In case you missed it, here are some highlights from the Rocky Mountain National Park Re-dedication Ceremony which took place on September 4th. This short video was produced by Nick Mollé Productions and EPTV Channel 8:
Jeff
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Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Injured Hiker Carried Out From Lumpy Ridge Area of Rocky Mountain National Park
Park rangers reached the man an hour later. The man did not have life threatening injuries but was not ambulatory. Park rangers spent the night with the man and operations to evacuate him began on Sunday morning. The technical rescue took place over steep and rocky terrain.
Fifty people were involved with the litter carry out. Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members were assisted by Rocky Mountain Rescue and Larimer County Search and Rescue. The team reached the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead at 2:30 p.m. and the man was transferred to an ambulance with Estes Park Medical Center.
Jeff
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Friday, September 18, 2015
Public Invited to Participate in National Public Lands Day Volunteer Project at Brainard Lake Recreation Area
The U.S Forest Service’s Boulder Ranger District together with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV) invite the public to give back to a place they love on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, Sept. 26th.
National Public Lands Day is a coast-to-coast, one-day event that brings together more than 175,000 Americans across all 50 states to collect trash, plant trees, pull weeds and maintain trails.
To celebrate the day, the Boulder Ranger District and WRV will be hosting a one-day volunteer event to complete building a critical section of trail between the Brainard Lake parking area and the Mitchell Lake Trailhead in Brainard Lake Recreation Area. The new family-friendly path takes visitors through alpine forests and wet meadows, across an 80-foot boardwalk, and past abundant views of picturesque 13,000 foot snow-capped peaks surrounding the lake filled basin.
Volunteers ages 14 and up are welcome to participate. The work day will last from approximately 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Volunteers and sponsors will be provided a picnic lunch, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
Registration is required. For details, contact Jamie Grasso, Trail Projects Coordinator at Wildlands Restoration Volunteers at 303-543-1411 x2# or jamie@wlrv.org.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
To celebrate the day, the Boulder Ranger District and WRV will be hosting a one-day volunteer event to complete building a critical section of trail between the Brainard Lake parking area and the Mitchell Lake Trailhead in Brainard Lake Recreation Area. The new family-friendly path takes visitors through alpine forests and wet meadows, across an 80-foot boardwalk, and past abundant views of picturesque 13,000 foot snow-capped peaks surrounding the lake filled basin.
Volunteers ages 14 and up are welcome to participate. The work day will last from approximately 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Volunteers and sponsors will be provided a picnic lunch, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
Registration is required. For details, contact Jamie Grasso, Trail Projects Coordinator at Wildlands Restoration Volunteers at 303-543-1411 x2# or jamie@wlrv.org.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
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HikinginGlacier.com
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Thursday, September 17, 2015
Rocky Mountain Conservancy Announces $3.6 Million Land Protection Campaign for RMNP
The Rocky Mountain Conservancy (Rocky Mountain National Park’s nonprofit partner) announced last month that it is spearheading a fundraising effort to acquire the largest remaining privately-held property within Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The organization will raise $3.6 million to fund the purchase of this commercially-zoned parcel known as Cascade Cottages. The Trust for Public Land is also a partner in this effort to acquire the property for the park.
The current owners, honoring the wishes of their grandfather, offered to sell the property to Rocky Mountain National Park before placing it on the open market. The National Park Service has identified this acquisition as the park’s highest priority and the signature project of Rocky Mountain National Park’s centennial in 2015.
”Opportunities to make a significant difference to a park that’s been around a long time don’t come along every day. On the occasion of the park’s 100th anniversary we have a wonderful opportunity to acquire the largest remaining privately-held commercial property within the park boundary,” said Vaughn Baker, Park Superintendent.
The Rocky Mountain Conservancy is undertaking the acquisition of Cascade Cottages in partnership with the Trust for Public Land (TPL). TPL has a long, successful history of placing lands of high ecological or historic value into the public domain. TPL has negotiated a fair market price for the property with the landowners and has secured the purchase through an Option Agreement. TPL is prepared to buy and hold the property until the fundraising campaign is complete and the property can be conveyed to the National Park Service.
The purchase and acquisition cost is $3.6 million. Of this, the Conservancy has identified more than $500,000 from within its own resources to launch the campaign and leverage initial gifts. As of today, the organization has raised almost $1.5 million. It is expected that the campaign will have a two- to three-year horizon with the transfer to the park taking place in 2017.
Also assisting with this effort, the Larimer County Open Lands Program offered a challenge grant of $50,000 to the Estes Valley Land Trust (EVLT) and the Town of Estes Park to provide a collective donation of $100,000 to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy for the purchase of the property. EVLT and Estes Park both have readily agreed to match this amount.
