Dear supporter of public lands for the people,

Thanks to your efforts—signing and sharing our petition by word of mouth or on social media—we woke up this morning to over 450 signatures in the last six days. By the time you read this, we will be well on our way to achieving our first goal: 500 signatures in one week. Thank you!

Our work isn’t done yet. We got to 500 by sharing this message with a handful of communities on Colorado’s Front Range (Estes Park, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Greeley). We’re reaching out next week to communities in Grand County (Grand Lake and Granby) to spread the word. Up next are Ft. Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs.

In the meantime, we’ve made it easier to share the link. You can share this with anyone. And even though this petition is about Rocky Mountain National Park, we believe this is a national issue. The precedent set here—whether the people or the privileged own the parks—will apply all over the country. Share it with anyone, anywhere, who cares about public access to public lands.

Easier link to share: https://www.change.org/parksforthepeople

We’re not going to bombard you with emails every week. But if you’re wondering, here’s what our next steps are to build on your engagement and take this to the next level and make a change.

1.       First, as mentioned above, we’re looking at running ads in local papers on the Western slope and across the front range. The more people learn about the Park’s long-term plans, the more concerned they are about how unfair, undemocratic, and unscientific they are. We’ve made a big impact from a small start. We’ll keep pushing to get the word out.

2.       Second, we’ll reach out with our petition to Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse. He represents the second district, where Rocky Mountain National Park is. Congressman Neguse is a passionate supporter of the Park and of public lands. Importantly, he’s on the US House of Representatives Committee for Natural Resources. He’s the Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. He’s a natural ally for our cause. You can email him directly with your thoughts here.

3.       The deadline for our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of the Interior is next week. If and when documents and communication related to the Park’s internal decision to implement restrictions without public consent become available, we’ll share them with you.

One other really important thing. If you have a personal story to tell about how last year’s restrictions impacted you, your family, or your friends’ ability to visit the National Park and want to share it with us, please let us know. We believe this issue will get more local and national media attention if people can hear the real stories of real people who’ve  been affected. Send your story to danield32@gmail.com . We won’t share it without your consent and will reach out for more details if you’re willing

Thanks again for your support and keep sharing it! By the time you read this, we should be at—or over—500 signatures. That’s a great start and it shows that real people across Colorado (and the country) care about preserving access to public lands for future generations. Let’s keep it going!

Yours,

Dan

PS One final thing!

This year’s restrictions don’t technically begin until Friday, May 28th. But reservations for Memorial Day weekend go on sale tomorrow, May  1st, at www.recreation.gov If you’ve never used that system, here’s what you have to do: go to recreation.gov and create an account (you’ll need your name, email address, and phone number).

Next, reservations go on sale at 8am. Go to your computer at 7:45. Log in to your account. Have your dates and times ready. Reservations to visit the ‘Bear Lake Corridor’ are required between 5am and 6pm. Entry times are available in two hour blocs (from 5am to 7am, 7am to 9am etc.) For the rest of the Park, including Wild Basin, Longs Peak, and Lumpy Ridge, reservations are required from 9am to 3pm.

Unfortunately, these reservations sell out fast. The Park has said that last year, up to 2,000 people were virtually lined up at 8am for 600 available reservations. It’s like winning the lottery. Good luck! And don’t forget to have your credit card ready. If you have an annual pass (you can buy one here), you’ll pay the $2 ‘reservation fee. Without an annual pass, you’ll pay a day-pass or week pass fee, plus the $2.

If you have the time and money, no big deal. But we don’t think this is fair. Getting into the Park shouldn’t be a special occasion. It should be an everyday occasion, that Colorado residents and American citizens should be able to experience fairly. Keep spreading the word!