 9-11: Veterans Day weekend

Additionally, active duty military members and their dependents are eligible for a free annual pass that provides entrance to lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Forest Service. The America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Program also offers a free lifetime pass for people with disabilities, a $10 lifetime senior pass for those age 62 and over, and an $80 annual pass for the general public.





Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Time in Nature is the real “Smart Drug” Children Need

The following is a guest blog by Dr. Mark Ellison:

Many children and their parents are looking for ways to increase academic performance to prepare for college admission and a future career. This pursuit often ends in seeking “smart drugs” such as Ritalin or Adderall to improve concentration. Even adults without symptoms of ADHD are now taking these drugs to work longer hours.

The current trend is to medicate children, not considering that changing the environment where they spend their time could have more positive health consequences. Children are often in places full of artificial stimulants including video games, television, music, smart phones and other devices that grab attention. Replacing this with time in nature can have positive health outcomes.

The Natural Learning Initiative led by Dr. Robin Moore, a professor in the landscape architecture program at North Carolina State University, is helping to educate about the positive health benefits of children spending time in nature. The purpose of this initiative is to promote the importance of the natural environment in the daily experience of children, through environmental design, action research, education, and dissemination of information. One of the intriguing developments of this movement is the creation of natural play areas that encourage the use of creativity and imagination, as well as longer and richer play experiences in a natural setting. Reedy Creek Nature Preserve in Charlotte, NC recently added one of these play zones.

Research is now revealing that time in nature reduces symptoms of ADHD in children. The Landscape and Human Health Laboratory (LHHL) at the University of Illinois is a multidisciplinary research laboratory dedicated to studying the connection between greenery and human health. Recent research at LHHL has found that nature has a calming and restorative effect on children and adolescents with ADHD, reducing symptoms and having a positive effect in cases where other treatments offer only limited help. The lab continues to research in this area and is currently examining the effects of schoolyard nature on children’s learning and academic achievement as reflected in standardized test scores.

Innovative programs are needed to get children and families in nature. An example of this is the Kids in Parks Program developed by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, which is helping to get families out on nature trails. The mission of this program is to promote children’s health and the health of parks by engaging families in outdoor adventures that increase physical activity and foster a meaningful connection to the natural and cultural world.

Another program, sponsored by The Children and Nature Network, is the “Lets G.O.!” (Get outside) initiative in April 2013 designed to get people out into nature.

All of this aligns with the Child’s Right to Nature and a Healthy Environment Initiative which states that every child has a right to connect to nature in a meaningful way; that every child has the right to be prepared and equipped to help address environmental challenges; and a right to a clean and healthy environment.

We have a responsibility to preserve natural areas so that the next generation can experience the beauty and health benefits that are associated with it. This is especially important for children who grow up in inner city environments, with no access to nature. How can you help to get children out in nature more?


Dr. Mark Ellison is an educator, researcher and author on using the restorative power of nature for optimal health and effectiveness. While earning a doctorate in adult education and human resource development from North Carolina State University, Dr. Ellison's dissertation explored the restorative benefits of hiking in wilderness solitude and the relationship to job satisfaction. He's recently started a second research study focused on hiking and the relationship to psychological well-being and reduced stress. He is also the founder of HikingResearch.com.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative at Work

Did you know there's an organization in Colorado that looks after the Centennial State's 54 14,000–foot peaks?

Known as the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, the non-profit organization has built 24 sustainably located, designed and constructed summit routes on 22 peaks. Its work has garnered honors and awards from Congress, the US Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation.

The organization was formed in 1994 after a 1993 study noted significant environmental impacts due to rapidly expanding recreational use on Colorado’s 14,000–foot peaks.

The mission of the CFI is to:

1. Create a structure for engaging local communities in the protection of Colorado’s highest peaks

2. Build and maintain sustainable hiking routes on the Fourteeners to accommodate hiking use while minimizing damage to native alpine ecosystems

3. Stabilize and restore trampled and eroded areas to protect sensitive alpine plant and animal communities

4. Educate Fourteener hikers about Leave No Trace principles and sustainable recreational practicesdesigned to lessen ecosystem impacts

Here is an overview of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative at work:



For more information/trip reports/photos on a couple of fourteeners we've hiked, you can visit these pages:

* Mt. Elbert

* Quandary Peak

* Huron Peak



Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com