Pike and San Isabel National Forests Conducting Customer Satisfaction Survey

The Pike and San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC) will be conducting the National Visitor Use Monitoring (NVUM) project beginning today, October 1, 2015. Forest managers expect to interview nearly 4,000 visitors over the next year for valuable insight into the perspectives of people who enjoy these national treasures.

“We are very excited about this survey since it’s a voice directly from the people we serve. The results will tell us the thoughts and expectations of our national forest and grassland visitors,” said Forest and Grassland Supervisor Erin Connelly.

The NVUM project will also gather input from outfitters and guides as well as lodging facilities, campgrounds, and ski areas to complement this comprehensive study. In addition to customer satisfaction, these short interviews provide land managers with relevant statistics as they establish funding priorities. It is conducted in five year intervals and this marks the fourth survey of its kind.

The PSICC hosts over six million entries annually.



Jeff
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Rocky Mountain National Park Increases Entrance And Camping Fees

Beginning today, October 1st, Rocky Mountain National Park is increasing entrance fees in order to fund important maintenance and improvement projects within the park. Because of Rocky's proximity to the populated Colorado Front Range, the park will be adding a single day pass to the existing option of fees. This "Day Use Pass" will be $20 while the weekly pass will increase to $30 for those visitors who intend to enjoy the park for multiple days. The annual park pass will increase to $50 and eventually increase to $60 by 2017. Campground fees will also increase to $18 a night for winter rates and $26 a night for summer rates. Campground fees are based on comparable fees for similar services in nearby campgrounds.

Officials state that they are committed to keeping Rocky Mountain National Park affordable and providing visitors with the best possible experience. They point out that this fee increase is still an incredible value when considering other family and recreational experiences one can enjoy. Plus, 80 percent of those funds stay right in Rocky to benefit visitors. As the park culminates the celebration of Rocky's Centennial, these funds will be critical as they move forward into the next one hundred years.

Entrance fees have supported a wide range of projects that improve the park and visitor experiences, including renovating all campground restroom facilities, rehabilitating and maintaining approximately 100 of the park's 350 miles of trails, replacing trailhead signs, replacing picnic tables throughout the park, mitigating hazard trees in or near park facilities such as campgrounds, parking lots, road corridors and visitor centers, and operating the park's visitor shuttle bus system.

In the fall of 2014, the National Park Service conducted a nationwide review of entrance fees. Rocky Mountain National Park staff solicited public input beginning in October 2014. During the public comment period, the park received 95 formal comments that were related to the park's proposed fee changes. Based on comments received, there was significantly more support for the proposed fee rate changes than opposed. Park visitors seem to be highly supportive of fees in general and making the connection with the park's effort in providing tangible benefits to visitors through fee revenue.

The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) is the legislation under which the park currently collects entrance and amenity fees. This law allows parks to retain 80 percent of the fees collected for use on projects that directly benefit visitors. The remaining 20 percent is distributed throughout the National Park System. Since the beginning of FLREA and its predecessor program Fee Demo, the park has spent over $66 million in repairs, renovations, improvements and resource restoration.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a strong economic engine for the surrounding area. In 2014, more than 3.4 million park visitors spent $217 million and supported 3,382 jobs, which had a cumulative benefit to the economy of $329 million.

In January 2005, Rocky Mountain National Park was the last of the larger size parks in the Intermountain Region to adopt the $20 per vehicle weekly rate. That same year the annual pass increased to $35, and to $40 in 2009, the last year of any increase in fees. Last year, Rocky Mountain National Park was the fifth most visited national park in the United States.


Jeff
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Rocky Mountain National Park Re-dedication Ceremony

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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Injured Hiker Carried Out From Lumpy Ridge Area of Rocky Mountain National Park

At 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, September 19th, park rangers were notified by climbers who witnessed a man take a tumbling fall from the summit of Batman Rock to the base. The 24 year old male from Vancouver, British Columbia was hiking and scouting several climbing routes. He was standing near the edge when he slipped. He was not roped in.

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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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
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