About the Cascade Cottages Property:
Cascade Cottages is the last significant privately-held commercial operation within Rocky Mountain National Park. Situated within one mile of the Fall River entrance to the park, the property’s 40 acres is divided by Fall River Road, with roughly half the land on the north side of the road and half on the south. The north side is undeveloped and provides valuable habitat to a variety of wildlife, including the iconic bighorn sheep. The south side is developed with more than a dozen rustic cabins and multiple gravel lanes spread along a series of cascades in the Fall River. The cabins are currently rented during the summer, catering primarily to short-term vacationers.
The entire Cascade Cottages parcel is surrounded by land that is currently under the protection of RMNP and in a highly visible and well-traveled part of the park. Each year, the hundreds of thousands of visitors that enter or leave the park by way of the Fall River Entrance pass through the property. This stretch of Highway 34 is part of a designated All American Road (there are only two such roads in Colorado and only 20 All American Roads in the U.S.). Additionally, the popular Aspenglen Campground is nearby, just to the east of the parcel. Horseshoe Park, a favorite elk and bighorn sheep viewing area, is immediately around the next bend to the west. Fall River, which marks the property’s southernmost border after meandering its way through Horseshoe Park, offers trout fishing opportunities for anglers.
The Conservancy, with the support of its project partners, the community and its donors and members, is working hard to raise the $3.6 million needed to place this unique parcel within the public domain.
For information, to make a gift, or to become a member, please contact the Conservancy at 970-586-0108, or www.RMConservancy.org.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
The current owners, honoring the wishes of their grandfather, offered to sell the property to Rocky Mountain National Park before placing it on the open market. The National Park Service has identified this acquisition as the park’s highest priority and the signature project of Rocky Mountain National Park’s centennial in 2015.
The Rocky Mountain Conservancy is undertaking the acquisition of Cascade Cottages in partnership with the Trust for Public Land (TPL). TPL has a long, successful history of placing lands of high ecological or historic value into the public domain. TPL has negotiated a fair market price for the property with the landowners and has secured the purchase through an Option Agreement. TPL is prepared to buy and hold the property until the fundraising campaign is complete and the property can be conveyed to the National Park Service.
The purchase and acquisition cost is $3.6 million. Of this, the Conservancy has identified more than $500,000 from within its own resources to launch the campaign and leverage initial gifts. As of today, the organization has raised almost $1.5 million. It is expected that the campaign will have a two- to three-year horizon with the transfer to the park taking place in 2017.
Also assisting with this effort, the Larimer County Open Lands Program offered a challenge grant of $50,000 to the Estes Valley Land Trust (EVLT) and the Town of Estes Park to provide a collective donation of $100,000 to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy for the purchase of the property. EVLT and Estes Park both have readily agreed to match this amount.
About the Cascade Cottages Property:
Cascade Cottages is the last significant privately-held commercial operation within Rocky Mountain National Park. Situated within one mile of the Fall River entrance to the park, the property’s 40 acres is divided by Fall River Road, with roughly half the land on the north side of the road and half on the south. The north side is undeveloped and provides valuable habitat to a variety of wildlife, including the iconic bighorn sheep. The south side is developed with more than a dozen rustic cabins and multiple gravel lanes spread along a series of cascades in the Fall River. The cabins are currently rented during the summer, catering primarily to short-term vacationers.
The entire Cascade Cottages parcel is surrounded by land that is currently under the protection of RMNP and in a highly visible and well-traveled part of the park. Each year, the hundreds of thousands of visitors that enter or leave the park by way of the Fall River Entrance pass through the property. This stretch of Highway 34 is part of a designated All American Road (there are only two such roads in Colorado and only 20 All American Roads in the U.S.). Additionally, the popular Aspenglen Campground is nearby, just to the east of the parcel. Horseshoe Park, a favorite elk and bighorn sheep viewing area, is immediately around the next bend to the west. Fall River, which marks the property’s southernmost border after meandering its way through Horseshoe Park, offers trout fishing opportunities for anglers.
The Conservancy, with the support of its project partners, the community and its donors and members, is working hard to raise the $3.6 million needed to place this unique parcel within the public domain.
For information, to make a gift, or to become a member, please contact the Conservancy at 970-586-0108, or www.RMConservancy.org.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Carry Out Of Ill Park Visitor At The Loch In Rocky Mountain National Park
Other park rangers reached The Loch, located 3 miles from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, at approximately 3:30 p.m. and provided additional emergency care. The man was carried out on a wheeled litter. Twenty-five park search and rescue team members were in the field, including seventeen Alpine Hotshot crew members.
The team reached the Glacier Gorge Trailhead after 7:00 p.m. The patient left in a personal vehicle with a family member.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
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